After the coldest week of the year, I got an email from the printer on Friday that said he had mailed out the PALM applications. On Saturday I received my PALM application: the printer was right, he did mail them. At the nadir of winter, summer begins.
Let me refresh your memory on how this works. When you fill out and mail in your application, you are buying summer. At this point $110 (plus extra for meals) is cheap for summer. I'm sure you would pay $135 or more even, but PALM offers you a bargain. Your check clears in February or March so that by June you bike for free. What could be better: summer and a free bike tour, all for signing up now. (By the way this same reasoning works for buying baseball tickets too. Try it.)
We mail the applications by 1st class mail. The printer has software from the US Postal Service that allows him to pick up forwarding addresses. This means if you don't receive your application by the end of this week (in time for the Super Bowl!) you are probably not going to get one. Email us at palmbiketour@yahoo.com to get a PALM application and to be sure that we have your correct mailing address.
My biking has been pretty sparse lately: I didn't bike in November at all (why?), rode once in December and once in January. I'm going to have to start by finding my bicycle. One thing I can do is take it in to the mechanic to get it ready. If we have a warm sunny day in the next couple of weeks, you'll know that my bike is in the shop. Good thing I have more than one bike.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
More PALM Doings
Last Saturday was a real winter day. I ran in Hines Park and didn't see a single biker: a first for this winter. I did see 2 deer and passed within 20 feet of them. They didn't seem concerned. My brother was in Atlanta on the weekend. The definition of winter weather is different in Altlanta. It got down to the 20's and they had some snow, maybe 1/2 inch. They closed the mall. On the crawl space on the Sunday news they were announcing the churches that would be closed because of the weather. Martin Luther King's church was closed on the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. On the way to the airport, my brother passed by intersections that were cordoned off by police tape: ice in the intersection. My brother was driven to the airport by a guy from Grand Rapids who almost couldn't drive because he was laughing so hard. I wonder how the bikers were doing there.
We had a PALM meeting on Sunday. The sites are coming along nicely. (For Midland one year we had to keep changing the school we were going to stay at. The one we finally got was reconstructing its kitchen and cafeteria when we stayed there. It made the meals interesting, but our site co-ordinator, Bev Totten, worked thru it all. Nothing like that so far this year.) We got a chance to see the tentative route. (The optional century ride of 102 miles will go thru Michigan and Ohio. We tried to get it to go thru Indiana too, but it didn't work out.) The applications are printed. Generally we label and stamp the applications for mailing during this meeting. This year we are having the printer do it. They will be tabbed and mailed at the end of this week. We looked at a mockup of the tshirt in this year's color. It's a dayglo light green and is really bright. When we all wear them for the parade, you should be able to pick us up on satellite. It will make it look like the tour went thru Chernobyl. All in all it was a quiet meeting but it was nice to see everybody.
We had a PALM meeting on Sunday. The sites are coming along nicely. (For Midland one year we had to keep changing the school we were going to stay at. The one we finally got was reconstructing its kitchen and cafeteria when we stayed there. It made the meals interesting, but our site co-ordinator, Bev Totten, worked thru it all. Nothing like that so far this year.) We got a chance to see the tentative route. (The optional century ride of 102 miles will go thru Michigan and Ohio. We tried to get it to go thru Indiana too, but it didn't work out.) The applications are printed. Generally we label and stamp the applications for mailing during this meeting. This year we are having the printer do it. They will be tabbed and mailed at the end of this week. We looked at a mockup of the tshirt in this year's color. It's a dayglo light green and is really bright. When we all wear them for the parade, you should be able to pick us up on satellite. It will make it look like the tour went thru Chernobyl. All in all it was a quiet meeting but it was nice to see everybody.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Bike Things in January
Just what can you do involving bikes in January? More to the point, what can I possibly blog about in January when the PALM is going to be June 21 - 27? One thing saving me this week is Adventure Cycling. They send out an email every couple of weeks with little blurbs about biking (and links to the complete stories). Click here to sign up. This issue had stories about two friends who turned their couch into a bike and a Congressman who bikes in Washington DC. (Hey, in January I'm easy to please.)
Another thing I did was to sign up for the West Michigan MS 150. This year it's being held on May 31-June 1. This won't give me much time to get ready. I first did the PALM to get ready for the Mid Michigan MS 150 which is held in the middle of July. Now it looks like it will be the other way around. It's a pledge ride that has 89% of the pledge money collected going to their programs: a good percentage.
What else to do in January? How about a 4-H potluck? There is a 4-H club on McClellan in Detroit. (Check out Mapquest to see where that is: you would be surprised.) The Garden Resource Program sponsored a potluck there to announce their plans for the new year. They weren't able to mail out flyers and only made a few calls. They expected maybe 20-30 people. They got about 70-80. People are ready to garden now. This is a program to promote family and community gardens in Detroit as a source of fresh vegetables. Did you know that there are no grocery chain stores anywhere in Detroit and that for most of the city the nearest grocery outlet is a gas station? That's what the Garden Resource program is trying to address. Click here to see what I'm going to get for $10.
Another thing I did was to sign up for the West Michigan MS 150. This year it's being held on May 31-June 1. This won't give me much time to get ready. I first did the PALM to get ready for the Mid Michigan MS 150 which is held in the middle of July. Now it looks like it will be the other way around. It's a pledge ride that has 89% of the pledge money collected going to their programs: a good percentage.
What else to do in January? How about a 4-H potluck? There is a 4-H club on McClellan in Detroit. (Check out Mapquest to see where that is: you would be surprised.) The Garden Resource Program sponsored a potluck there to announce their plans for the new year. They weren't able to mail out flyers and only made a few calls. They expected maybe 20-30 people. They got about 70-80. People are ready to garden now. This is a program to promote family and community gardens in Detroit as a source of fresh vegetables. Did you know that there are no grocery chain stores anywhere in Detroit and that for most of the city the nearest grocery outlet is a gas station? That's what the Garden Resource program is trying to address. Click here to see what I'm going to get for $10.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sunny Day
Yesterday was one of the rare sunny days in SE Michigan in winter. One year it was so bad that the local TV station featured a sunset on the 11:00 news because there had been a record low amount of sun for the month. (I think that December only had 6 hours of direct sunlight.)
On sunny weekend days you have to go outside. How can you prove to yourself that everything is not just shades of gray? One way is to go to Eastern Market. It's open 6 days a week year round, but Saturday is the big Market day. There is a lot of construction there now, but two sheds are open. Bring a lot of ones. Everything on Saturday costs $1. There were a lot of cameras and a lot of languages being spoken.
I almost went on a bike ride. I would have had to wear everything that I had, but in the sunlight I could do it. Instead I worked on PALM and I want credit for it. I added the site pages (in their unfinished state) to the web site. I also made the changes to the registration program. (It's 2008 now, not 2007. We have a jersey this year and the registration and bus fees have changed.) I also changed the text on the confirmation letter. Once again I had to remember how Mail Merge works in Word. Fortunately I complained about this in a blog entry last year. I used the blog entry to help me to do the changes.
The next PALM meeting is Jan 20. If things go well, the applications will be printed. They are not scheduled to be mailed until Jan 25 because I thought that the meeting was on the 27th. Ah, well. I let you know when the applications are actually mailed (by 1st class) so that you can keep an eye out for them.
On sunny weekend days you have to go outside. How can you prove to yourself that everything is not just shades of gray? One way is to go to Eastern Market. It's open 6 days a week year round, but Saturday is the big Market day. There is a lot of construction there now, but two sheds are open. Bring a lot of ones. Everything on Saturday costs $1. There were a lot of cameras and a lot of languages being spoken.I almost went on a bike ride. I would have had to wear everything that I had, but in the sunlight I could do it. Instead I worked on PALM and I want credit for it. I added the site pages (in their unfinished state) to the web site. I also made the changes to the registration program. (It's 2008 now, not 2007. We have a jersey this year and the registration and bus fees have changed.) I also changed the text on the confirmation letter. Once again I had to remember how Mail Merge works in Word. Fortunately I complained about this in a blog entry last year. I used the blog entry to help me to do the changes.
The next PALM meeting is Jan 20. If things go well, the applications will be printed. They are not scheduled to be mailed until Jan 25 because I thought that the meeting was on the 27th. Ah, well. I let you know when the applications are actually mailed (by 1st class) so that you can keep an eye out for them.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Something Besides Winter
I noticed that all I seem to talk about so far this year is winter. Granted we are not friends, I've got to have something else going on besides winter weather, especially since it's been 60 degrees the last couple of days. You will be glad to know that I proofed the PALM 2008 application and routed it and the spreadsheet containing the mailing list to the printer. They will print it next week and are scheduled to mail it out January 25. Scheduled, notice. Last year we had an ice storm and the printer didn't have electricity. Opps, I'm talking about winter again.
Now that I'm done with the application, I can work some on the web site. Andy Vast-Binder used MapMyRide to map out this year's route. Go to the web site and check it out. Click on one of the mileages for this year's ride (they are links) and a map of that day's ride will pop up. Very cool. Thanks, Andy.
We are finally mailing out the 2007 ride photos (on a DVD) to all the people who ordered them on the ride. When I get mine, I'll upload it to Flickr and add a link to it to the web site. I also have a CD of photos from Bill Richardson that I can add. That should keep me from looking outside.
Now that I'm done with the application, I can work some on the web site. Andy Vast-Binder used MapMyRide to map out this year's route. Go to the web site and check it out. Click on one of the mileages for this year's ride (they are links) and a map of that day's ride will pop up. Very cool. Thanks, Andy.
We are finally mailing out the 2007 ride photos (on a DVD) to all the people who ordered them on the ride. When I get mine, I'll upload it to Flickr and add a link to it to the web site. I also have a CD of photos from Bill Richardson that I can add. That should keep me from looking outside.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Parking Fee at Sterling State Park
This year's PALM ends in Monroe. The last time PALM ended in Monroe the end site was Monroe Community College. It was nice, there was plenty of parking, but it was about 15 miles from Lake Erie with no easy way to get there. We had our usual parade but it circled around campus. We like to go from Lake Michigan in the west to water in the east. Most of the time the optional route on Saturday takes you to Lake Michigan so that you can dip in your tire at the start. Generally the end site is within easy biking distance from whatever water there is so that you can dip you tire at the end. (Last year the water was the St. Clair River. It was beautiful but you would have had to tie your bike to a long rope and lower it over the sea wall to be able to dip your tire.)
Monroe also has a State Park, Sterling State Park. It's this year's end site for PALM. It's been newly refurbished, is the only State Park that has access to Lake Erie, and is big enough to have a parade in it. However it is a State Park and Michigan is in a budget crunch. Cars have to pay an entry fee: $6 for residents (ie cars with Michigan plates), $8 for non residents. So whoever picks you up will have to pay to do it. If you are planning to take the bus to New Buffalo on June 21 so that your car will be there at the end of the ride, you will need to pay for weeklong parking. Specifically you will need a annual MVP: $24 for residents, $29 for non residents, and $6 for senior (65 and over) residents. This will allow you access to all of Michigan's State Parks for 2008. That will be good for me. I live in Michigan and plan to take the bus to the start. It's not so good for non resident riders. See here for the official State Park fee information.
One way to avoid this parking fee is park at the start site in New Buffalo and take the bus back there on June 27 at the end of the ride. There is no parking fee but the buses get back to New Buffalo at about 6:30 and you will still have to drive home. For me the prospect of having to drive back home in SE Michigan starting at 6:30 after a week of bicycling is too daunting.
Monroe also has a State Park, Sterling State Park. It's this year's end site for PALM. It's been newly refurbished, is the only State Park that has access to Lake Erie, and is big enough to have a parade in it. However it is a State Park and Michigan is in a budget crunch. Cars have to pay an entry fee: $6 for residents (ie cars with Michigan plates), $8 for non residents. So whoever picks you up will have to pay to do it. If you are planning to take the bus to New Buffalo on June 21 so that your car will be there at the end of the ride, you will need to pay for weeklong parking. Specifically you will need a annual MVP: $24 for residents, $29 for non residents, and $6 for senior (65 and over) residents. This will allow you access to all of Michigan's State Parks for 2008. That will be good for me. I live in Michigan and plan to take the bus to the start. It's not so good for non resident riders. See here for the official State Park fee information.
One way to avoid this parking fee is park at the start site in New Buffalo and take the bus back there on June 27 at the end of the ride. There is no parking fee but the buses get back to New Buffalo at about 6:30 and you will still have to drive home. For me the prospect of having to drive back home in SE Michigan starting at 6:30 after a week of bicycling is too daunting.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
More Winter, Request for Help, Application Update
Last Thursday was the first cold day this winter. I consider any day that has a temperature below 10 as a cold day and it was 6. But winter is only starting since I still have tomatoes from the summer that I've wrapped in newspaper until they ripen. (Or rot. It's about 50/50.) On these short, gray days I'm losing the summer. I need to add a page to the web site that describes the 2007 PALM, but I need help. I remember that we started off with three hot days and then had a day of rain. I remember that I missed a turn on the first day and ended up doing the Saturday optional (17 miles) and then having to do the full Sunday ride (48 miles plus a 6 mile detour because of construction). The optional was beautiful, but it was a real letdown to arrive back at Spring Lake in the afternoon and realize that we had the whole ride ahead of us in the heat of the day. I also remember Elsie and the giant Elsie the Cow in the town square. (A family from Wisconsin did point out to me that perhaps Elmer would have been a better name. Hey, I'm a city kid.) I don't remember enough. I need your help. Could you send me some memories you have of PALM 2007 so that I can include them?
I've gotten the proof of the PALM 2008 application back from the printer and I'm reviewing it. I'm hoping to be able to fax back corrections to the printer on Monday. I hope I'm catching all the typos and the changes that I should have made. Do you know how hard it is to proof a release? You actually have to read it and more than once. Solitary would be better.
I've gotten the proof of the PALM 2008 application back from the printer and I'm reviewing it. I'm hoping to be able to fax back corrections to the printer on Monday. I hope I'm catching all the typos and the changes that I should have made. Do you know how hard it is to proof a release? You actually have to read it and more than once. Solitary would be better.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Winter and Bikes
In my last post I said that in Michigan biking was a 7 or 8 month activity. I have to make a correction. For me biking in Michigan is a 7 or 8 month activity. Last Saturday I was running on Hines Drive (since for me at least, running is a 12 month activity) and I saw bikers, at least 20 of them. I saw more bikers than runners or walkers. It looks like biking is a 12 month activity after all.
In my last post I also touted the First Dozen ride in Dearborn. I'm going to be more careful in what I say. There was a winter storm on New Year's Eve in Michigan. I drove home from visiting with friends at 1:30 AM, taking M59 and Telegraph and it wasn't a pretty. But because I talked about it, I now had to do the First Dozen. The mayor of Dearborn (who lived 2 blocks away) was supposed to start us off, but he was a no show (not an election year for him). Since my wife didn't talk up the First Dozen, she could stay at home like a sensible person, but not me. There were about 100 people there and the roads were 95% clear. Still some slush but no black ice - better than I deserve. I didn't need sunscreen and, with the snow sticking to the trees, it was a winter wonderland. I hadn't ridden my mountain bike in months. (The air pressure in my tires was 20 when I went to pump up the tires.) When I tried to use the gears on the back wheel, they didn't work. I could only shift the front chain ring. Fortunately SE Michigan is flat and a couple of gears spaced far apart sufficed But boy did my toes get cold.
In my last post I also touted the First Dozen ride in Dearborn. I'm going to be more careful in what I say. There was a winter storm on New Year's Eve in Michigan. I drove home from visiting with friends at 1:30 AM, taking M59 and Telegraph and it wasn't a pretty. But because I talked about it, I now had to do the First Dozen. The mayor of Dearborn (who lived 2 blocks away) was supposed to start us off, but he was a no show (not an election year for him). Since my wife didn't talk up the First Dozen, she could stay at home like a sensible person, but not me. There were about 100 people there and the roads were 95% clear. Still some slush but no black ice - better than I deserve. I didn't need sunscreen and, with the snow sticking to the trees, it was a winter wonderland. I hadn't ridden my mountain bike in months. (The air pressure in my tires was 20 when I went to pump up the tires.) When I tried to use the gears on the back wheel, they didn't work. I could only shift the front chain ring. Fortunately SE Michigan is flat and a couple of gears spaced far apart sufficed But boy did my toes get cold.
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