Second ride of the season

Today I rode outside for the second time this season. Mary, Ian and I took the White Pine Trail north thru Rockford to Russell Road then turned around and rode home. That's 20 miles, or one mile more than last Sunday's ride. By this time last year I had ridden over 200 miles. This very wet cold spring has really put my training behind schedule. Plus the Nashville ride is in early September. Looks like I'm going to have to start hammering it.

On a related note my bike has developed a shifting problem. As in, it doesn't. I rode all day today in the big ring, which means my 27 speed bike is essentially a 9 speed. I used to ride a 10 speed in college so this isn't too bad, but it's amazing how much I miss those other 18 gears. I'm taking it in to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company tomorrow so they can take a look.

The season starts

JDRF West Michigan - first team ride

Spring has been a long time coming. By this time last year we had been riding outside for over a month. Sunday was our first JDRF team ride of the season. We had a good sized group that showed up to the Clark's house in Grandville. Because of all the rain and subsequent flooding getting to their house took a little rerouting, but luckily the bike route itself was nice and dry.

To go off topic for just a bit, we've had over 9 inches of rain this April. We set a record for the month on April 18th. All the rivers in the area are over flood stage. In fact the Grand River crested yesterday at record high levels. I posted some photos over on Facebook.

Back to the bike stuff. This was the first team ride of the year and, for some of us, the first ride period. I did a few indoor trainer rides over the winter, but this was my first time riding outdoors. It was a sunny, if a bit cool, day.  There were three routes that ran south of Grandville with loops of 12, 19 or 27 miles. I chose the 19 mile option and Mary did the 12. Ian was on his way back from a percussion competition in Ohio so he didn't ride with us. It felt good to be out on the road again. I'm looking forward to putting many more miles under my tires as we prepare for the JDRF ride in Nashville this September.

Jake's Music Festival takes place tonight

In order to raise money to support our ride we participate in lots of fund raising opportunities. Tonight is one of the biggest. Jake's Music Festival takes place at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, featuring some of the best bands the local music scene has to offer. This is our ninth year and promises to be one of the best show yet. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with music starting at 7:00 p.m. See the full schedule below.

Nick Stevenson playing at JMF 2012

7:00PM     Grand ‘Piper’ Entrance
7:05PM     Last Call Band                       
7:45PM     Lynn Thompson
8:00PM     The Nick Stevenson Band                 
8:45PM     Otis Blueswell Jr.
9:00PM     Simien The Whale                   
9:45PM     Jared Wekenman 
10:00PM   Igby Iris                        

Check out the event web site or Facebook page for more info.