People Watching -- Theme Day Topic

The season for people watching is about over here -- one more weekend should about do it, then the beach will empty out and the only people down there will be those of us who live here. The COTU are planning to arrive here tomorrow to spend "the last weekend of summer" (their term) at the beach. The lake water temperature has held up so far, and they're hoping for one last chance to swim. Their schools start Tuesday.  I'm assuming that our next door neighbors, the California people, will be heading out sometime soon as well.

I don't have much to report.  My water aerobics class is done, and I've decided not to sign up for another session of it.  It was a weird sort of fun, though I missed the last few classes with that creeping crud thing that is going around.  Besides the occasional bike ride, I've been walking briskly for about 3 miles every other day since the Smiths left.  Weight bearing exercise is what the doctor ordered, and I am trying to take it seriously. 

Queen Anne's Lace and Cardinal Flowers

Summer returned for at least one more shot at 90 degree weather here. Maybe not the best day to ride with an upper respiratory problem, since it was one of those "not enough air in the air" days. The breeze seemed to balance out the humidity somewhat, I felt like I needed some real exercise, and I'd promised myself I'd check out the cardinal flowers in the ditch along Sand Rd.  I took it easy, and enjoyed most of the ride. 

If I assume that I've sacrificed four or five rides for water aerobics this month, then I don't feel so bad about my August bicyle mileage.  While browsing through my bike log today (why write it if I'm not going to read it?), I discovered that as of today, I have accumulated more miles so far this year than the annual totals for 2004, 2010 and 2011.  Each individual year, not the total of all three years.  All of those early season miles this year are paying off, making up somewhat for my lackluster performances in July and August.  If my knees and my lungs hold up, my annual mileage goal is within reach. 

Winding Down

Time flies by. A cold virus has reared its ugly head here, slowing down a couple of us, me included. Still, we've managed to extract some fun out of every day, I think. 

No complaints about the weather, though.  It's been perfect biking weather, and the sun manages to set in the west nearly every evening.

I know it's west, because GZ and I recalibrated the compass on The Beast yesterday.  It involved finding and pressing the right button on the back of the mirror, then driving around in small circles.   Really. 

I went with Mr. and Mrs. Smith for one last group ride this afternoon, before they wheeled off to return her rental bike.  The COTU were here for a couple of days this week as well, providing a level of energy to the group that I was seriously lacking.  I got to talk to Opal last night, which was cool.  Cell phones still don't work up here, the lake water isn't as cold as it was a week ago, some outdoor showering has occurred, death marches still take place, stairs are meticulously counted, and we've eaten a variety of interesting food, some of which was really quite good.  It's not over til it's over, but it is in the process of winding down.

Road Trip

It feels to me as though fall has arrived early this year. The good news is that I love fall. The walk from the car to the Dow Center this morning, where my knee therapy/water aerobics class was held, was cool -- the walk back, more wet than dry, was even cooler. I wasn't up for a bike ride after an hour in the pool, so GZ was on his own for his afternoon bicycling activities. (Sorry, Gino.) Instead, BDE and I visited Saugatuck Dunes State Park, a place I last visited with TT and Unky Herb last September.

Mrs. Smith was a bit under dressed for the temperature near the water, but we took the longer path back to the parking lot, and the extra trudging up and over the dunes warmed us both up fairly well.  After a short visit past the Felt Mansion, we took the old road back to Holland which took us within scenting distance of the pickle factory.  After we'd both made ourselves dizzy by excessive inhaling of the distinctive aroma, we declared ourselves to be satisfied, and returned to the mountain.

Riding Partners

Yesterday was a little bit slow, even by vacation standards. I had water aerobics mid day, and the COTU headed for home early. Cool air and drizzle kept us inside mostly, though we managed a trip to Barnes and Noble, the grocery store and a bike shop.

Today got off to a slow start, waiting for the fog to burn off, but rapidly picked up speed. We'd pre-arranged the bike rental yesterday for BDE, but saw no point in paying for a day when it was raining and thus wouldn't get used, so we picked it up today. We all had fresh enough legs for a decent ride, and the air was crisp and borderline cool, especially near the lake. Near perfect riding conditions. She's sporting her bicycle cap, acquired just last year, and probably last seen in last year's blog.  None of my helmets have visors, and the bicycle cap, besides being stylishly bikey, shields her eyes from the sun's glare.

It was all country roads today, minimal traffic, with the huge bonus (to me, at least) of a sighting of cardinal flowers in the ditch along Sand Drive.  My legs turned to rubber after about 20 miles, but the Smiths persisted, and racked up a few bonus miles.  Supper was simple, but pretty tasty.  Chicken breasts, lime and pesto potato salad, and a zucchini/mushrooms/tomato/onion mix for our vegetable.

Day 2

Yesterday was a walk day, beginning with an early morning 2 mile walk with Lynne. The sky had finally cleared, and the lake looked amazing. The photo below was taken at the northernmost access point in the neighborhood.  We (BDE, the COTU, OSLO and me) visited it again on an evening walk, but by then it was once again overcast.  (See Gino's blog for an actual sunset photo from last night.)  There was a walk to Tunnel Park in there somewhere, too.  Quite a few miles, at least for me.

I like to blog about food, so I'll take a minute to mention that last night's menu was feta fish, wild rice with mushrooms, and stir fried zucchini.  Since today is Sunday, and the bike shop was closed, GZ and I biked alone.  BDE will likely pick up a bike tomorrow, so she'll be able to ride, too.  The route was one of my favorites,  including some new pavement for Gino.  It included a swing past the PSPS, then we rode north of the Pigeon River, along the new trail that connects the lakeshore with the highway.  It was a little bit too long for my current fitness level, but since I'd chosen the route, I don't get to complain.  Without the headwind that picked up on the last leg, it would probably have worked out fine.  We had a rental car to return before 4 pm, so I didn't stop to take many pictures.  Brad joined us for supper tonight -- two kinds of brisket (barbequed and with gravy), steamed cabbage, sliced tomatoes and potatoes.  OSLO headed home after supper with Brad, and the COTU will hang out with us for another day. So far, it's been a great family time.

Pattern Shift

So, bench photos. Here are a couple of new-ish ones from my archives.  The first was taken at Kouw Park (pronounced 'cow') on a bike ride early this week.  The park, at the corner of Lakeshore and New Holland, has been redone this year, including a few new benches.  The path to the beach is still the same, though -- up and over the sand dune, carefully skirting the poison ivy.  No bicycles allowed.

This hanging bench (I suppose you could call it a swing, but then what is a swing but a hanging bench?) is here in the neighborhood.  The woman who owns the house lost a lot of evergreens this year to a tree disease, and tried this approach to fill in some of the empty spaces.

Our weather has taken quite a turn towards what feels like fall.  After a nearly rain free summer, it's been raining off and on for two days now.  Temperatures have fallen from mid 80's to low 60's, and it looks like it is an  actual shift in our weather pattern.  Temperatures are supposed to rebound over the weekend, but the weather creatures are warning about some cooler air and more rain returning next week.  Anyone thinking of visiting Michigan anytime soon should bring at least a little bit of cool weather gear, just in case they're right.  I took a walk after lunch today, and was reminded that I need a new rain coat, as the old one leaks.  I'm always a little grumpy when I can't bike, but I'm within 250 miles of my annual goal, and it's still August.  Too soon to panic.  I'll just have to walk and do water aerobics until it dries up.  Now I need to go and make a blueberry cake.

Not a bike ride story.

I promised to post here about my aerobic swim class, though to quote BSNYC, "meh." The class was held at the Hope College pool yesterday at noon. The 7 old women who signed up for it thus had the opportunity to compare themselves to lots of fit, attractive young people attired in swim suits. That's always fun. It may take more than one class for me to form an opinion, or even an interesting point of view on the experience. I may try blogging about it again at a later date. Or maybe not.

Today was Primary Election Day in this part of the world. I don't always vote in primaries, but since we've recently changed our address and primary residence, a dry run seemed like a good idea. After years of voting at the Beechwood Church, we now vote at the Township Fire Station. Apparently they didn't expect a big turnout, as they were only set up for 4 people to vote at a time. At 8:30 this morning, I was number 24. (Polls opened at 7 am.)

I tried to take a self portrait, to show you the "I Voted" sticker. It's a little scarey, I'll admit. Some of the other photos I took were quite a bit scarier, though. Maybe I should have blogged about benches.

Too, Too Hot

July was not a good bicycling month for me. In fact the numbers came in surprisingly close to February's numbers. February!!!! Granted, I declared early on that I was taking the month of July "off" this year. With total miles, number of rides and average miles per ride on a par with February, I'd have to say that I reached my goal.

Turning the page to August, I have ridden every day so far this month -- all 3 of them. My average ride length needs some work, but at least there is a hint that tomorrow will be the last 90+ degree day here for a while. It was 90 today by the time I got home -- I rode Lakeshore both ways to the old Pigeon River Bridge, just to stay in the shade. Next week I'm starting a water aerobics class on Mondays and Wednesdays. It's kind of a long story, but it's mostly as therapy for my knees. It's at Hope's pool, and since I am a retired faculty type person, it's extremely cheap, and I'm going to give it a try. I am not at all sure that it will be a bloggable experience, and I do not plan to take my camera with me. But there might be a good story in there. Stay tuned.

Theme Day Topic: Numbers

1.  I hadn't planned to post today, but the topic is too good to pass up.  I love numbers.

2.  Four photos from my 22.39 mile ride today.