Not Always Right

I said this in yesterday's post:

"This may have been the last of our really nice days for a while,  possibly for a very long while." 

I was wrong.  Today was a really nice end of October day.  The skies cleared about 11:00 this morning, the sun came out and the temperature hit 60 while I was out on my bike.  The wind was semi-brutal, WSW at 18, gusting over 30 -- but that's manageable with a north/south ride.  

I was also wrong about last Thursday being my last ride to the Port Sheldon Party store this year.  (I'm happy to have been wrong about these things, of course.)  I didn't go inside, but I rode past it today, which counts, I think.  This was my turnaround spot.

In that same Thursday post I said this:  "I'd meant to ride out to the old bridge over the Pigeon River, but I was running out of steam when I got to the road that leads back to it."  I also said, " It's not over til it's over, they say.  So, maybe there is still time."   It is good to be right about something, especially when it comes to checking off these signature rides.  This is decidedly one of my favorite turnaround spots.  

One other thing:

My camera battery died (again) yesterday, so I took my ride photos today with my phone.  My phone uploads all my photos to my Google+ account, which adds "effects" to a few of them and sends them back to me labeled "Google Awesome."    The original is still saved, so that's not the issue, but who made Google a photo critic?  Just asking.

And for anyone keeping track, today's ride made October the month that I biked the most miles this year.  Looking back at old records, that's only happened to me twice since 2002 -- last year and this year.  It's been an above average October.

A Different Place

The morning walking group took a field trip today.  This may have been the last of our really nice days for a while,  possibly for a very long while.  We left the dog behind this time, and added an old friend of Kelly's and mine to our group.  Joyful worked with us for years and now, retired, lives in Grand Rapids and has a membership to the Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in that same city.  The four of us met there early this afternoon and spent a couple of hours wandering around some of the park's 30 acres, admiring the setting, the weather and the sculptures.  We started with this one -- Charlie's Angels and Joyful for scale.  (The American Horse, by Nina Akamu.)

A very different horse -- it's a bronze, though it looks like driftwood -- sits in a more natural setting along one of the many paths that wind through the park.

I've never been to Paris, but I have now seen a Rodin.  (Eve.)

Jill recognized these as being leaves from a Ginkgo tree.

Less exotic, but familiar to those who've been through the tundra in the fall, a Tamarack.

This massive sculpture is named "Aria."

This grouping was my favorite, though I am not sure why.  Its name is "I, you, she or he."  Stainless steel.

The time flew by, we grew tired--

For anyone who enjoys a sculpture garden, this is a nice one.  And I know how to find it.

Hiking

This will be a little bit different -- instead of blogging about biking, today my exercise of choice was hiking.  It was still done outside, of course -- can't waste an October day, even with gray and overcast skies -- and it was quite a bit warmer than it has been.  Upper 50's.    Pine Bend Park was the starting point for the hike -- it's south of Croswell near the Pigeon River.  The oak leaves are big there this year.

My best guess at the distance we covered (after studying MapMyRide fairly carefully) is about 3.5 miles, round trip.  And since it was up and down hills, and on trails through the woods, I'm going to call it a hike instead of a walk.  (It also sounds more impressive.)

I've done this hike a few times over the years, and it's a nice one.  There are a few trails along the greenway between the parks, but they all circle back to the same places, and it's all well marked.  We took the high road on the way out and the low road on the way back.  (Go ahead and sing a few lines to that song, if you remember them.)

In some places the trail follows the river, plus there are quite a few overlooks along the way.

We had the full team with us today -- and I'm pretty sure none of us enjoyed the outing any more than Jill's dog did.  (Sabrina with the dog we currently call Charlie.  Photo courtesy of Kelly.)

The park is one of a few in the area that does allow dogs, as long as they're on a leash.

Our turnaround point was the bridge at Hemlock Crossing Park, a place where most of you have been a time or two, though always in the summer.  Here Kelly and Jill are making plans to do this every year for the next 20 years.  And yes, they're both quite good at math.

If this isn't nice, what is?

Sensory Overload

It's possible that I'm overdoing this whole autumn appreciation binge that I've been on.... but there is all of this color to see, and it won't wait for me to take a nap. One good rain, one good wind, or a blanket of white will wipe it all out in blink of an eye.

A perfectly shaped tree, silhouetted against the blue sky, in Tunnel Park yesterday morning.

Sunrise over the California people's house.  Who doesn't like a nice sunrise?  And it's at such a civilized hour here at this point -- after 8 am.

Looking out over the top of the hill into our neighborhood at trees lining Lakeshore as they're hit by the early morning sun.  Those golden leaves will all be gone soon.

This may have been be my last bike ride up to the Port Sheldon Party store this year.  Not because I needed those very warm gloves (though I definitely did), but because ----- yes, their season is over.  They're out of Diet Code Red.

So here's a final shot of the north east corner across from the PSPS, in all it's fading glory.  (Regulation stop sign for scale.)  I'd somehow misjudged the length of the ride -- I'd meant to ride out to the old bridge over the Pigeon River, but I was running out of steam when I got to the road that leads back to it.  I skipped it, in the interests of getting home under my own power.  It's not over til it's over, they say.  So, maybe there is still time.  One more week is left in this month, though there is a forecast for the possibility of snow mixed with rain next Friday.  Ah, October.

Outside in October

There was a group ride yesterday, with the usual suspects. Kouw Park was suggested as a destination, since none of us had been there for a while.  Always nice.

"The dog who needs to be walked" keeps the group together, I think.  None of us really truly wanted to walk at 8:00 this morning, except for him.  It was still dark at 7:30, but it was light enough a half hour later to see and to be seen.   Kelly took this photo with her phone at the turn around point.

This is the dog that we currently call Charlie, hence we're "Charlie's Angels."  Seen here with his owner, occasionally known as Jill.  I rather like the halo effect behind them -- seems appropriate given that whole "angel" thing.  And of course, it's another light at the end of the tunnel photo. (Permission to use the photo given by Kelly.)

If my bike log is to be believed, last October I biked more miles than during any other month of that year.  For some odd reason, I decided that I should do that again this year -- and with just 10 days to go in this month, it's no sure thing.  Gotta ride 'em, and all of that.  Anyway, I found myself outside on my bike again today, with a temperature (as reported by my weather app) of 46 degrees at the location in the photo above.  That's getting close to being too cold for me.  Also, what's the deal with the stop sign?  Aren't they supposed to be taller than that?  Bicycle for scale.

Hard Miles

Cold air settled in here last night, giving this area its first hard frost/freeze of the season.  Bonus miles become more challenging when it's this cold, though it is too soon to give up for the season.  I can feel it coming -- that first season ending snowfall is just around the corner.   By noon it was as warm here as the coldest day that I rode on the Angels' Tour in Minnesota -- that was the day we rode around Pike's Bay with the temperature in the low 40's from beginning to end.

Bonus miles give me bragging rights, plus it is good exercise.   Someone once said that there's no such thing as too cold to ride, just inadequate gear -- and  I have plenty of good gear.  October rides are almost always good rides and I'm glad I didn't miss this one.  It will all look different tomorrow.

Rolling past last year's total mileage.

The sun was shining during our morning walk today after several days of overcast and occasional drizzle. Yesterday's ride got cut short so that I could be home for the Generator Man, so my plan for today was to ride north until I got tired, then turn around and go home.  Every day is a little different out there, with the landscape changing so quickly.  This area along Butternut seemed to have a lot of trees that have given up too early.  And obviously the sun had disappeared too early as well. Sigh.

This was the point where I decided it was time to turn around.  I checked my weather app at this point and winds were from the west at 18 mph.  On the positive side, it was 58 degrees.  Practically balmy.

On my way home I met my next door neighbors at the bottom of the hill leading into our neighborhood.  I stopped to talk with them for a while about the remodeling proposal made by the new owners of the house on their other side.  The new people are asking for a slew of variances, including wanting to build all the way up to the property line between their house and our old neighbors.  (Our neighbors are not in favor of that waiver being granted, reasonably enough.)  When I got home, Jill was at my door, looking for me to take a walk with her and some of her northern Minnesota neighbors who are currently visiting her.  She seemed surprised to see me roll in on my bike.  "You biked?  In this wind?"  It's certainly fun to still be regarded as crazy -- at least where biking is concerned.  Hard frost warnings for tonight, highs tomorrow in the 40's.  It feels like I got the timing about right for riding more miles this year than I did last year. (See title of the post.)  From here on all the miles are bonus miles.

Fall Colors

West Michigan trees are not currently as colorful as the trees look on the Minnesota blogs.  Fortunately for the purposes of this blog, our blueberry fields display some vibrant color this time of year.

This was taken yesterday along 152nd -- today's ride was short so that I could get back in time to let the generator repair person in.  Sometimes a back up plan needs a back up plan.  He didn't need to get into the house as it turned out, and he sheepishly explained that when he was here two weeks ago doing the annual maintenance on the generator, he turned off the gas line and forgot to turn it back on.  It was a quick fix, and (we're assuming) no charge.

A Young Labor Force

My very capable grandchildren arrived Saturday afternoon to help us out with some end of season chores.  First up was cleaning up the massive acorn drop that occurred last week.  That gale force wind probably had something to do with it.  They raked up four or five kitchen trash cans full of acorns.  They also mowed the grass and cleaned off the deck.  It was a pretty fall day, though they couldn't agree on whether it was warm or cold.  It was definitely sunny.

It seemed pretty certain that there would be no more stand up paddle boarding this year, so they brought that up from the beach and stored it in the garage.  (We had to re-arrange the garage first, but it all worked out.)

The beach looks a little sad without that orange board lying behind the bush, but it had to be done.  Food was eaten, multiple episodes of Dr. Who were watched, and eventually we took a walk through the woods across the street from Tunnel Park.  ("Walking Grandma" is one of their self appointed responsibilities when they visit.)  They are an enormous help to us.

For them it was a relaxing weekend with their grandparents.  For me, well -- let's just say that I slept well last night.  It's always highly entertaining to have them visit, and the young boy showed me several "tricks" to operating my new phone.  We tried out a few of its quirky features -- including asking it for a good place to hide a dead body.  It seems strange that I can talk to my phone and it understands me, and my phone talks to me and I can understand it.  And none of this has anything to do with the actual phone function.  I wonder what Alexander Graham Bell would think of it.

Today was foggy and overcast, with rain predicted but with none in the area when I left.  I thought about a ride into town, then checked the radar on my phone when I got to the bridge.  Green splotches were showing up just south of where I was, so I cut the ride short and headed back.  Real rain never materialized, but there's a green blob the size of Texas sitting just off to our southwest about now.  That time of year when outdoor activities are limited because of the weather is creeping up on us.  It must be time to start thinking about heading south.

Things to do when you're kinda sorta sick.

I've ridden to Hemlock Crossing Park in October a few times, but it is a long ride, and my limit these days is around 2 hours. I can't ride 26 miles in 2 hours. I can ride 20, though and if I start from Ransom Park instead of home, I can shorten the ride by quite a bit. About 7 miles shorter, as it turns out.

I put Ellie in the back of Thor.  (In English, that translates to I put my bike in my truck.)  I hadn't ridden far before I could feel Wednesday's ride in gale force winds in my sore, aching legs.  In spite of having taken a day off, spending yesterday mostly lying on the couch, trying to recover from my enhanced old person flu shot on Wednesday.

Destination rides have a life of their own, though -- no quitting allowed.  The weather was spectacular, if a bit cold.  These blueberry fields are along 152nd, near Tyler.

A very unfriendly park employee took this photo of me, after I explained that this was an annual tradition, and that I'd ridden here from Holland specifically for this photo.  (She didn't like my bike using her park.)

I refilled my water bottle at the nature center, and continued on with the loop around the north side of the Pigeon River.

This place never changes, but the photo is a requirement of the ride, I think.

I stopped here, too.  Not for long though -- I didn't want to be there when whoever left these behind returned for them.  I'm still claiming to be sick from the flu shot, so to cheer me up, JB drove me over to the cell phone place where I purchased a smart phone.  So I'll never have to wonder what those red bushes are, and stuff like that.  My grandchildren will arrive tomorrow, and help me learn how to use it.  The boy is particularly good at it, and is looking forward to it.  He's "brushing up" on his Android skills.  The college girl congratulated me on my "pimped out" phone.  A bike ride, dinner out and a new phone.  I'm calling it a pretty good day.

Auckland Rule

My claim is that October is one of my favorite months for biking.  The heat of summer is gone along with the tourists, the humidity is low and angle of the sun in the sky makes for interesting photographs.  What I tend to forget is how windy these months are that lie between the hot season and the cold season.  That's what the Auckland Rule is for, though.  (If you don't ride in the wind, you don't ride.)

Monday's ride seemed somewhat hard.  It might have been some left over fatigue from travelling, but I'm going with another explanation -- it seemed hard because it was hard.    My bike log says 52 degrees, cloudy, with winds from the south at 10 gusting higher.  The winds have been blowing out of the south all summer, and there's no good route to the south from here, so inevitably there's a headwind (lake breeze, you know) on the way home.  I took just this one photo on Monday -- a flock of geese in a cornfield. I was on my bike for a little more than an hour and a half.  Tuesday it was 57 degrees and cloudy when I left, and again the wind was from the south, this time at 15, gusting to 22.  I stuck it out for a while but headed home after just an hour of riding.  Today the wind machine kicked it up a notch. It was 56 degrees when I left the house, with a wind from the west at 19, gusting to 29.  My morning walking group thought biking in those conditions was an odd decision, and chose to go antiquing.

Still, the sun was out.  And as I tried to explain to Jill and Kelly, west winds are much, much easier to ride in than winds from the south.  There is lots of good biking to the north and I first headed to the  wind shadow from all the trees lining 168th street.  There's enough shelter there that I wasn't sure that the wind was still blowing from the west until I got to the intersections, where it nearly knocked me off my bike.

I rode past the PSPS to Pigeon Lake before turning around.  A ride of a couple of hours, with two sections of a half mile each where I had a head wind.  (6.5 miles per hour on them.)  I checked the weather channel when I got home -- winds were gusting to 37 mph by then.  My life partner commented, "Now that's a ride and a half."  Yes, it was.  But it was my longest ride this week, and the one I had the most fun doing.  October.  My favorite time of year to ride my bike.

On The Way Home -- Part Six (the final installment)

It was time to pack up and head for home.   Time to say good-bye to the charming, rustic cabin in the woods.

We planned to drive back through Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, along the northern route, which is only about 60 miles more than heading south around Chicago when you start from northern Minnesota.  We would stay near the south Shore of Lake Superior and stop to do a few things along the way.  We made it as far as Marquette, Michigan the first day, and stayed at a hotel that backed up to a municipal bike path.  Wednesday was another cold and dreary looking morning, but our bikes were in our rooms and the path was right outside.  One last ride before heading home.

Another light at the end of the tunnel photo op.  Some interesting wall art there, too.

Here's a little piece of information that I might have forgotten before we set off on a direct line to Lake Superior.  Water flows downhill.  It will collect in a pool at the bottom, and Lake Superior is a pretty big pool of water.  Except for one "up and over" a highway, we coasted from our hotel to the water.

This looked like an old ore dock (and another light at the end of the tunnel).

We rode along the edge of the water, through the Northern Michigan University campus, to Presque Isle Park on the headland/peninsula at the end of the bay that shelters Marquette. In spite of the threatening looking sky, we only saw a few sprinkles on the ride.  The ride back to the hotel --- well, yeah.  It was all uphill.  For miles.  And miles.  Gradual, but persistent.  When we got back to the previously mentioned "up and over" we opted for the old fashioned approach.  We skipped the hill and crossed the highway -- waited for a break in the traffic, and ran across the road.  Once again we loaded up our stuff and hit the road.  Destination, Munising, Michigan.  It's a small city of about 2,500 people on the south shore of Lake Superior, and an entry point to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  Kelly had booked three tickets for us on the 2 pm tour boat, the best way to be able to see the lakeshore.

And this is where the battery on my camera died.  The rest of the photos were taken by Kelly on her Smartphone.

The old lighthouse on the island, heading out of the harbor that protects Munising.

Some selected photos along the way.  We saw a little bit of sun here and there, but not much.  It was a great way to see the sandstone cliffs.  Except for maybe a kayak, pretty much the only way.

And so endeth my travelogue.  We had another day of driving ahead of us -- an overnight stay in Mackinaw City and a drive home in the rain the following day.  Home in time for dinner.  It's good to be home, of course!   No place like home, and all that true stuff.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  Many thanks to TT and NCW for being  both gracious and entertaining to Charlie's Angels.  All three of us loved NCW's place on the lake -- it's a treasure.  And if I haven't mentioned it lately, I love my bike.