Eighty hundred more miles?

We wanted to put in a really long ride this weekend. We checked the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society web site to look through their maps for a good ride in the vicinity of Chelsea. We printed out the Dansville 60 map. The route would take us north and west of Chelsea to Dansville (at mile 28.8) where we would stop for lunch at the Wooden Nickel Cafe, then return by heading south and east to close the loop, for a total of about 60 miles.

This time we didn't forget any critical items on our way to Chelsea. We were, as usual pretty slow getting the team moving in the morning and didn't start the ride until just after 10. But who cares?

Rather than park in downtown Chelsea with it's mix of quaint, classic, eclectic, and industrial shops and buildings, we opted for a park on the north side of town, primarily due to the presence of a pair of port-a-johns. And a playground.


The morning temperature was not as low as the last few mornings, but was somewhere in vicinity of 60 F. There had been a wind and a little rain the night before. The forecast for the day was for a NW wind, sunny skies, and high of 75 F. Almost perfect, but I'd deduct a point or two for slightly too much wind.

This ride was generally quite hilly. There were several roads on the route that continually climbed or descended steeply. We were either in low gear climbing at a crawl or screaming downhill. Generally, however, the hills were short, so most of the climbs and descents didn't last long. Here, Cindy and Abbey round a downhill corner at speed.


We were quite surprised to see several flocks of herons hanging out in recently cut corn fields. One flock had about 20 birds. I later learned that I was right to be surprised that herons would be in a corn field - these are not herons, but sandhill cranes. What do I know? I'm no biologist.


These birds were even bigger. Right after passing their runway, we saw one being towed into the sky. I'd like to try a glider ride sometime.


And then there was this flock of turkeys. Quinn seemed convinced they should be turkey vultures (his favorite bird, I think), since we see so many of those soaring the skies while we're out riding. Not much of a picture, but I gave it a shot.


We made it to the Wooden Nickel Cafe. This Cafe is mentioned as a lunch destination in our Road Biking Michigan book (which we haven't been able to find for at least the last month or so). It was also identified as a lunch stop on our map from the AABTS. Last night we tried to look on the web to see if we could find any review of the cafe, or maybe even its hours. All we learned was that in Dansville, 1 out of 87 persons are convicted sex offenders. Hmmm. We went there anyway, using the justification that perhaps 1 in 87 was really representative of the national average, and that they just have better law enforcement and a high conviction rate in Dansville. In Okemos, it's 1 in about 4500. The water tasted funny, the dining area was a little smoky, and the menu was short (very) on vegetarian items, but the waitress was nice and the burgers, fries, and hotdogs, were fresh and hot.


After lunch, heading back to the south, with the wind now behind us as we passed mile 30, we were all feeling full and sleepy. Quinn was feeling so full and sleepy that he started falling asleep. In my mirror, if I tip my head way back, I can see Quinn. I watched his head gradually drop to the side and then twitch back upright, causing the whole bicycle to lurch to the side. I tried to talk to him, but I couldn't get him to wake up. So we pulled over for a few minutes, shed some clothes, drank some water, and he perked up. Soon he and Abbey started complaining so much about needing to pee that nobody was getting any sleep. In fact, between the deep cracks in the road hurting my arms and butt, and the whining kids, I was getting a little grouchy. This too passed once we found an out-of-the-way woodlot where the kids could pee. Soon the road smoothed out, too.

We then stopped at convenience store so Quinn could used the facilities. We got some cookies and water, too. Goofy boy with his Thomas the Train sunglasses, chocolately mouth, and mosquito-bitten cheek. The cookies made everybody cheerful, again.


The rest of the ride was very nice. There were lots of rolling hills, some of which were quite steep around Waterloo. We repeatedly found ourselves climbing in our lowest gear. We were getting tired, too, and I'm not sure tailwind was much help in the forested hills. During the last 20 miles or so, Quinn was keeping a careful count of the miles remaining. He was happy and having fun, but he was also anxious to finish.

Here's a sign for the Harrs.


We ended the ride with odometers at 58 miles. The ride took us about 7 hours, including stops, with an average pace while moving of 11.5 mph. That pace seems really slow when you compare to 18 to 19 mph pace we used to keep with Fish for a Cure MS150 team from NOAA, but it's not a race, it's a family bike ride, right?

Not-so-hilly chilly, Silly. Ride.

Today at Home Depot the kids were fighting over the cart while Cindy and I were trying to pick out some copper fittings for yet another little household project. Cindy turned to scold them, "If you're going to fart..." That's what she said. I think it was some combination of fight and cart. Only a few people heard her. We all thought it was funny.

Yesterday we rode to Mason again. I don't know how many times we've done that ride. Summer must be over, though, because it was cold again. The morning started out in the mid 40s. It took us an hour to bundle up the kids.

My mom gave me a new handlebar bag for my birthday, so now I have easier access to the camera while riding. It's a little hazardous to take photos and ride, but I got a few decent shots. Most of them were at really wild angles because I was holding the camera over my head to shoot behind me.

At the park in Mason, still bundled up:

Here's a nice spot on Willoughby Road where the squirrels can cross without touching pavement:

I'm sure someone can explain why red was such a popular color for barns.

We stopped at our favorite cemetary to take photo of Jack's stone. Anybody remember Jack?

And here's that new handlebar bag. It's a Jandd Handlebar Bag. One of the smallish mountain bags, rather than a big touring bag. I think it will be perfect. Quinn was having such a good time he couldn't quit dancing. Eventually we convinced him to mount the vehicle. This is how it works:

The girls just watch and laugh.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a beautiful Labor Day Weekend. We spent most of it painting the kitchen. The wallpaper glue is finally off and the new paint is on. I'll post some pictures once we have the trim installed.

We took a break from the kitchen to get in a good ride. I'll try to make this a visual presentation rather than write a bunch of the same old words.

Old wounds are healing.



Heading towards Burchfield Park. We've done this just a few times now, and we're getting faster and stronger each time. One short stretch of gravel here. Hawks and turkey vultures everywhere. Quinn loves to watch the birds soar - he usually can tell the difference between the hawks and vultures.



At the park, walking from the restrooms, past the swimming beach, to one of the playgrounds.



This is the other playground. Quinn needed a little help.



Abbey shows him how, but a little later, Quinn did it on his own!



Packing up to go. Abbey always brings a spare pair of shoes so she can play at the parks without lumps of metal on her feet. See the big blue Burley? You can't tell but it has a new bottom bracket up front. The first lasted less than 800 miles, but probably failed because it worked loose. The original chain lasted only 500 miles before it began to wear enough that it wouldn't stay put on the rear cogs. The bikes were less expensive because Burley used some low end parts on the Rumbas. We're counting on the fact that the frames were the same on all the Burley road tandems, and we can replace the cheap components if they fail.



The little blue Burley. See that stack of water bottles?



Usually we pack a lunch, but the cupboards were bare, so we stopped for lunch in Mason.



Here's the park in Mason. Not the best angle to reveal it, but see if you can find the dragon.



A good, long ride it was.

Lake Lansing Crash

Last weekend we did another ride to the north, near Sleepy Hollow, but veering further to the east, to take advantage of the hilly terrain. We had a good ride that was also a good workout. We got rather hot, too, as the morning had started off cool and Cindy and I had worn wool long sleeves, although a thin wool shirt, even if the sleeves are long, isn't as bad as you might think on a warm day.

Towards the end of our ride we dropped into Lake Lansing Park from the north, and stopped at the main playground. There had been a band playing at the outdoor stage and people were everywhere, though most in the process of leaving. We'd stopped to play and snack and pee. By the time we were ready to leave the crowds had thinned, in fact the park was looking empty. We made the decision to pedal out across the sidewalks that traverse the park - we usually walk the bikes through the park if there are many people around. We should have walked them this time, too, because when Abbey and Cindy tried to follow the sidewalk around a sharp corner, their front wheel dropped of the edge and sunk into the sodden ground. They went down immediately. They were moving quite slow, so the bicycle wasn't damaged and their injuries weren't bad, but they did sustain some knee damage.

We were six or seven miles from home, so they had little choice but to ride home. I suppose Quinn and I could have ridden home and come back for them in the van, but that didn't seem necessary. We had some first aid supplies to mop up the blood and numb at least some of the pain. Abbey's skin loss wasn't quite as deep as Cindy's, and I don't think Abbey had as much bruising.

This is how the injuries looked when we got home: