Friday June 29, 2007 I took a vacation day from work.  Pete was still off in Germany and France partying on a work boondoggle.  So, I called Bob to see if he wanted to do a bike ride.  Bob had the idea of riding to Royal Oak to have lunch at Dugan’s on Woodward just north of 13 Mile Road.  Not sure what made Bob think of Dugan’s, but I have never eaten there so I thought it sounded like a good idea.  In addition to riding to Royal Oak Bob had the idea of stopping by his office on the very north side of Troy and loading our bikes in his van and driving home to avoid the hills at the end of the ride on the return trip.  All this sounded just fine to me, I just wanted to get out and ride and I didn’t particularly care where we went. 

I know you are probably getting sick of hearing me say another perfect day weather wise for a bike ride, but I can’t help it, it was an absolutely perfect day.  Few clouds in the sky, nice warm temperature in the mid 80s, with only a slight breeze to make us feel comfortable.  If I was to order up the weather ahead of time I think this is exactly the type of day I would order.  

I am not going o waste a lot time giving the specific route we took.  I will just list a few of the major roads we took on the way there.  Squirrel to get over the freeway and Adams and Coolidge for a good portion of the ride south.  I noticed as we were riding on the sidewalk on the east side of Coolidge that the opposite side of the street looked better from all the bushes overgrowing onto the sidewalk on the side we were on.  I would have to bank this information away for the next time I am riding in this area.  When we got to 14 Mile Road we cut over to Woodward and road the sidewalk of Woodward the remaining distance to Dugan’s.  Overall it was a pleasant ride to the restaurant. 

Bob went inside ahead of me to use the restroom while I locked our bike together in the parking lot.  I went inside and didn’t see Bob so I assumed he was still in the rest room.  I sat down at a table next to the window on the lower level to wait for Bob.  A waitress came up and asked if I wanted anything to drink, I told her a water, no lemon, would be great.  She brought me a water and still no Bob yet.  A minute later my cell phone started to ring, I looked down and it was Bob calling.  He had gotten a table upstairs.  I told him I would be up in a minute.  I found the waitress who brought me the water to tell her I was going upstairs.  When I got up there Bob was sitting at the exact same table next to the window as the one I was sitting at previously on the lower level. 

The menu at Dugan’s is really cool.  They have a few select items from some of the old famous restaurants that used to be on Woodward back in the 50s, 60s and 70s.  I thought about ordering the Suzie Q’s fish and chips, but instead I ordered a Totem Pole Big Chief burger.  They also had a selection or two from Ted’s Diner.  Bob ordered a veggie burger.  I found out the secret sauce on the Big Chief was green in color and quite tasty.  Cooked round red skin potatoes came with Bob’s meal.  Bob let me taste some of the potatoes and they were really good.  We both enjoyed our meals and decided we should come back to this place again.  Dugan’s gets a positive Rochester Hills PCT Bike & Hike Club recommendation. 

We took our time eating just to enjoy the atmosphere and view.  They have a full size dragster car hanging in the rafters near the ceiling.  It must have been quite a feat to get that car up in the ceiling.  It looks pretty cool handing up there with the rear tires spinning.  With the large according type windows open there was a nice breeze blowing through the place.  It is definitely a different feel in this place with all the windows open.  It is also kind of neat being on the second floor and able to watch the cars driving by on Woodward.  

After lunch we refilled our water bottles for the nice warm ride home.  We kind of took a reverse route home with only a little deviation from the way we took on the way there.  About half way back my bike started making a weird noise in the rear.  We stopped at a store that Bob knew in Birmingham that sold natural type food.  While Bob was inside I looked at my bike and road it around the parking lot to see if I could figure out where the noise was coming from.  I narrowed it down to the area of my rear brakes, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what the problem was so I couldn’t fix it.  I noticed the frame of the brakes seemed loose and the brakes haven’t been working real well lately, I think my brake pads are worn out again.  I really haven’t taken my bike into the bike shop since the original free tune up you get after six months when you first buy the bike.  It was definitely in need of a good general tune up.  Both the front and rear wheels were out of round, with the rear being worse.  I think I have talked myself into taking my bike in for a tune up very soon. 

While in the store Bob bought a couple of natural fruit type Popsicles on a stick.  He gave me one and we finished eating these as we continued our ride north.  After about another hour of riding we finally got to Bob’s office and his van.  I told Bob of my plan about dropping my bike off soon to the bike store for a tune up.  Bob got to thinking that it had been a long time since his bike was tuned up and thought he should do the same thing.  We both agreed to swing by the bike shop on the way home from this ride and drop them off because we will already have them in the van and a way to get home.  So, on the way home we stopped at the Rochester Bike Shop (RBS) in downtown Rochester and left our bikes for tune ups.  They told us they should be ready by Tuesday evening the following week, not a bad turn around time.   Just in time for the fourth of July just in case I want to do a ride that day before going to Carol and Barry’s for their annual cookout and city fireworks.   

Following are the statistics from this ride 29.3 miles total, 25.5 max speed, 10.6 mph average speed and 2 hour and 44 minutes time moving on bikes.  
David Lindquist