Wednesday 11/29/2023

2023 Mileage: 4472.4

As it was both cold and windy today, it was very easy to make the choice to ride indoors on our stationary cycle, and I pushed myself to one of my longer rides by watching the 1994 movie Schindler's List.

Watching this tremendously moving film gave me a ride of 40.0 virtual miles in 3:10.

Trailer for Schindler's List

Tuesday 11/28/2023

   2023 Mileage: 4432.4

Today I was extremely glad to ride inside on our stationary cycle, as true wintry weather has descended on us, with a bit of snow last night that stuck to the ground, and a current (3 p.m.) temperature of 28 degrees. While riding, I watched the 2009 Disney animated version of A Christmas Story by Charles Dickens, and this version is well done, indeed. It often made me think of my cousin Richard, as it is a favorite story of his, and many times I have heard him quote some of its memorable lines, such as, "If they would raher die,' said Scrooge, 'they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population, "or, " 'A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December,' said Scrooge."

It gave me a ride of 18.8 virtual miles in 1:30.

Trailer for A Christmas Carol (Disney)

Monday, 11/27/2013

  2023 Mileage: 4413.6

During my ride today, I watched the spectacular science fiction movie Interstellar. All my life I have been a big fan of science fiction, and I first saw this movie in the theater, back when it came out in 2014.

It gave me a ride of 37.3 virtual miles in 2:44.

Trailer for Interstellar

Sunday, 11/26/2023

 2023 Mileage: 4376.3

Friday, since Michelle and I had stayed over at the Holiday Inn in Charlotte after celebrating Thanksgiving with her parents, I got up early and rode 15 virtual miles in an hour in the Fitness Center while listening to the radio, streaming on my phone. Then yesterday, I took the day off, as we were at my daughter Christy's house for most of it, first watching the Ohio State / Michigan game, and then enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving feast that Christy had prepared.

Today I got back into the routine here at home, and rode while watching the 1967 movie The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. I had never seen it before, but there was a reason for my choice. On Thursday, when I watched The Holiday during my ride, one of its characters is a film music composer. During a visit to a movie rental store, he is singing to the friend who is with him, presenting numerous movie classics. At one point he sings the song Mrs. Robinson from this film, and the camera pans over to show Dustin Hoffman, amused, while browsing in an adjacent aisle. This piqued my interest.

It gave me a ride of 22.3 virtual miles in 1:42.

Trailer for The Graduate

Thursday, 11/23/2023 - THANKSGIVING DAY

2023 Mileage: 4339.0

Michelle and I are traveling today, leaving late morning to drive roughly 100 miles to have the holiday with her parents. Because of this, I knew I'd need to ride early today, and so climbed on our stationary bike at 6:15, riding while watching a charming romantic comedy to which Michelle introduced me a few years ago, The Holiday.

This gave me a ride of 25.9 virtual miles in 2:11.

Trailer for The Holiday

Wednesday, 11/22/2023

  2023 Mileage: 4315.1

Kicked off the holiday season today by watching the movie Elf during my indoor ride.

This gave me a ride of 18.0 virtual miles in 1:31.

Trailer for Elf

Tuesday, 11/21/2023

 2023 Mileage: 4295.1

Our cold continues, and today it is compounded by the joy of rain, so it made it an easy call to ride inside today. While spinning the pedals, I watched the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, whose timing seemed perfect, as it opens in New York City 2 days before Thanksgiving.

This gave me a ride of 20.1 virtual miles in 1:32.

Trailer for Planes, Trains and Automobiles

116th outdoor ride of 2023 - Monday, 11/20/2013

 2023 Mileage: 4275.0

To call today's ride disappointing would be an understatement of monumental proportions.  I went out at 12:30 intending to ride my usual route of about 13.6 miles. However, it was cold (41°) and windy (about 13 mph), and I was not prepared for this either mentally or in terms of wardrobe.

Accordingly, I altered my plans and decided I would just ride a round trip to Marsh Park. But as I got started out (and this is highly embarrassing to admit), I could not even meet that challenge, and so settled for a ride which was almost nothing -- a little two-mile loop that Michelle and I walk sometimes, and call the JewelHeart Loop, because it takes us past this facility.

This gave me a ride of 2.0 miles in 17 minutes.

Relive video of today's ride

Saturday, 11/17/2023

  2023 Mileage: 4271.o

Since Michelle and I are traveling today, I knew I would have to ride early, and so jumped on our stationary cycle just past 8:00 a.m. and rode while watching the movie Love, Actually (whose timing seemed appropriate, with Christmas looming up).

This gave me a ride of 25.0 virtual miles in 2:10.

Trailer for Love Actually

Friday, 11/17/2023

 2023 Mileage: 4248.0

As forecast, our recent string of spectacular weather came to an end today. We had light rain this morning, and temperatures were supposed to drop throughout the afternoon (down into the thirties), so I rode inside on our stationary cycle while watching The Sound of Music (one of my most beloved movies).

This gave me a ride of 34.3 virtual miles in 2:59.

Trailer for The Sound of Music

115th outdoor ride of 2023 - Thursday, 11/16/2023

  2023 Mileage: 4213.7

Yesterday I was utterly exhausted again, so I took the day off from riding and focused on composition -- even though I hated to do so, as we experienced another spectacular sunny and warm day.

Today was the final day of our current stretch of unseasonably sunny and mild weather. When I left at  a little past 11:30, it was 56°, and that climbed to 65° during the ride.

At some point unknown to me (but evidently early in the ride) the cord that connects my battery and my phone pulled out of the battery. I didn't discover this until Interlochen Public Radio, to which I was listening, shut off a little over a mile from the end of the ride, the phone's battery having drained by that point. Therefore, my video is not quite complete all the way to the end.

 

This gave me a ride of 13.6 miles in 1:46.

Relive video of today's ride

114th outdoor ride of 2015 - Tuesday, 11/14/2023

 2023 Mileage: 4200.1

This afternoon, our atypical bright sunshine continued, and I rode the Packard/Platt Square, also experiencing the joy of seeing my friend Doug Franklin when I had almost 2 miles left to go, doing his daily walk. When I began, at noon, it was a cool (but calm) 49°, and that climbed to 53° during the ride.

 

This gave me a ride of 13.5 miles in 1:51.

Relive video of today's ride

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 This gave me a ride o.2 milein 2:42.

113th outdoor ride of 2023 - Monday, 11/13/2023

2023 Mileage: 4186.6

Today I had to battle a very brisk wind (18 mph) while riding the Platt/Packard Square. This wind really cut down my average speed .... halfway into the ride, I was at 9.1, and while that would be laughably slow on a regular bicycle, on my heavy tricycle I felt it was a significant accomplishment. But during the second half of the ride, I was headed into the wind, and it dropped that speed dramatically, to 7.7.

Otherwise, though, the weather was spectacular for mid-November. Bright unbroken sunshine, with a temperature of 58° when I started at 10:30, up to 60° when I finished.

 

This gave me a ride of 13.6 miles in 1:52.

Relive video of today's ride

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 This gave me a ride o.2 milein 2:42.

112th outdoor ride of 2023 - Saturday, 11/11/2023

       

2023 Mileage: 4173.0

This morning I enjoyed a supremely beautiful (but crisp) fall morning for a ride. When I left at 9:15, it was a brisk 36°, and climbed to 48° during the ride around the Packard/Platt Square, all of which was in calm and cloudless conditions.

This gave me a ride of 13.6 miles in 1:52.

Relive video of today's ride

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 This gave me a ride o.2 milein 2:42.

111th outdoor ride of 2023 - Friday, 11/10/2023

      

2023 Mileage: 4159.4

Today I rode the round trip to Baker Rd. for the first time since September 19. All the way there I was riding into the teeth of a significant wind (roughly 14 mph), but at least this put  it at my back on the way home. When I began, a bit past 10:00, it was 49°, and that climbed all the way to 50° during my ride.

This gave me a ride of 20.2 miles in 2:42.

Relive video of today's ride

110th outdoor ride of 2023 - Thursday, 11/9/2023

     

2023 Mileage: 4139.2

Today, though I was battling a brisk, challenging wind (over 15 mph), I did my first outdoor ride since a week ago today (Thursday, November 2), and went around the Platt/Packard Square on a brisk (48° when I began, at just past 10:00, and up to 54° when I finished) but sunny day.

This gave me a ride of 13.6 miles in 1:50.

Relive video of today's ride

Wednesday, 11/8/2023

   

2023 Mileage: 4125.6

Today, we were to receive rain pretty much all day, so I just made up my mind early on that I would ride inside, on our stationary cycle. While riding this afternoon, I watched the 1970 movie Little Big Man, starring Dustin Hoffman. I had  watched the first half of it during a ride back on October 19, and today, rather than picking it up from where I left off, I decided to watch the whole thing.

This gave me a ride of 29.1 virtual miles in 2:18.

Trailer for Little Big Man

Monday, 11/6/2023

 2023 Mileage: 4096.5

Again today, though I could have ridden outside, I chose to ride inside on our stationary cycle ... and during my ride, I watched the movie Casablanca. All my life (66 years), I've heard about what a classic, and a cultural treasure, this movie is. I decided, at long last, to rectify this shortcoming.

This gave me a ride of 21.3 virtual miles in 1:42.

Trailer for Casablanca

Sunday, 11/5/2023

2023 Mileage: 4075.2

The weather this afternoon would easily have allowed me to ride outside, but nevertheless I chose to ride inside ... while watching a most unusual movie, Labyrinth (1986).

This gave me a ride of 19.5 virtual miles in 1:37.

Trailer for Labyrinth

Saturday, 11/4/2023

  2023 Mileage: 4055.7

Late this morning, when I was ready to ride, it was spitting rain lightly. I probably could have managed to ride in it, but since it was coupled with a temperature of 48°, I chose not to.

Climbing onto our stationary cycle, I rode while watching a 41-year-old movie, The Man from Snowy River. This 1982 film was one about which I knew nothing, and had never heard of until reading a recent recommendation, but set in Australia (in the late nineteenth century), and largely about horses, I found it to be quite appealing.

This gave me a ride of 20.9 virtual miles in 1:43.

Trailer for The Man from Snowy River

Friday, 11/3/2023

 2023 Mileage: 4034.8

Yesterday I was greatly challenged to ride outside due to the brisk wind, and today was forecast to be even a bit windier, so I gladly climbed on our stationary cycle and rode inside today.

While riding, I watched the 2018 Pixar (animated) movie Coco. I had never seen it before, or even heard of it, but when I was driving home from handbell rehearsal last night, listening to the radio, the host was speaking of this movie, praising it highly, so I decided to check it out.

This gave me a ride of 19.1 virtual miles in 1:36.

Trailer for Coco

109th outdoor ride of 2023 - Thursday, 11.2.2023

2023 Mileage: 4015.7

Today I intended to ride my square route of about 13.6 miles, which is easily my most frequent ride. However, I hadn't taken into account the conditions. Once I began, I found I was battling a brisk, healthy, challenging wind of about 15 mph. That whipping wind combined with the 40° temperature to create a wind-chill for which I was not mentally prepared. Accordingly, I changed my plans, and decided I would just ride a round trip to Marsh Park (about 10 miles).

Then, however, as I pedaled on, I found a continuing challenge which even the joy of seeing my friend Doug Franklin on his daily walk couldn't overcome, so I truncated my plans still farther, and settled for just riding the Silo Ridge loop.

This gave me a (baby) ride of 6.4 miles in 56 minutes

Relive video of today's ride

108th outdoor ride of 2023 - Wednesday, 11/1/2023

  2023 Mileage: 4009.3

Today was a sunny, but BRISK day. When I began at 11:45 it was 37°  with a good, healthy breeze, and that temperature climbed all the way to 41° during my ride (the Packard/Platt Square).

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This gave me a ride of 13.6 miles in 1:48.

Relive video of today's ride