14th ride

Today's ride was a good one for where I am in my current state of development. I left just past 7:00 a.m. in still brisk conditions (32 degrees, so I was very glad for my coat and gloves) and rode an 11.5-mile circuit that I'm calling the Carpenter Big Block - up to Eisenhower, then a long stretch east on Eisenhower/Packard to Carpenter Rd. in Ypsilanti, down to Ellsworth, and back home. I had run it once before, back on Saturday morning, April 11, 2008, in 1:57. That was my peak year for fitness and a good year for mileage, as I ran 1000.2 miles in 2008. Today, I rode it in 1:21 (a relatively slow ride of just over 7-minute miles) - interestingly, though, given my relative fitness in 2013 and 2008, I'd judge it to be about equally physically challenging to ride that distance now as it was to run it then. At least I keep building, though, which is all I can expect at this point.

13th ride

Today was another day when I was unable to ride to work. On Fridays, the company that provides and launders our work uniforms (Cintas) picks them up, and since I dress at home, each Friday I carry my uniforms that need to be laundered to Firestone to drop them off. Since I could think of no way to carry them on the bike, I asked Michelle to drop me off today.

Needing to ride, though, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. Each week, I prepare and show the projections at our church (scripture and song lyrics). After this afternoon's Detroit Tigers home opener (a victory over the hated New York Yankees), I rode over to church to prepare the projections, pedaling with my heart singing in joy, and then rode home afterwards. This 6.1-mile round trip was enjoyable in the cool late afternoon and early evening sunshine, and took me just over 37 minutes.

12th ride

Today I was able to get back to my plan of riding to work most days. This morning's ride, brisk (in the low twenties, I believe) at 7:30, but bearable in my coat and gloves, followed my new (slightly revised) route of about two and a quarter miles, which I did in just under 14 minutes. And this afternoon, as it had warmed to 55 degrees with nice sunshine, I was almost too warm in the coat! My route home, of a little over 3.4 miles, took me about 23 minutes, just pedaling nice and easy at the end of a lengthy workday which was more physically demanding than most. The day's ride brought me up to 70 miles for the year - a still measly total, but one which is steadily growing.

It was funny that when I left work, decked out in my full panoply of newly acquired safety gear, one of my colleagues chuckled, "Man, your driving must have gotten worse! Having to wear a helmet and a safety harness now!"

11th ride

Tonight ended up being kind of a comedy of errors. I wore the visibility harness I had bought when I went to get Michelle, and though she restrained herself from an outright belly laugh, she felt that it made me look like a safety guard! By the time the game finished, I drove to Emerson School to pick up Michelle, who had put in a long day of prepping at school (during her break, no less!), and we got home, it was after 8:00 p.m. Then, when I donned my biking helmet so we could attach the mirror to it, I first put it on backwards, totally cracking Michelle up. Then, fortunately for me, she came out with me to help attach the mounting bracket to the bike for the flashing taillight I had acquired. And in the midst of all that, I forgot not only my gloves, but my watch, too. So, even though it was not quite as cold as Monday's 30-degree ride, tonight's 31 degrees was plenty cool enough to convince me to cut my plans for 20 laps in half, accomplishing 10 laps in (presumably) slightly under a half hour, like on Monday.

As I rode, I reflected how this summer, there will doubtless be occasions when, whizzing along on a downhill stretch, the breeze from the speed will doubtless be welcome and feel very good. But tonight was definitely not one of those times.

Change in routine

My friend Doug Tidd, who has gotten me started on cycling, was concerned about my safety, and so, following his recommendations, I made a couple of small tweaks to my routes to and from work. I did not ride to work today, wanting to first pick up some auxiliary gear, but will put these changes into effect tomorrow. These changes are designed to provide me with better riding surfaces, and less traffic to deal with overall (though they are a very slightly greater distance, which is all to the good).

On the way home from work, I stopped and (again at Doug's recommendation) first picked up from REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) a reflective singlet vest designed to enhance my visibility to drivers, and then, from Performance Bike, a mirror to attach to my helmet, and a flashing light to attach to the rear of the bike. I drew smiles from the twenty-something store clerks when I told them, via my laptop -- "I ran until a couple of years ago, but have had to stop now on doctor's orders, due to arthritis. (I find this totally outrageous for a mere 56-year-old!)" With these additions I feel sure that my riding, about which I already felt comfortable, will be much more secure.

As I write, at a little before 4:30 p.m., the Detroit Tigers are playing in the first inning of their second game of the season, another late afternoon contest in Minnesota. Because of this, like on Monday, I will ride laps inside our complex tonight. But whereas on Monday I could only do 10 laps because of the cold (30 degrees) and my not having worn gloves, tonight should be a different story - it is currently 42 degrees on a nice sunshiny afternoon - and I will wear my gloves to ride, so am hoping and planning to do 20 laps.

Rides 10A and 10B

I have decided that I am going to ride to work each day for the next few months, weather permitting. Yesterday I took my old laptop and left it there, along with a cord to charge it, so that I can communicate without having to try to carry a laptop with me on the bike.

So I put this plan into motion this morning. Since I begin work at 8:00, and didn't know for sure how long it would take, I left at 7:15. (At 21 degrees, this made for a brisk and refreshing start to the day, even with gloves and coat.) But the 2.1-mile ride only took about 13 minutes, so in the future I'll be able to leave considerably later.

After work, sticking with my plan after riding in a clockwise direction in order to optimize my traverse of intersections, it made for a somewhat longer ride, about 3.4 miles. I forgot to stop my watch when I got home, fighting both the cold weather and a bit of a breeze, but I believe it was right around 20 minutes.

I had considered trying to do another ride this afternoon or evening, but think now that, given the persistent cold, I'll just let this suffice for today.

The friend who got me started on this new way of life (Doug Tidd) commented that I seemed quite committed to it -- and I'd say that's true, that I'm as committed as I was to running. I want to make it an integral part of my daily activity, and a pathway to help me regain the fitness that has for so long been lacking. (A few days ago, I sang the old "Batman" theme to Michelle -- only changed to "Fatman"!)

9th ride

After having ridden outside last Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I was pleased about the nice little 4-day streak I had going. However, when it needed to come to a halt yesterday because of Easter and my wife Michelle's birthday, that seemed to me to be good reason for it.

Today I looked forward to getting a new streak started. However, it was also opening day for the Detroit Tigers - my great passion. Their first game was in frosty Minnesota, at 3 p.m. Minnesota time - 4 p.m. for us here in the east. This enabled me to finish a pretty complete work day and get home just in time for the beginning of the game, which Detroit won 4-2, playing a pretty good game overall. So, with my heart singing, I went out afterward to ride.

However, due to the length of the game and the rapidly waning daylight, I felt it wouldn't be safe to ride out on the street with no light and no reflective gear. So, I rode laps inside the circle of our condo complex - affording me a good paved surface, minimal (indeed almost no) traffic, and continuous proximity to home should I have any trouble. I had measured it out at 0.4648 miles, and did 10 laps in 28 minutes, for a total of just over 4.6 miles. This strikes me as a pretty paltry effort, particularly in light of the fact that I had hoped to do 20 laps. But I had stupidly gone out without gloves, and with the temperature having dropped to 30 degrees, after the first couple of laps I could barely grip the handlebars - the fire that the game had built in me very quickly cooled off. So, I contented myself (as I often did while running) that at least a small effort was better than none at all.