Simply Cycle

Quick trip to see friends

2026-08-17T08:37:00.919-07:00

Most of June and July was eaten up with some home improvement rather than cycling adventure but I did take a bit of a trip to my hometown of Galesburg, Ill. It's on the rail lines so I learned long ago that the train ride is better than driving through Chicago.

I rode the Brompton to our station and, after playing with my tablet for a couple hours on the train, camped out in Union Station for a couple hours for the train change.

I was sitting watching hundreds of young women fnding their way through Union Station dressed in very suggestive, revealing outfits.

There were so many I began to wonder if there was a hooker convention in town.

Darn, no such luck, Lollipalooza was going on in Grant's Park. These were the suburban chicks dressin" up for the day and catching a train to avoid traffic.

Oh well, thanks for the eye candy girls!

I went on my way to Galesburg, Il. where I spent an evening with a group of high school friends for drinks and dinner. We had a night of plasant remembrance and catch up on our grand kids and golf scores. A number asked abut my cycling and were incredulous that I continued to ride as I do. My only answer is that I can because I do. Of course at my age it's easier to ride 50 miles than get off the couch. I'm glad people thought far enough ahead to organize an evening together.

I can't ignore the craziness of the bike news the past couple weeks. The goofball in charge of DOT has declared bike lanes to be DEI and withdrew future funding. Now this is stupid on a couple levels. Bike lanes have nothing to do with race or gender (the subject of DEI policy) but it's even more ludicrous than that. There are 10's of millions of cyclists in this country (I've heard as much as 70m), the vast majority of whom, based on my 50 years of experience, are white men. I thought these Bozo's were advocating the interests...oops! I'm sorry, the SACRED privileges of white men. It looks like, once again, the administration has stepped on a rake and bonked themselves in the face.

Summertime

2026-07-10T09:37:52.464-07:00

May and June got eaten alive by minor remodel projects. Glad that's over and I can get out for a little bit of recreational riding. I visited some of the ongoing upgrades to our local non-motorized infrastructure.

A new trail is under construction along the east and south sides of Austin Lake which is going to connect the Vicksburg trail to the Portage trail system. That connection has been 10 years in the process between construction delays and property issues. It looks like a great project through a small forested area which will be a boon for both communities.

Portage is also continuing with the diet and redesign of the business area on Portage Rd between Centre Ave and Bacon Ave, which will slow down the dragstrip and improve access to the retail business between Austin and West Lakes. That has been kicked around for at least a decade and will be finished this fall, finally.

Also, work is ongoing on Westnedge south of Centre avenue in conjunction with some water main replacement which will upgrade the street configurations and extend the existing cycling infrastructure. That is planned to be complete this summer.

Also, in Kalamazoo, we are finally scheduled to see the road diet on Portage St south from the Edison neighborhood to Cork St. That piece of the puzzle was planned years ago but got snaffued by a bureaucratic glich. In my opnion it should be more, but I'm glad to see it happening.

The KRVT is finally going to extend from Galesburg to Augusta and is intended to be complete before the snow flies again.

A lot of good things are happening to develop our network of cycling infrastructure, it feels like we're constantly crawling uphill, but things are getting done. The powers that be see the need and are developing a real network of cycling along with all the other road projects.

Google's view of our cycling network (the green lines) is way behind the times

compared to the reality on the ground today.

Our local MPO has an interactive map of the projects planned for the coming year, hopefully other areas have the same available across the country.

Worlds of Fun

2026-04-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

March in Michigan is like a really moist roller coaster,

we went from single digit temps

to robust sunshine and fifty degrees

back to the freezer

back to summertime warmth and listening

to the wetlands waking

onward to bask in the sunshine

with the daffodils rising in the background.

Maybe we've reached the end of the ride

and won't have to worry

about snow tires for a while.

It's time to enjoy some longer rides

and plan some adventures.

Disappointed at winter

2026-03-04T03:11:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, I was golfing with a guy who's a climate denier (golf draws people like them). When he brought it up I said, "When I was in college in the 70's I was seeing articles and papers published by scientists predicting the horrible things that would happen if we continued developing fossil fuel usage. The odd thing is that things are occurring EXACTLY the way they predicted." He said nothing.

Winter started a little early

with a whopper of a storm that put a strain on us

but no problem, it just went away.

Things became a day to day wonder of

cold, warmer, colder, warm, snow, ice and on and on.

Being in Michigan I've grown used to snow on the ground

mid-December to mid-March not this intermittent tease.

That leaves us no opportunity for skiing.

Then to finish January we were slammed with five days

of continuous snowfall.

Street crews couldn't couldn't keep up,

2" studded snow tires wouldn't cut it.

It took more than a week to carve paths out of the street.

Then, two feet of snow went away,

we started seeing grass peek through the snow.

I took the studded tires off the Brompton

and got out the springtime bikes early. I'm being optimistic,

the weather might be screwed up,

but it looks like an early spring.

Maybe it's not climate change, but I hear

that armadillos have migrated north into Indiana.

Crazy clothes

2026-01-29T02:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, we got here,

and after one of the worst weeks of snow I have seen, we're gonna be here for a while. I don't care what the sacred groundhog says, I live in Michigan and we will have winter for 6 or more weeks. Now we get to hear all the chatter about how hard it is to dress.

"My winter kit has more layers than a wedding cake." --Bike Push

"In the winter it takes 30 minutes to dress for a 60 minute ride."--some anonymous guy on Facebook.

It's hard to even imagine what they are going through. I don't go on any fitness expeditions in the winter, but I do ride nearly every day for some reason What would normally be a twenty minute ride in city side, can turn into 45 minutes if the streets are in bad shape.

The only extra layer I wear is

long underwear beneath the slacks.

That's it.

When it's time to mount up, I wear a winter jacket and gloves or mittens.

The biggest challenge I face is overheating. It works a little like this; I walk to the garage thinking "I'm out of my f...ing mind!" Three blocks from home, I'm zipping down to get cooled off a bit. In the worst of weather I wear a neck gaiter to pull up over my ears and face a bit. The other day I rode like that INTO an -11 windchill without any discomfort. All you need is enough to protect from the wind and lock the body heat in.

But the rest of the world, sees it like this.

Still tweesoning

2026-01-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

It was only a couple of weeks ago that winter hit and made things

a pretty early mess,

Fortunately the parks department was better at clearing the trails

than the city at plowing streets and sidewalks.

Then we enjoyed an early spring, it all went away. I was having lunch at an outdoor table while riding around shopping Xmas Eve.

Rode my Yves Gomez (on regular tires) for a few days.

I ran across this on a magazine rack while shopping. I didn't buy one

but it's encouraging to see something about bicycling at Barnes and Noble

that doesn't involve electronics or plastic.

It is the end of another year, and the weather changed immediately, after Christmas we've had snow every day until now. We're back to begging for snow plows, new ways to avoid traffic and hoping for a couple months of ski season.

We should know what we have for a couple months.

Happy New Year!

'Tis the tweason!

2025-12-02T07:13:00.000-08:00

It's another one of those damn times in Michigan. Daily seasonal changes become a season of their own and happen a couple times a year. The November tweason means it's sunny, cloudy, foggy, rainy and snowy in a matter of hours and we just have to adapt because it will change soon (fifteen minutes according to legend).

But real winter is around the corner which turned into NOW this year. It's enough to send the spandex hamsters to their spin classes and video cycling. I'm spending the Thanksgiving holiday giving the bikes a cleaning and tuneup before putting most away for a few weeks,

The Park Tool Cyclone cleans my chains. I've seen many internet "experts" claim that this gadget simply does not work. My question is; If it doesn't work, why is it full of grease and grit when I'm done? I don't normally worry about getting my hands dirty but the gloves keep my fingers warm when the garage temps are in the twenties.

The brakes on the Soma needed adjustment and it's a simple method to use a small clamp to hold the pads to the rim. Then adjust the barrel adjusters to about 50%, loosen the cable bolt, pull the cable taut, re-tighten the cable bolt, remove the clamp and loosen the barrel adjusters until you have exactly the brake tension you like. There is a tool called "Third Hand" to hold the caliper, but I found the clamp works better since it's adjustable, the Third Hand is not.

It seems a bit early, but I'm swapping the regular tires on the Brompton for the studs. It's possible we'll have snow and ice on the streets until March, so err to the cautious side. Now I can choose between the winter beater with 50mm studs and the Brompton with it's 32mm studs. the Riv's and Soma will rest in the rafters until we get a thaw.

That wasn't the best way to spend a holiday weekend, but I am several weeks ahead and ready for any day that gets warm.

The old days are still here.

2025-10-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

I think is had been pre-Covid since this group of vintage bike enthusiasts had gotten together for a ride. It had been nearly an annual thing to ride the White Pine Trail from Grand Rapids for a 40 mile trip to Sand Lake and back. But Tom Parker was the one to motivate 16 of us to get together for a mid day ride through the trees of Michigan.

We started from Dwight Lydell Park in Comstock and rode north casually along the trail, there was plenty to talk about as the season ended. Everybody was an experienced rider who had been around much longer than their vintage bikes and most of us agreed it's easier to ride 50 miles than get out of a chair after watching TV.

The beauty of riding the trails is the availability of pit stops

and plenty of reasons to stop along the way.

There was a lot of great gear to admire

but the show stopper was the new custom

Grand Boise which Tim Potter brought,

built by a small shop in Kyoto Japan. It's a beautiful green metallic with

every classic nut, bolt and proven technic meticulously in place.

We stopped along the river in Rockford for a group photo on the way home.

At the end of the road we had lunch at Nick Fink's bar,

storied to be the oldest in Michigan.

Conversation there led to tales of racing triumphs and jokes about the failures in years past. It seems everybody else took up cycle racing somewhere in their early days. After a while Tim Potter(knowing the answer) asked me if I had ever raced "back in the day. " I said, "No, I've never thought of cycling as a competitive sport."

Empty silent stares,

After a few moments I explained that I started in college when I was so busy with classes and a job I needed some recreation that blended into my schedule. "It's just a fun way to go places."

More empty stares.

It always happens that way, but I am always a little surprised.

Old and new

2025-09-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

September took off well., Jim Townsend organized a four day ride through trails in West Michigan. Five of us showed up for this credit card trip of CV enthusiasts. They tolerate me and my faux vintage Rivendell.

The five of us met at Jim's house near Sand Lake for a wonderful breakfast served up by his wife. Weather was cool at the start but it was a damn nice day on The White Pine trail to Cadillac Michigan.

So, we had a bunch of crazyoldguysonbikes taking their time on a trail. I was the only one who had ridden 50 miles or more in a day this year, so there were plenty of scheduled and unscheduled stops along the way.

The trail is in great condition except for a 10 mile stretch between Big Rapids and Reed City where the roots were rebelling and trying to break the asphalt. It was a teeth chattering experience on 35 mm tires the guys riding skinny tires must-have been

suffering. Jim said it was like riding 10 miles of rumble strips.

We did meet a couple visiting the trails around Cadillac. They'd been traveling the country, living the camper life and camped in Cadillac for over a week while their truck got repaired.

We did make to Cadillac in time for dinner. At 73, I had ridden my age so I assume the rest did also. The subject of cramps came up (surprise!),I mentioned I relied on V8 juice as a preventative, Dan mentioned that a mustard packet would cure cramps in action. I'd never heard of that, but I trust them.

We had expected rain for day two, and we got it, lots of it. The temps were warm enough that we weren't uncomfortable, and what is a rainy day without a flat tire? We got to Reed City in time for a great lunch buffet at the local Pizza joint. Dan's wife drove up to get us there so our trip was over. The others continued on for two more days of fun.

There's synchronicity in this world! The following day I went out to get my hair cut

And found this reminder on the bike rack.

And,there's more promise for the future. When I went to work for the for first time of the school year, I found the bike racks full. I'd never seen that before but it makes some sense.

These are kids who learned cycling in middle school PE class. Thanks to Specialized providing bikes and funding, they learn to use modern bikes that actually fit. Maybe there's a new generation of crazyoldguysonbikes in training.

Beatin' Heat

2025-08-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

This month has been a deadly scorcher. August is usually hot, but weeks exceeding 90 is rare. My relatives in Florida laugh at me, but here in the midwest, 85F is EMERGENCY TIME!

The asphalt in the city was becoming a bit much, so I loaded the Hunq to take the trail out to the coast for a few days of respite.

It's so nice to pedal through the shade trees for 40 miles to one of the best coastlines in the world.

The tourist town of South Haven provides enough amenities to entertain yourself and cool off for a few days.

I'll leave it for the academics to explain, but we humans never seem to tire of big blue bodies of water.

Traffic on the beaches and in the shops and restaraunts was slow, it was a weekday, mid August, kids are getting ready for school, families are in turmoil, dad's credit cards are maxed out from the summer and everybody is trying to get organized. But I was enjoying the lower traffic on the beaches.

Gear I'm using for camping hasn't changed much, but in the past year I've added a Trangia cooking kit. I was using some small backpacking pans and a Trangia alcohol stove for years. Now, cooking with the full kit has been an upgrade.

The windscreen is a piece of engineering, focuses the heat really well

and the kit includes two pots as well as a non stick frying pan. All this stuff nests together neatly for travel,

it's bulkier than the backpacking stuff, but with it you can put together a real meal. Of course that depends upon what the local groceries have to offer. Most of us know that food can always be found but it's hard work foraging for nutrition at Dollar General.

After a few days of cooling off in the water and watering holes, the ride back was hotter but still enjoyable. I stopped often and didn't get in a hurry to test myself. So it was all a nice break.

The Stable

2025-07-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

N+1 is the formula we all use to justify our bikes. Some of us are figures of blatant American consumerism, some are collectors and some try to explain it as practical. Most bikes have some overlapping abilities and are not really pigeonholed into one specific use. At 73 I'm still riding as frequently as ever if not as fast or as far. but I have developed a collection of bikes purely around the theory (or pretense) of practicality. My bikes are all of the multi use designs, which of course could mean I don't "need" them all, but that's poppycock. "Oh reason, not the need!" screams Shakespeare.

The Rivendell Hunqapillar is a heavy duty all terrain touring bike. Designed by Grant Peterson to be ridden on any terrain and field tested on the Continental Divide trail from Canada to Mexico,it's a wonderful machine that I've ridden thousands of miles fully loaded on self supported tours. It's also good around town, to work, the store and, despite being heavy, I've ridden a number of group rides at 15 mph or better. Riv's are incredibly comfortable bikes. They are famous for their fancy paint jobs and lugwork, but the quality of the ride is what keeps us on them.

After riding the Hunq for a season I HAD TO HAVE the lighter faster version. The Sam Hillborne from Rivendell was the best choice. The basic difference is in the tubing. It's lighter, the geometry is nearly the same, but it sports narrower tires and is not built to carry the load the Hunq will tote. It's a fun everyday bike, and is the bike of choice for charity/club rides or credit card touring. I'm not a fast rider at all, but I've ridden this bike on several metric centuries in less than 4 hours and run with group rides averaging 18 mph. It's only as slow as the rider and good for gravel, asphalt, rail trails, commuting,just about anything.

The SOMA Buena Vista is a modern take on the Mixte frame design. I built it as a brisk cafe racer to ride around town. The nice convenience of a Mixte is being able to step over the top tubes (something you appreciate as you get ah...more mature). This guy gets a lot of activity during the school year going to work.

Rivendell Yves Gomez is another take on the Mixte design. This is my "luxury" city bike. Like the Soma Mixte it's capable of riding a brisk group ride but it's really a classy, comfortable town bike.

The Brompton is the legendary folding bike. I've never had a bike that was easier to ride. It's surprisingly comfortable, this year I rode it in the 5 Borough Tour in NYC. It was 50 miles riding and I was comfortable all day. Folding as it does it's easy to transport by car, train, bus, subway or airline. Every thing considered, it will probably be the last bike I ride simply because it is so versatile, easy to transport, mount and ride. So, I'd like to believe I've reached the end of N+1. For now the selection I have is all I could want, certainly more than I need. But, Brompton did just release the G-Line model...

It doesn't have to be an EPIC trip

2025-06-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

The usual signs of spring have passed

as traffic waits for the annual parades of goslings

crossing city streets from one pond to the next

and those of us on two wheels are treated

to watch mothers extending their families.

I was miraculously spared a tragedy when my bike rack broke in the middle of an urban drag race. The rack and bike tumbled off the car at 50 MPH! 50 or 60 cars managed to avoid the mess in the middle of the road. This could have been a 5-10 car pile up. Traffic was fast and heavy enough that it took several minutes before it was safe to get out of the car. It was several more before I could collect the mess between traffic.

This broken adjustment buckle seems to be the culprit

and this was the only damage suffered.

Steel is real and my Rivendell Sam Hillborne

survived with an admirable piece of "beausage."

I think I'll keep it that way for some sick reason.

So, a week before Summer, we started to ride for the shadows

to escape the heat. My relatives in Florida will laugh

but up here in Michigan 90's is EMERGENCY TIME!

It is unusual to have a heat wave before Summer hits but it's here. I loaded the Hunq to take a few days in the forest. The plan was the usual trip to the Yankee Springs forest, camp for a couple of days and ride the Barry Roubaix route for a few hours.

It all worked out, except for a puncture just before I got to the campground. No problem, I thought, the sealant in the tubes took over, I went to the tool kit for CO2 popped a bit in the tire and rode the last mile or so, No problem, until morning. The tire felt spongy again. Hmm, Probably didn't ride far enough to get enough sealant into the hole. I went to the tool kit again and found the other CO2 cartridges were spent. Damn, I wobbled to the entrance of the campground where there's an MTB trailhead. One of the arriving bikers had a pump I could borrow. I got it up to pressure and figured it would seal as I rode, but I cowered out and took the paved route instead of the gravel to Hastings where the Ace Hardware has a nice bike dept and a 6 pack of cartridges for insurance.

The rest of the day was spent tooling around Hastings which has a nice trail along the Thornapple River. I enjoyed lunch at Walldorr's Brew Pub. It's a rural community

and you don't have to get far from town

to find unusual "pets" in front yards.

The night was good, I left early to avoid the heat and it was still brutal. At 73 I have the right to claim wisdom or maturity, but at any age it's just common sense not to challenge this kind of heat and humidity. I enjoyed the countryside, riding a few miles at a time between shade trees. By the time I reached the Kzoo outskirts the pavement was good for boiling water and the last ten miles was a matter of gearing down and taking it slow. It was a bike trip, it's always different, always fun, always good.

The cosmopolitan bike

2025-05-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

April has gone

Spring has come

trees are flowering all around the Michigan landscape

and it's time to make an escape and see

if the Brompton travels as easily as I imagined.

The wheeled suitcase folds flat to be carried while riding,

or set aside while having breakfast.

It takes about a minute to unfold and wrap around the bike.

Putting the bike into the suitcase is a breeze and having the saddle up through the zipper a bit makes a great handle to navigate through the train stations and airports. Checking it as luggage was simple and cheap as a suitcase. They placed it with the over sized luggage without charging extra.

It handles in the subways easily.

After the planes, trains and subways

I found my way to the center of the universe early Sunday morning

before having breakfast and riding down to Wall St.

for the beginning of the 5 Borough Tour.

Of course the Brommie is right at home

in the most urban of environments.

I was fortunate that Leah Peterson and her sister Heather were coming, they were kind enough to pick up my registration stuff and meet me. I got to spend the ride with two country girls from the wilds of North Dakota

enjoying their transplanted cosmopolitan status

along with 32,000 other like minded two wheelers

taking a trek through Manhattan, The Park, Harlem,

across the East River to the Bronx and further to Queens and Brooklyn.

It's a bit overwhelming to see NYC from the two wheel perspective let alone sharing it with thousands of rolling spectators. The weather was kind, in the 70's with a passing rain shower to cool the crowd.

Despite the size of the group it was easy to manage. People maintained a consistent slow roll and good distances throughout the trip. I'm sure some spandex hamsters were making a race of it but it was largely a huge group of urbanites enjoying the day together.

At 73, I was far from the oldest in the 41 mile ride and the youngest I found was an 8 year old riding with her mother, whom I encountered on final stretch to Staten Island where an army of food trucks waited to serve the after party.

From there, the ferry carried us back to the Battery

and the Freedom Tower.

I'm such a lousy tourist. I made to and from NYC again without a photo of the Statue of Liberty, but the rest of the trip was not without adventure. On the return I managed to leave my hotel in the morning with plenty of time to get to JFK. I rode across town to the stop for the express train to the airport, got off the bike and realized I forgot to bring the suitcase for the bike. I rode back across town, found a hotel manager to let me back in the room to get it from the closet and ride back to the subway station. By then, time was tight. I arrived at the ticket counter JUST in time to be denied a boarding pass. They were kind enough to reschedule my flight, the earliest into O'Hare would land JUST as the last train home would leave Union Station. That led to another night in Chicago, which is something I always enjoy.

Traveling with the Brommie is a real pleasure. I was skeptical about riding 50 miles on it but found it really comfortable. The handlebars give no place to put your hands for variety, but the body position was comfortable throughout the ride, it feels like cruising on the hoods. I still have the original saddle on it. It's good around town, but after a couple of hours started to create chaffing. That wouldn't happen with a Brooks so the Brooks will happen in the near future.

"April is the cruelest month..."

2025-04-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

April always feels like "Are we there yet!" A couple hours at a time we are teased to wear shorts and t-shirts only to go back to long johns and sweaters. "Hope it doesn't rain," is what we cling to every time we choose to ride. A little cold ain't bad, a little rain ain't terrible but together are just plain dangerous.

Of course the puddles and mud give the bike some real character, dirty the way a bike should be. And, it's still a relief from the ice and abominable snow tires.

Turkeys are brave near the trails but scamper off to the safety of their natural camouflage. They go off in a huff, at the sight of an intruder on "their" trail.

We get to welcome a new trail segment which, although only a mile long,

connects an east/west route free of cars

all the way across town.

Streams and ponds are coming awake

and a chorus of frogs is out to entertain.

After last year's tornado devastation

the forest will be in recovery for years

while the early blooms are trying to wave goodbye to winter.

Faux spring again

2025-03-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Groundhog day has come and gone. Punxsutawney Phil did whatever and we laughed and said "Who cares? We live in Michigan, we have six weeks more winter." We plugged along smugly feeling the freedom of our studded tires safely leading us though the icy streets and trails.

Six weeks have come and gone the snow stopped,temps warmed. After trudging through snow on the abominable snow tires for months.

the streets let us back on the regular treads. But not only that, I put new shoes on Yves Gomez. After the winter, 38mm Rsne Herse tires feel like floating on soap bubbles, quickly! You can run out of superlatives talking about these tires, they are just the best, unless you buy the extra light casing, then they are bester

Then, of course, there is this. I did say it's Michigan

Winter takes a scornful glance over its shoulder on its way out the door.

I did it again!

2025-01-19T02:19:00.000-08:00

Some people have noticed I writ me another book. Well, really, it's more of a booklet. It'll only be an e-book. That makes it cheaper and easier for more people. this one focuses on the the experiences I've found urban cycling over the past 50 years and the hows, whys and whynots to use a bicycle rather than slump into a sedentary lifestyle around town. Like the first, it'll get under the skin of a few people (hopefully a lot), but if you don't piss somebody off, you're not being honest.

NBD

2025-01-12T03:42:00.000-08:00

New Brompton Day!

I'd been toying with the idea of upgrading my Brompton with a 6 speed model for quite a while. I was in the Chicago dealer (JC Lind) a few months ago and mentioned that. The owner, Jon, told me to do it in the following six months because Brompton is changing the drive train specs and the six speed would not be an option for long.

After looking at the new options, I decided the 6 speed was what I wanted. I kept an eye on their website and snatched up a bargain before it disappeared.

It's the six speed model marked down $200 with $300 in accessories thrown in. I would have liked a different color, but red and black is OK. In fact it looks pretty sharp for the strange bucket of bolts that is Brompton. Any way it's January, so the first business was replacing the tires with studs, then rust proofing the frame with Cavity Coater, change the grips and give it a once over with turtle wax.

The first ride was on the snow but I like it. I took it with me to Chicago,

a few days later and the extra range is a real pleasure. The six ratios are reached by way of a 3speed IGH with two external cogs. So. It's a 3 speed hub with a high and low range. The range is selected with this curious derailer.

With the 6 speed the range is 33-100 gear inches compared to the 3 speed range of 47-85.

Although the gear selection isn't really needed in Chi-Town, I leaned to the lower range riding the heavy, slow studs in the heavier icy sludge on the streets.

It was a sunny winter Saturday in the Loop and people were out and about making use of the cold at the Millennium Park skating rink.

By the time I returned home from the city, it was a dark winter night for the ride home and the optional light I'd gotten for free proved itself. Not only is the 500Lm light (made for Brompton by Cateye) penetrating on a totally dark icy street, Having it that low to the ground over the 16 inch wheels provided details that really enhanced the safety for the few miles home.

A new bike in January is tough to deal with, it just looks at you like a puppy waiting to go for a walk, but it will be held to grocery-getting until I take the studs off. "It'll only be a few weeks, I promise."

Baby, it's cold inside!

2024-12-23T02:23:00.000-08:00

So we had a cold snap a week or so ago. It's Michigan, it happens, like for months sometime. Temps were down in the teens, wind chill in single digits. Schools were closed one day but not the next. I went to work and back without any discomfort. Winter jacket up top and base layer under my slacks and was perfectly comfortable.

After work, I had an appointment and two quick errands to run. The streets were still frozen, icy and rutted, the temps in the teens and it was getting dark early. I decided to drive my car in the evening. Sitting in the car, in the same clothes, I was freezing and shivering. In and out of the car, bundled up as I was while riding my bike, I was totally uncomfortable while I was perfectly comfortable riding my bike in the same temps and clothing. Sitting to go places ain't good. Biking is the warm cold weather sport.

Leelanau Harvest

2024-09-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

I was waiting and waiting to see if the weather was going to cooperate and fulfill the long range forecast hope. Hey it worked! I had great weather for a weekend in the woods. The Leelanau Harvest Tour is a charity ride I hadn't ridden. Starting a few miles northwest of Traverse City

on the Leelanau Trail which is also part of US Bike Route 35 following the lake shore from New Buffalo to

Mackinaw City.

We didn't do that, but the trail is a beautifully paved trail to start the ride, cutting through the orchards and vineyards of the Leelanau peninsula.

Dancing ornaments were found

as well as the ripened orchards of the area

until we reached the main attraction.

Lake Leelanau is enourmous and was peeking

through the trees all along the roads.

Unlike the Paw Paw harvest tour

there were more orchards than vineyards

and I missed the fragrance filling every breath.

E-bikers were out gliding through the hilly course,

not with monsterous mountains

but frequent steep climbs.

I'll admit to some conceited smugness as

I pedaled my Sam Hillborne past a number of

spandex hamsters pushing their

crabon crotch rockets up the grades.

It was a windless 40 mile ride through the fruit industry

back to the village of Suttons Bay on the big lake

where a few hundred surviving riders shared

lunch, ice cream and stories.

It was a welcome break from the routine and another

night in the woods by the lake at Interlochen.

A couple good books

2024-08-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

I managed to squeeze a couple good books about cycling into my frantic summer reading schedule.

The first was Camageddon: how cars make life worse and what to do about it. The author, Daniel Knowles, is a journalist who lives in Chicago. Thanks to his globe trotting assignments writing for the Economist magazine, he is able to provide an expansive look at the effect the automobile is having all over the world. His vision compares experiences in cities on every continent.

This very well written book explains effects the automobile has had from Mumbai, to Kenya to Houston, New York and elsewhere. It provides a macro world view of social problems, air pollution and concrete everything that has developed to support the auto industry.

The second one is The Immortal Class; Bike Messengers and the Cult of Human Power. The author, Travis Hugh Culley, is also a Chicago resident.

His is a more personal, gritty, street level look at urban cycling. A former theater student who needed "A JOB" found his way into the life of bike riding for a profession. It's a beautifully composed story of sweat, confusion and success living and racing on dangerous streets at high speeds.

Carmageddon is a cold blooded analysis of the global insertion of the auto into urban life and the challenges it is creating for the future. The Immortal Class is a shot of adrenaline straight off the street reaching the same conclusions. They're both a pleasure to read.

If you can't trust Google...?

2024-08-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

It was time to get out of the house for a few days, so I wandered up north into the Manistee forest while 3 beautiful days were predicted. It's just a 2 1/2 hour drive to Mesick. The weather charmers were right, it was intoxicating to be outside for a few days.

The location was motivated by the green dotted line you see on Google Maps

It's a bike trail I had seen on the map for years but had never heard mentioned by anybody. It's about 45 miles long stretching from Mesick, Mi. to the coast at Frankfort. There is some charming countryside in the area meandering through Thompsonville and the Crystal Mountain area. So I set out to give it a try.

I found it, and never set a tire on it. It may be an abandoned rail line because the gravel is about the consistency of granite slag used for rail beds. It's rough stuff.

my 45mm tires would have made that some real work.

The sign on the intersection forbids motorized "wheeled" traffic so I assume it's a great place for snowmobiles in the winter time and probably a commuter route for some of the locals in January. But, for bikes I'd give it a big thumbs down. Well, I suppose a hyper competitive, masochist on a fat bike could have some fun with it, but I just don't qualify.

That really doesn't matter because there are miles and miles of well maintained gravel roads winding through beautiful forestland with virtually no traffic. Enough to keep me smiling for a few days.

Day at the beach

2024-07-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd take a trip over to the coast since the weather was spectacular.

The ride on the Kal Haven trail is well known but

the western half has been rejuvenated and resurfaced.

There are several upgrades along the way

with rest areas added to the more scenic spots.

and the surface has been graded and

the packed limestone surface expanded.

Of course you never know who you might meet along the way.

Several smaller bridges have been replaced with steel structures

At the end near SH. They've made extensive upgrades with steel piling along

the Black River and erosion control to prevent dramatic washouts

during the river floods

and despite the local protests, the "iconic" covered bridge has been replaced as well. The campground at Van Buren State Park was overflowing. It's nice to have a modern campground with showers and toilets but it's truck loads of kids crammed together to "experience" the outdoors and rough it in a trailer park.

With the weather as perfect as it could be, the town was en-thronged with tourists. So much that it took an hour to find a seat at a bar to order a burger at 1:30 on a Thursday afternoon. It was in the the 60's during Thursday, so the beachcombers headed indoors and left most of the beach for the grazing seagulls.

It's always beyond beautiful on the coast

and off the coast when taking a few days for the trip.

The temps remained in the 50's to 70's for all three days

which made the 130 miles pedaling a virtual dream.

When you gotta take a break.

2024-07-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

Finally, there were three perfect days in the forecast when I had nothing else to do.

It seemed right to spend a few minutes packing the Hunq and gittin' out of town. With temps in the 70's during the day it was a perfect pedal to the Yankee Springs forest. To enjoy the views,

set up camp,

and pedal a few miles to Yankee Bill's Saloon

where the pizza is sublime, the beer is cold,

and the house was packed with

a live folk singer for entertainment...

on Wednesday!

After a 45 mile day it was a simple task

to sleep really late, and take a nap after breakfast

before going out for a casual ride around the gravel

of the Barry-Roubaix course

meandering through the forests and farms

leading to Walldorff's Brewpub for lunch.

The town of Hastings is tearing up it's shopping district

and renovating the streets which was a pain in the ass

but looks to be quite the improvement when they finish.

I hope they reinstall the sculptures on the sidewalks.

After the break for lunch, the ride back was more

bit's of gravel,back to enjoy the forest

where the wind barely tickled the leaves

creating some color in the trees at sunset

while I listened to the cranes talking things

over across the lake as the sun went down.

It was better to watch the campfire burn

than a presidential debate and I slept well

before the ride home in the morning.

With a mild wind straight out of the South,

it was a testier ride than Wednesday,

a test of patience.

Psychcedelic Platypus

2024-06-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

Elated over her first ever multi (2) day bike ride, Leah Peterson gave me a real life glimpse at her latest Rivendell. It's a purple Platypus, a very purple Platypus,

which she embellished with "oil slick" anodized everything

providing a swirl of color even when sitting still.

Her only disappointment was the rims

which were "too red,"

they were supposed be fuchsia.

(I had to Google that one for clarification)

She's obviously in the wrong era,

Janis Joplin would have loved this bike.

We met to take a ride in the morning before the real heat

hit, neither was aware we'd had a storm.

Wandering through the trails in Portage

we found multiple problems left over night.

But, we meandered our way to Cold Stone Creamery

for ice cream before finishing a hot 20 mile jaunt.

I was disappointed she didn't have

a tie-dyed shirt to go with the bike,

but she made up for it with some

color coordinated gloves.

If you want to see this bike, you'll find

her and her Little Pony

on the nearest rainbow drafting the spirit

of Bill Walton riding his way to an

historical Grateful Dead concert.

Belated birthday ride

2024-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

My 72nd birthday was Thursday and came with two days of steady rain, but the weekend lived up to it's promise of beautiful weather so I took a belated birthday ride. Clear blue skies led me through 60-70 degree temperatures over the Kal-Haven trail on a test ride of the Yves Gomez.

I wanted to see how the new creation felt on a longer ride and South Haven is a nice 50 mile ride from home. The rail trail eliminates any steep climbs, but not the wind and it was a relentless 20-25mph in my face the whole day. It was one of those times when the only choice was to gear DOWN into a comfortable cadence and be patient.

The trail is in great shape for the spring. The eastern half is hard packed and ready to ride. I was concerned over the tires which are city slicks that measure about 33mm wide. They were fine on the eastern end of the trai, the western half has been resurfaced and is, technically, still closed. It looks to me that most work is done, a nice 15 foot surface has been laid and rickety wooden bridges replaced with new steel ones.

There's still a little work to be done

and the surface is really soft.

I found, not only deer, but even deep raccoon tracks. I hope the DNR plans to compact this before it's officially open. Given the soft surface swallowing my narrow slick tires, I bailed out to the county roads where I only had the wind wrestling with me. The bike was fine and comfortable all day but the wind was exhausting all afternoon. It made for one tired rider who did not feel like anything but a dip in the pool and microwave whatever to eat while I vegged out in front of the tube.

In the morning I was blessed with even stronger winds and knowing the trail was not fun I stuck to the roads. Phoenix St. in South Haven becomes CR 388 and leads all the way to Alamo outside Kzoo. I jumped all over that with the wind sailing me down the road.

The sky was so bright even small lakes took on a brilliant blue

and I had a brisk and relaxing ramble through springtime.

It was a good couple days in the saddle. The bike was comfortable through it all, I made a minor adjustment to the handlebars but that's it. The ride home with the wind took 2 hours and 1500 calories less than the ride against the wind.