Similar to last week this article is going to cover multiple events; a bike ride on Saturday Mar 5 and a hike on Sunday Mar 6, 2005.  I will put a heading to each event so you can jump around if you like.   

Bike Ride Saturday Mar 5, 2005
Again, like last week this ride was an impromptu event.  Bob and I decided to do an early morning ride.  We planned to just ride around the neighbor hood and sense it was early on a Saturday we didn’t bother to call anyone else, just not enough time.  And we both needed to be home by around noon.   

We were surprised to find the side streets some what clear and passable for biking.  The bike paths were OK in some areas and not so good in others.  We ended up leaving the neighbor hood and riding toward Rochester.  I already had breakfast and Bob was looking for an early lunch.  At first Bob had a taste for Boston Market so we considered stopping there on the way home.  We ended up stopping at Penn Station for a sub.  It was around 10:45 am when we stopped and they were open for business.  After our early lunch we needed to head straight home to make it around noon.   

It was a perfect day for a bike ride.  The sun was out and the temperature was around 25° when we started and rising.  The snow was melting on the way home so it was definitely above freezing.    

Following are the statistics from this ride; 13.5 total miles, 20.0 max speed, 9.3 average mph and 1 hour and 26 minutes total time moving on bikes. 

Hike Sunday March 6, 2005
We had one of our largest turnouts ever, definitely the largest group on a hike, six people this day.  In addition to myself there was Bob, Rich, Tom, Barry and fresh from his trip to Korea, Pete.  I was glad to see that Barry showed up for a second week in a row.  Our hikes are almost as much fun as our bike rides so I understand the large turnout.   The weather was even better than the day before, as Bob likes to say the best day of the year so far.  The sun was out and the temperature  was in the mid 40’s.    

The plan was to meet in the Max and Erma’s parking lot at the Village Shopping Center and then walk across the street to Oakland University (OU).  We were going to hike around the grounds of OU including some of the golf course.  After the hike we would get lunch at Max and Erma’s.  Pete and Tom are similar in many respects.  When we were driving to Max and Erma’s Tom asked why we weren’t just parking over at OU.  I new Pete would have the same complaint and I even predicted to Rich and Bob that Pete would be wining just like Tom.  Sure enough, Pete was the last one to arrive and he wasn’t even fully out of his van when he was complaining exactly as Tom had about where we were meeting. 

Barry was the first one there and when we arrived Barry was ready to go.  Barry did get a new pair of boots so he should be in much better shape this week.  After Pete got over our meeting location he pulled out a small package that was still unopened.  Apparently Pete bought himself a souvenir while in Korea, a new dew rag.  And not just any old dew rag but a “Genius” model.  I took a few pictures of Pete with his new dew rag, matter of fact I took a lot of pictures this day.  Check out the link at the end of this article for the link to the pictures.        

Pete was actually anything but fresh, he trudged along the entire hike without much enthusiasm.  I think these hikes are more difficult for Pete and it appears quite obvious that Pete enjoys the bike rides more.  For some reason Pete did not bring his ski poles for this hike.  There was still a lot of snow and the poles would have been a help.  Rich brought his hiking poles and used them while walking in the snow. 

At a couple spots the snow was up past our knees.  We got a nice work out walking through the snow out on the golf course.  We also walked through some wooded areas and we even came across a few deer.  I think I got a couple nice pictures of the deer.  It is difficult to photograph deer because they blend in with the trees and it is hard to get close before they run away.  While the rest of the group continued on, Tom and I kept walking toward the deer and for some reason they weren’t running away.  It turned out we had kind of cornered them up against a fence so they just kept staring at us as we got closer.  We didn’t want to freak them out so we stopped and took a few pictures and then left them alone.  Tom wanted to try and pet the deer and I had to pull him back and tell him he might get bitten or charged if he got too close. 

We also walked around the main building at Meadowbrook.  The mansion is quite impressive.  If a picture is worth a 1,000 words then I have 121,000 words worth of pictures.  I got a little carried away snapping pictures.  I reminded myself of Steve who is our original club photographer, Steve likes to take a lot of pictures.  Much of the story of this hike will be told with the pictures, but I will edit out a few otherwise it is just too much work and a waste of web space. 

Once we walked around for a while Pete decided we should have lunch at Friday’s on Squirrel Road.  Pete was ready to eat five minutes into the hike, apparently he didn’t have breakfast.  Pete wanted to do some of the walk after lunch so he thought by eating at Friday’s we would still have to walk back  to pick up our cars at Max and Erma’s.  This was actually a good idea and it worked out well.  Once we changed our lunch destination we needed to exit the golf course area to head to Friday’s.  We came to a barbed wire fenced in area that required us climbing the over the fence.  Luckily the barbed wire was pushed down at the spot where we went over so we didn’t have to worry too much about getting cut.  Bob was the first one over and he landed on a snow covered log, so we all knew where not to land.  Pete and Tom went next.  I was the fourth over  while Rich and Barry studied the situation.  Barry wasn’t comfortable going over this fence and Rich walked away looking for another way around.  Rich did find a way around and he joined us while Barry was perched on top of the fence deciding how he was going to get down.  I did film Barry on the fence and I will post it for your enjoyment.  Barry ended up going over without getting hurt.  I was surprised we all made it without any clothing being torn.  

Once we got out of the golf course area we saw a few dogs running around a private tennis court.  Tom and I were still trying to catch up with the rest of the group after checking out the deer.  Tom claimed the dogs were pit bulls and we might be in danger as we approached.  It turned out to be two friendly black curly haired cocker spaniels who ran up to us with their tails wagging and the only danger was if we stuck around too long they might lick the skin of our hands raw as we petted them.  The dog’s owner , an elderly gentleman walked past us and was very friendly.  

When we got to Friday’s it appeared there might be a long wait since people were standing around the lobby.  Bob went into the bar area and found a familiar long table that would easily accommodate the six of us.  Pete was still wearing his dew rag and our waitress wasn’t quite sure how to take Pete with his dew rag and comments.  Pete had a tall Bass Ale and Tom had a tall Fosters and the rest of us had coke or diet coke.  I inquired about the availability of white rice and chili.  The waitress thought they might have the rice but she was sure they didn’t have chili so I was forced to order something other than the meal of the month.  Tom ordered a full slab of ribs with black bean soup, Pete had the Italianio sandwich, Bob got chicken breast and broccoli, Barry had a garden burger and Rich and I both had the Chicken Finger BLT.  I highly recommend the Chicken Finger BLT, it is a very good meal. 

While we were waiting for our food to arrive we had a good time talking and laughing.  Pete told us he went golfing while in Korea even though it was very cold.  Pete told us he shot seven over par on the front nine while the temperature was 20°F and he shot a one over par on the back nine and the temperature warmed up to 30°F for the back nine.  Tom was very skeptical of Pete’s score considering the weather.  Pete held to his story and claimed it was all true.  As we continued to talk about golf we somehow ended up with Tom accepting a bet with Pete.  Pete claimed he could beat Tom using just one hand.  They ended up agreeing that Pete would get a half stroke per hole and they would do match play not stroke play.  The bet was just for a lunch, so no matter who wins it should be fun.  It is hard to believe that someone would claim to be able to beat someone else in golf only using one hand.  When Tom was still considering accepting the wager Pete also offer another twist.  Pete told Tom he could beat him using just one golf club for the entire round, he would even putt with the one club.  Tom thought about it for a minute and decided he had a better chance with the one handed bet.  Don’t worry once the event takes place I will be sure to report the results.  If Tom would have accepted Pete’s offer of the one club bet I would have even volunteered to be Pete’s caddy. 

If you read the article last week you might remember that I forgot what Tom ordered for lunch.  One of the PCT Bicycle Club traditions is we all chip and pay for lunch on or near your birthday.  Since Tom’s birthday was recently I told him I would buy his lunch last week while we were at Hamlin Pub.  Another tradition is when everyone is chipping in to pay for your lunch you should only order a modest meal and not take advantage of the opportunity.  With me buying Tom orders the most expensive thing on the menu the rib dinner.  Your right Barry, I’m not sure how I forgot, maybe I was just trying to forget.  Don’t worry Tom I am just kidding.  Tom, since I’ve got your attention you will be glad to know I got a haircut yesterday, so you won’t have to remind me again that I need a haircut.  

After lunch we all headed out for the couple mile walk back to the Village Shopping Center.  Sense Walton doesn’t have sidewalks just east of Squirrel Bob led us back through the OU campus.  On the way past married housing there were three guys stealing a battery out of a car in the parking lot.  These guys immediately noticed Pete wearing his Genius dew rag.  For a couple minutes I thought they were going to abandon the battery and come after Pete for his dew rag.    

My feet were completely soaked.  I haven’t done a silicon treatment to my hiking boots for quite a while and they leaked at the seams.  Even though they are structurally sound the tread on the bottom is badly worn and now that they are leaking again, I think I will have to follow Barry’s lead and purchase a new pair of hiking boots.  

The rest of the walk home was uneventful.  Pete did have to make a side trip through the wooded area on the south side of Walton just before Adams.  Pete didn’t tells us what he was doing in the woods, other than nature was calling, so I guess he just felt like being closer to nature for just a couple more minutes before our hike ended.  Again, I’m not sure what Pete found in the trees but it must have been interesting because he stood there for a couple minutes looking down at the ground.    

Once we got back to Max and Erma’s I was surprised to see Barry half naked in the parking lot.  I was too slow with the camera so I didn’t get any pictures of Barry at this point.   Now that I think about it maybe it was a good thing that I was slow with the camera.  It turns out Barry was just putting on a dry shirt in preparation for his ride home.  I don’t blame him, I was looking forward to getting my wet socks off as soon as I got home.  Check out this link for the pictures from this hike.

David Lindquist