Will Ride for Food

Recently our cycling has seemed to revolve around eating. It all started last Monday. I asked Mary if she wanted to go for a ride after work. She said she was tired and didn't want to go. I told her we could ride to Rockford and stop at the Corner Bar for hot dogs. She agreed, so we got in 20 miles and two bacon cheddar dogs each.

Two days later was our Wine Wednesday ride. We do a few of these every year. It's a very social event. 15-ish miles of riding, then wine and snacks on our patio. This week there were five of us that rode 17 miles and six of us that drank wine. 

Sunday morning there was supposed to be a team ride. 20 people showed up, but so did the rain. And not one of those light summer rains. This was one that showed yellow and red on everyone's phone weather app. We bagged the team ride and of course the weather turned beautiful later that day. Mary and I decided to ride into Grand Rapids to Mitten Brewing and have pizza and beer for dinner. A very easy 20 miles and great pizza.

We've gotten one ride in so far this week. No food was involved.

3rd Coast Cycles Shop Ride

Mary and I need to get a tune-up and some other work done on our bikes. So I brought them in to our favorite bike shop - 3rd Coast Cycles in Hudsonville. The shop does a ride every Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. While that's a little earlier than I like to ride, by getting an early start I was able to get a ride in and get the bikes in and get a bunch of yard work done. All that led to a wonderful nap later in the afternoon.

The ride itself was pretty nice. 25 miles heading south of Hudsonville towards Jamestown. A fair amount of climbing with a small (only 9) but very peppy group. That gives me 215 miles for the season. A little on the light side, but with work and travel I haven't had a lot of opportunity to get on the bike. That should change in the next couple of months.

Riding that old abandoned highway

US-31 heads north from the Michigan/Indiana border. Shortly before it merges with with I-196 near Benton Harbor, all traffic is forced to exit onto a two lane surface road, then get onto I-94, travel about two miles and finally merge back onto I-196. The reason I'm giving a little southwest Michigan traffic lesson today is because there is a one mile potion of US-31 that is finished, but has never been used. Where traffic is forced onto the surface road the highway continues but is blocked off. The entrance and exit ramps are in place. There is a speed limit sign. There's even an "Adopt a Highway" litter prevention sign on the south bound lanes. All the trappings of a highway, with none of the automobiles. It looks like a scene from the Discovery Channel show "Life After People".

Abandoned US-31 near Benton Harbor

While we were visiting Susan and Elvin Hayes this Memorial Day weekend we decided to ride our bikes on that abandoned stretch on US-31. It's about 15 miles south of their cottage. The four of us rode past some very pretty Berrien County farms and small towns. Riding on the unused road was eerie. The highway is in great shape. No potholes or trash. And no vehicle traffic to bother us. We rode four abreast down the middle of the lane.

Tom, Elvin, Mary and Susan on the entrance ramp to the deserted highway.

There are barricades to stop cars from using the ramps. There is also a barricade to divert traffic off the northbound lands onto the surface road. But when you ride on the abandoned south bound lanes there is nothing to stop you from riding right out onto the very-much-in-use US-31. I guess the traffic engineers figure no one is going to make a hard left at the end of the ramp and drive the wrong way up the highway. But they could. It made us very nervous to have nothing between our bikes and 70 mph freeway traffic. So we headed back up the closed exit ramp and made our back to the cottage from our little "Twilight Zone" adventure. 33 miles in all.

A short post

It's been pretty busy the last few weeks, between working on the job, working on the yard, and working on Jake's Music Festival. I haven't had a lot of opportunities to ride, but Mary and I did get out for an easy 16 miles last night. We rode north on the White Pine Trail up to 13 Mile Road and then turned around and came home. Nothing eventful to report. No speed records were set. Just a leisurely Sunday afternoon ride on an absolutely beautiful day.

A Great Spring Weekend

This past weekend was so fantastic that it took me until today to write about it. To start with Jake and my buddy Roy both rolled into town last Thursday night. Jake was here for the music festival and Roy was here to visit with everyone he knows that lives east of the Mississippi River. We all went out to dinner Thursday night and had a good time.

On Friday, Roy headed north to visit his son and Jake and I were on two different radio stations to talk about Jake's Music Festival. We had lunch at Harmony Hall on Grand Rapids' west side. When we got home we did a little music festival work and then rode bikes up to Rockford Brewing and enjoyed a pint in the sun. It was a beautiful day for a 10 mile ride with a beer stop in the middle.

Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish at Jake's Music Festival

Saturday was the big day. Jake's Music Festival is our major fundraiser. The show takes place at Wealthy Theatre and we had 12 different acts performing. The crowd was fantastic and the bands did a great job. In this, our 12th year, we raised a little over $5,000. You can see more photos on our Facebook page.

Almost 50 people showed up for the first JDRF West Michigan outdoor team ride

Sunday was the best day we've had in months. Almost 80 degrees, sunny and very little wind. Sounds like a great day for a bike ride. So Mary and I headed headed to Grandville for the first JDRF team ride of the year. We had almost 50 people show up. That makes it the largest first ride ever and one of the largest team rides of all time. I'd say that bodes well for this upcoming season. We rode 29 miles, with the second half of the route being quite hilly. Check out the details from Map My Ride. As a side note, when we got home I power washed the patio.

Monday came. I went to work and Mary took Jake to the bus station so he could head back to Chicago. It was a long, very tiring, very fun weekend. 2016 is going to be a great year.

First outdoor ride of 2016

The weather has been very un-March-like for the past week. Warm and sunny, not what you'd expect in Michigan this time of year. In fact, last year on this date we still had 4 foot high snow banks on the side of our driveway. Today, I finally got a chance to take advantage of the nice weather and hopped on my bike for a short ride.

It's almost become a tradition that my first ride of the year is on the White Pine Trail. I could feel the long layoff in my legs as I headed north toward Rockford on a very slight uphill grade. I've been on the trainer some over the winter, but I probably averaged 20 minutes a week. Not exactly keeping the fitness level up there. Today I rode up to 13 Mile Road before turning around. The way home is always easier because that slight uphill is now a slight downhill. When I'm in mid-season form I can usually do the homeward leg 5 miles per hour faster with about half the effort. Today, not so much. See my earlier comment about the long layoff.

It felt great to be riding outside again. It was partly sunny, no wind, and about 60 degrees. I ended up with 17 miles total. I always feel good when I can get some miles in while it's still technically winter. Yes, I know I could ride in the winter like several of my team mates. But when it's 20 degrees and snowing I'm staying inside.

33 weeks until the JDRF Ride on Amelia Island.

Back in the saddle

And we start year number 12 of riding to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. When we started this ride our son Jake was a 13 year old middle schooler who had been diagnosed with T1D seven years earlier. We heard about the Ride to Cure Diabetes and along with a dozen or so people from West Michigan we embarked on training for first ride in Death Valley. Along the way we ridden thousands of miles and raised tens of thousands of dollars for diabetes research.

This year we will be taking part in the JDRF ride on Amelia Island in Florida. This will be the largest ride ever for JDRF with 600 particpants. We took part in the largest ride ever up until now, that was in Nashville in 2013. That ride had a little over 500 riders. The Amelia Island ride has the potential to be the first ride to raise $2,000,000. That is something we want to be part of.

The weather still isn't conducive to outdoor cycling, but we have done some indoor training rides. We're hoping the groundhog was right and that we'll have an early Spring. I have a personal goal of 1,500 miles this season.

Speaking of goals, Mary and I have a fundraising goal of $5,000 each. That's $10,000 for the two of us. Ian is not riding this year, something about being in his senior year of college. So dear reader, you only have to pick between two of us this time around. On the left side of this page you'll see two links; Donate to Mary and Donate to Tom. Please make a contribution to the Scheidel you like best.

Eight months until JDRF Ride #12.

Thank you to our donors

With the JDRF Ride season winding down and November being National Diabetes Awareness Month, this seemed like a good time to thank everyone who donated to our ride this year. The list below is probably not complete. For example, it doesn't show people who dropped cash into the donation jar at Jake's Music Festival. Remember though that we value each and every contribution. Every donation gets us one step closer to finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes. The people listed below helped us raise $9,000 this year. Thank you very much to each and every one.

Barbara Robinson
Thomas & Florence Scheidel
Christine Behrens
Paul & Brenda Schab
Chris Radford
Chris & Paula Briggs
Wayland Christian Reformed Church
Janet Englerth
Karen Klienheksel
Perrin Brewing Company
Jim & Susan Hayes
Michael & Nancy Walenta
Leo Isaguirre
Megan Bean
Tod More
Kim Summers
Amanda Schab
X-Cel Chemical Specialties Company
Stacy Woock
Daniel Dillion
David & Rebecca Behrens
David Pasciak
Mark & Maria Gillette
Michele & Dan Terpstra
Dennis & Kim Moline
Henry & Mary Wieten
Mary Ellen Koziol
Bill & Ginger Young
Mike & Jean Oele
Roy Dodman
Sue Helmer
Thinking of Kayla, Trevor and Vanessa
Joe & Mary Powell

Rain in the Valley

Last weekend the Death Valley version of the Ride to Cure Diabetes took place. Seven of the eleven JDRF rides I've done have been out there. I rode in LaCrosse this year, but 12 of our team mates were in DV. This year was unlike any other. They had rain. Lots of rain. In fact the LaCrosse ride was hotter and drier than Death Valley. Over a 10 day period Death Valley got as much rain as they normally get in three years. And the Ride to Cure Diabetes was right in the middle of that.

Clouds and puddles in Death Valley. Photo by Katie Clark.

 

In a normal year the route heads out of the Furnace Creek Ranch and heads toward Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the world at 282 feet below sea level. After Badwater the route continues to the top of Jubilee Pass, which is 1,300 feet above sea level. The the riders all turn around and ride back to the ranch, finishing with 100 miles under their tires. This year however the road to Badwater was closed because of flooding. Flooding in the desert. We've hiked a few of the canyons in Death Valley and have seen the way the water carves our the rock. But we've hardly ever seen a cloud, much less any rain. The rain came down last weekend and the route had to be changed to roads that were mostly open.

As the riders exited Furnace Creek Ranch they turned left instead of the usual right and headed toward Stovepipe Wells. This took them by the sand dunes before they turned to ride to Scotty's Castle. Because of the weather the start of the ride was delayed and the route shortened. The full ride was only 70 miles. One of our riders wanted to go back out to get the full century, but the JDRF staff wasn't letting anyone back on the course once they finished. The weather was just too unpredictable. At one point the riders had to stop so a "mud plow" could scrap the mud and standing water off the road so the ride could continue. As soon as the road was cleared water started flowing over it again.

Last Saturday was not the typical Death Valley experience for the 300 riders who were there. But one thing was typical. The DV Ride raised $1,500,000 for diabetes research. A big thank you to all the riders and donors.

A beautiful day to ride

The problem with doing our big JDRF ride in August is that it lowers my motivation to do a lot of riding in September and October. If I was part of the group that will be riding in Death Valley this coming weekend I'd be training heavily. Since we got back from LaCrosse I've only been on my bike a few times (and I've posted here even less). Today it was just too nice not to be out on my bike. 73 and sunny in October is not to be missed. I planned on doing about 20 miles. As I started north on the White Pine Trail I really didn't have a route in mind. I passed through Rockford, carefully avoiding the seemingly thousands of people also out enjoying the sunshine. I decided to ride up to Indian Lakes Road and turn west. This meant travelling directly into a very strong wind. No problem since I would soon be turning south. I turned on Edgerton Road and realized I was riding one of my favorite loops backwards. I also noticed that the wind had shifted to the south. Again, no problem because this route has lots of turns and hills that should block the wind. Nope. Once I got off the WPT I pretty much had a headwind until I got to the home stretch. As I made my way through the loop to House Drive my odometer rolled to 20 miles and I was still at least five miles from home. Once again no problem, because after I climbed up to Pine Island Drive the rest of the route was downhill or flat. I ended up with 26 miles. That gives me 998 miles for the year. A fairly low total but if the weather stays like this I'm sure I'll be able to break 1,000.