More Spring, More Riding

We are beginning to be able to ride our mid week bike ride consistently now. SE Michigan is flat, but last Wednesday the wind was blowing so hard that we were pedaling up hill on the flats. I'm making progress: I was able to ride 10 miles before my seat hurt. We still haven't riden more than 25 miles and the restrooms on Belle Isle are still not open. I ride by a large community garden on Cochrane just North of Tiger Stadium. It was all tilled up and ready for planting. The rows had already been marked with string.

The Garden Resource Program is underway. We went to a potluck dinner at the 4H Center in Detroit on McClellan south of Gratiot. You know when you are on a street named after a Civil War general that you are on an old street. There were fresh graduates from the Urban Roots program (a nine week program that teaches you all things gardening and community organizing), members of the Detroit Agricultural Network, and humble family gardeners (like me) from all all over the city there, all people with hopes and plans for the summer. I'm planning on putting in a raised bed behind my garage. It has sun, but it also has gravel. I'm supposed to be getting over 100 plants. They got to go somewhere. I know spring is here because I spotted my first neighborhood rabbit. For a gardener, this is both good and bad.

Kevin's New Bike

Anyone who has ridden in a bike event in Michigan knows Kevin Degen, at least by sight. Over the years Kevin and his trike have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities (the Kenny Foundation, MS Society, Make A Wish, etc.) He has ridden PALM over 20 times. One of the few times he missed PALM was when he was riding across the country from California to Washington DC. Having ridden with Kevin, I can tell you that everyone who sees him seems to know him. Having put his trike into his car I can tell you that not only is it old, but it is heavy.

Three years ago the St. Huberts youth group was on the PALM, met Kevin, and saw his bike. They made it their mission to raise enough money to get him a new bike. Some engineers from Toyota met Kevin while riding the MS 150 and volunteered to design it. At about this time last year they presented their first attempt. One of their main goals for the bike was stability, especially in turns. Kevin has taken many spills. He wears protective padding on his elbow because of this. Their design had two wheels in the front and one in the back for stability. But unfortunately when Kevin rode the new bike on a test track, it was apparent that this design wasn't going to work.

Even though they already spent hundreds of hours on the first design, the Toyota engineers were undeterred. They redesigned it, this time with one wheel in the front and two in the back. And last Sunday, they were able present it to Kevin at St. Hubert's. The new model has lots of nice features. It was a feat for Kevin get on his old bike. With the new model the top tube is low, there is a locking front brake, and the seat can be raised and lowered by a switch, making getting off and on the bike much easier. To make the bike more stable in turns (especially right turns) the frame is off center. Kevin rides using his left arm and leg only which means he rides off center. The frame compensates for this so the bike's center of gravity is where it should be for stability. Needless to say the frame was custom built.


The best thing was that Kevin got to take the bike right home with him. He's already has had it out for a 50 mile ride. (My first ride this year was 20 miles, but you know Kevin. ) Bring on summer!

Better Weather

Finally the weather has gotten better and I've been able to get out on my road bike. It was in the 50's last weekend and my wife and I rode both days. You know, sitting on your bike after not doing it for 4 or 5 months makes your eyes open wide, especially the second day. We do a ride with a few friends on Tuesday night and we wanted to check the route. It's a good thing we did: the construction on I75 and I375 is going to make for some changes. We won't be able to go by Xochomilcho's in Mexicantown: Vernor is now a very busy narrow two lane road so getting there is bad and there is a barrier all along Fort Street so you can't make a left turn to get to the much safer Lafayette. On the east side of the route, the Canfield bridge over I75 is being rebuilt so we can't cross there after going thru Eastern Market. We rode the route with detours on Wednesday and it's a little shorter. I'll have to extend the route to go through Indian Village to make up for the lost miles.

We rode on Wednesday this week instead of Tuesday which had the better weather so that I could go to the Cluster 9 Garden Resource meeting. Even though everything still looks mostly dead, I have garlic and chives starting to sprout. The meeting was packed. People want spring bad. It ends up that there are about 64 types of vegetables that can be grown in Michigan and through this program you can get seeds or plants to 41 of them. I haven't started on getting my garden ready. The emerald ash borer has killed some trees behind my house so now I have more sun light. I'm thinking of doing a raised bed behind the garage where there is a lot of gravel. (It may have been an alley once.) And I'm thinking of expanding the garden where I have it now. If I can ride my bike, it's time to stop thinking and start doing.

Forcing a Bike Ride

I've waited all the way thru March for the temperature to get above 50 so that I could ride. It hasn't happened. On Saturday, I couldn't wait any longer. The sun was out and it was in the mid 40's. As far as I was concerned, this was as warm as it was ever going to get to the end of time. I put on everything including a down vest and rode. It was only 12 miles, but hey. The streets had a lot of debris left over from the melted snow so I rode my mountain bike, the one with the big tires, the same one I used the last time I rode when I did the First Dozen. I forgot that I had trouble shifting then. It still doesn't shift right but it did enough to finish the ride. Time to take it to the shop. Thank goodness my other bike, the one that I ride 95% of the time is ready to go.


I didn't have trouble sitting on the bike seat on the mountain bike (but the road bike...) but my legs were sore the next day. You would think that running through the winter would prevent that. It doesn't: biking uses different muscles. Running does help with conditioning. I could use a trainer or a stationary bike but it drives me crazy to stare at a wall when I'm exercising. I don't run inside for the same reason. Going by the same place over and over drives me crazy. So I'm outside with the dark and the cars and the wind chill.

We are at a dead time as far as PALM registration goes. There are still a few applications that have problems that haven't been entered and people can still add/change meals and bus rides thru May. I'm taking the opportunity to add the people who called/emailed us for applications this year to our mailing list. That's about it. Now if I could fill up the time with bike riding...