It doesn't have to be an EPIC trip

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

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..."

     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

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.