This weekend I did two rides, one on Friday November 19, 2004 with Bob and then a second on Sunday November 21, 2004 with Bob and Pete.

On Friday I took a vacation day with the intent of either going on a long walk or a bike ride with Bob.  Since the weather wasn’t the best we decided a bike ride made more sense.  It was one of those days where it looks like it might rain all day long.  Luckily for us it was just a steady misty type rain which isn’t too bad.  With a misty rain you don’t end up getting totally soaked.  We figured if we were on bikes it would be easier to quickly find shelter if the skies ever really opened up. 

The last few weeks all of our rides have been in the southern direction, so this day we planned to head north and have lunch at our favorite sandwich place, The Poppyseed in Lake Orion.  Going north we knew we were going to ride on dirt roads and the PCT.  It was inevitable that we were going to get dirty with these surfaces being wet.  We wanted to take the PCT to Lake Orion, so we headed over to the trail at Dutton Road.  In honor of Pete we road right by his house on the way to the trail.  We noticed Pete had gotten a new cement driveway put in place.  It looked like the cement might even still be wet.  I thought it would be cool to stop and etch “PCT Bicycle Club” at the end of the drive.  I’m not sure why but we didn’t stop, we just kept riding past.  What a great opportunity wasted.  Later in the day Pete called me on my cell phone to harass me about not being at work.  I told him I was out riding with Bob and we had just past his house.  I told him we stopped and etched the club name at the end of his new driveway.  I think I actually had him going for a minute until I confessed we really didn’t.   

Once Bob and I got on the trail we had escaped all of our normal everyday concerns.  We were the only human life forms on the trail for as far as we could see in either direction.  Granted it was a Friday morning, which is usually a little less congested than a weekend, and there was a light rain falling, which I think was keeping people away.  The trail had recently been resurfaced and it was smooth and in good shape.  Even being completely wet the trail surface was easy to maneuver.  We finally did see one other person out walking his dog and then a few other diehards later.  The end of the trail in Lake Orion has always had a narrow stretch where the surface and tree and bush branches force you to ride single file.  As part of the recent resurfacing this narrow section was eliminated.  Now it is wide with a good surface just like the rest of the trail.  We took it right to the end where the new condos are located.  From there it is only a short ride to the old downtown area where the Poppyseed is located.   

We got to the Poppyseed just before noon.  Bob ordered a dagwood sandwich with french bread and I ordered a half sandwich of ham, turkey and cheese on focaccia bread.  As usual the sandwiches were very good.  Bob only ate half of his and wrapped up the other half and took it home in his burrito basket.  As soon as we sat down to eat the line to order started growing.  We were glad to see this place with brisk business, they certainly deserve it, and from a selfish point of view I want them to stay in business. 

After lunch we retraced our route taking the trail back toward home.  Instead of staying on the trail all the way to Dutton we got off at Gunn Road and went west on Gunn to Adams.  My bike picked up a lot of dirt and grime on this ride.  Before I got home I could feel the drag created by the dirt and I could also hear the chain rubbing through the dirt caked on the derailleur.  When I got home  I washed off the dirt using my garden hose before putting my bike away for the day.  Following are the statistics from this ride; 21.0 miles, 22.0 max speed, 10.1 mph average speed and total moving time on bike of 2 hour and 4 minutes. 

On Sunday, November 21, 2004, Pete joined Bob and me for an afternoon ride.  The Saturday night before Pete and I went curling with Barry and my brother Tom.  Barry belongs to the Detroit Curling Club, which is a nice club, but not nearly as cool as the PCT Bicycle Club.   

I think the intent of this special curling night was to invite friends and family with the intent of possibly recruiting new members.  It was fun curling and I appreciate Barry inviting us, but I don’t think there will be any invitations issued to our group.  Pete, Tom and I with Barry were a team.  The first half hour or so was just practice with Barry and another member, Ed, showing us how to curl.  I took to it very well and Pete and Tom actually had a couple nice shots as well.  Based on the looks of a few peoples faces I don’t think they had ever experienced a curler quite as loud as Pete.  Part of Barry’s strategy to get Pete and Tom to show up was to tell them there was free beer.  Well the strategy worked, almost too well.  Barry was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to stop drinking.  Before the real beer drinking started, we had to curl.  Even though Barry told us to slide the stones instead of picking them up, Pete had other ideas.  Barry went down to the other end to give us a target to aim toward.  Pete decided the way to curl was to imitate the experts he had seen on TV.  Pete was picking up the stone and swinging it back before launching it forward, kind of like bowling.  Well some guy came running out from the observation area and politely but firmly told Pete to stop picking up the stones.  Once our practice was out of the way it was time to challenge another team to a match.  The team we took on had two girls, which gave Pete ammunition for his trash talking during the match.  I’m not sure but I don’t think you are supposed to trash talk to the other team during a match.  It didn’t work anyway, because I think the other team ended up winning, but I’m not really sure because some of us dropped out after the first end and others joined in for the second end.  While I sat out for the second end I was able to take a few pictures.  Once I find a new free web hosting site I will post the pictures of this evening for everyone to enjoy. 

After we were done curling there was pizza on the house as part of our entry fee.  The drinks were not part of the entry fee and Barry was true to his word and bought the drinks.  After getting Pete and Tom each a couple of glasses of beer they switched over to pitchers of beer.  I had a couple cups from the first pitcher, but that was my limit, I really am not much of a drinker and I was the designated diver for the night.  Well, Pete and Tom felt obligated to be hospitable by drinking as much beer as Barry was willing to buy.  The curling club has a nice old shuffle board game that we played for quite a while after we finished our pizza.  Barry and I were at one end of the shuffle board table and Pete and Tom were at the other end.  Pete and Tom were having a grand time telling stories and goofing around.  I lost track, but after a few pitchers and a couple hours it was time for us to leave. 

Both Pete and Tom were feeling pretty good and they weren’t ready for the evening to end.  Tom had decided we should go to a bar for a couple more drinks.  It took us a while, mainly because I was listening to Tom’s directions before I finally started listening to Barry, but we found the bar.  Even though I’m not sure Barry wanted to go to the bar, I told him the good news is that Tom and Pete can start buying their own drinks now.  We stayed at this bar for a while and it also had a shuffleboard table which we played for a while.  Needless to say, Tom and Pete picked up right where they left off.  Even though Barry and I wanted to stay longer, Tom and Pete convinced us to leave after a while.  Before we dropped Barry and Tom off we decided to go to the WC Lounge on Coolidge near 13 mile road.  After a few WCs we headed back south to drop off Barry and then Tom.  I noticed that the ferns on the right side of Barry’s driveway were looking a little droopy after we left.  Next stop was Tom’s house, and after we dropped him off Pete and I headed north to home.   

Earlier in the evening Tom had agreed to ride bikes with us the next day, Sunday.  The plan was for Tom to use his bike rack and pick up Barry and for them to meet us at 11:00 am at my house.  As the night went on I had a feeling we wouldn’t be seeing Tom and Barry for the ride.  I was right. 

For the bike ride we decided to start out around 11:30 am so that Bob could join us.  Bob and I rode over and met Pete on the way to his house.  I told Bob about a sale on wicking shirts at Kohls, so one of our destinations for this ride was to go to the Kohls in the shopping center off Rochester Road near Auburn Road.  The actual shopping was done the way real men shop.  It took me 30 seconds to show Bob the rack of wicking shirts.  He took about 30 seconds to pick two out and after 1 minute 30 seconds he had made his purchase and we were back outside putting our helmets back on to continue our ride. 

The sun was out which made the temperature a little nicer for riding because it was cool, in the low 40s.  It was a little windy this day which also made it a little cooler, still a beautiful day for a bike ride.  After I mentioned what a nice day it was for a ride, Bob followed with his trademark comment of, “Probably the last good day of the year.”  Next we headed over to our favorite spot in the Rochester area, Hamlin Pub.  In addition to getting a good lunch we planned to watch some of the Lions game.  This week the Lions were playing the Vikings and they got off to a good start, but we all had the feeling they would find a way to lose in the end.  Bob ordered soup, I think it was vegetable beef.  Pete ordered the New York Rueben and I tried a new sandwich that I don’t think I had never ordered before, a ham and cheese croissant.  My sandwich was very good and Pete and Bob reported their meals were outstanding as well. 

After a nice relaxing lunch it was time to suit back up and head for home.  The three of us had a very nice ride home.   As has become a regular occurrence riding home from a south direction we got a good workout due to the hills and the wind.  Following are the statistics from this ride; 18.4 miles, 24.0 max speed, 10.8 mph average speed and total moving time on bike of 1 hour and 42 minutes.

Thanks for checking in.

David Lindquist