This past weekend I had the pleasure of doing three bike rides, one each day Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I will split up the ride stories from each day with a separate heading for ease of reading. 

Friday October 21, 2005
I had to work half a day so I didn’t get home until around noon on Friday October 21, 2005.  Bob was getting ready to head up north for the weekend and he had a few things he wanted to get done so starting out a little after noon worked out well for both of us.  

Neither one of us had eaten lunch so a stop somewhere for lunch was a must.  The weather was nice, a little cool, but not bad at all.  I rode over and met Bob at his house.  We headed out of the neighbor hood at a nice slow pace just enjoying the ride.  We headed toward downtown Rochester.  As we rode we agreed on the new Irish Pub on Rochester road.  Even though this place is a bit pricy they have good food which we both like. 

Before I finish this Friday ride story I am going to take a minute to write about what I did Thursday evening.  Bob’s son Mark had a JV soccer game scheduled at Lake Orion High School Thursday at 5:30 pm.  Bob was planning to jog from home up to the game.  This sounded like fun to me so I decided to join him.  Bob met me at my house just a little after 4:30 pm and we headed out right away.  We jogged at a nice pace, not real fast because we new it was going to be a few miles and I wanted to be sure I could make it all the way.  I went back and mapped out the route on sueandpaul.com and it ended up being approximately 5.7 miles starting from my house.  Kathy met us there and we got a ride home after the game from Kathy.  

Back to the Friday bike ride.  Bob and I did end up stopping at the Irish Pub.  We had a nice lunch and enjoyable conversation while relaxing at the Pub.  After lunch we got back on our bikes and did a nice relaxing ride back home.  Following are the statistics from this ride, 11.9 miles, 18.3 max, 9.9 average and 1 hour and 12 minutes time on bikes. 

Saturday October 22, 2005
On Saturday October 22, 2005 Pete called me around 9:15 am and asked if I wanted to ride.  I was in the middle of doing a few things around the house but it only took a few seconds to decide I would rather be riding my bike.  The weather forecast was for rain both Saturday and Sunday, but there wasn’t any rain in sight so I figured I might as well go for a ride.  I told Pete I would meet him at his house around 10:00 am.   

It was cool out again, but not cold.  I’m not sure of the exact temperature, but it felt like it was in the high 40s.  The sun was out for most of the time which helped warm us up some and offset the cool breeze.  Since this ride was planned on the spur of the moment we didn’t have any firm plans.  My youngest son Max had a soccer game at noon and I suggest to Pete we could ride out to Borden and watch some of the game as part of the ride.  Pete also had an idea of where he wanted to go. 

Pete is good at making side trips to make our rides productive.  Today he asked if I minded stopping at the barbershop where he goes to get his hair cut.  I not only didn’t mind I thought this was a good idea and I figured I needed a haircut as well.  I picked up Pete at his house and we rode down the trail toward Rochester.  We cut over on Woodward to Rochester road to where the barber shop is located.  Pete hopped off his bike and went ride into the barbershop.  I stayed outside for a minute taking off my gloves and locked our bikes together before I went inside.  Pete was already in a chair with what appeared to be the senior barber starting on Pete.  There was another open chair with a younger barber ready for me.  Luckily we didn’t have to wait, there weren’t any other customers when we got there.  While I was getting my hair cut I took out my phone and took a picture of Pete while he was getting his hair cut, see below for the picture. 

After our haircuts we were ready to ride some more.  I noticed Pete’s flower dew rag appeared to fit better after his haircut.  We started heading south talking about where to stop for lunch.  At first we were considering carry out from somewhere and taking it to the field to eat while watching Max’s soccer game.  Once we agreed on Taco Bell for lunch we figured we had time so we just ate our lunch there.  After lunch at Taco Bell we were back on our bikes heading to the soccer field.   

The soccer game was already started when we arrived and I noticed Diane was leaning against our van, she hadn’t even bothered to get out a lawn chair and go sit on the side near the team.  This team has a bunch of wining parents and I think Diane was trying to avoid them.  Pete and I rode our bikes over and we just leaned up against the van as well.  Pete decided to try to help Max during the game by yelling rather loud encouraging directions to Max while he was in the game.  At one point Max even looked over at us with a smile on his face to see who was yelling so loud.  I think everyone in the surrounding area, including at least two fields over was trying to figure out where the loud yelling was coming from.  We probably watched half of the first half and as Max was putting on the goalie jersey in preparation for playing in net for the second half, Pete and I got back on our bikes for the ride home. 

We had a nice ride home.  On the way home we stopped to look at a used car in a parking lot.  Earlier we also stopped and looked at another used car before lunch.  I thought we were done looking at used cars once Pete finally found a good one for Paul, but apparently Pete is now shopping for Steve’s daughter Rachel.  I took a few pictures of the signs in the cars just in case Steve wants to call.  I will post the pictures at the end of this story.  The rest of the ride home was nice and enjoyable, but nothing real interesting happened worth reporting.  Following are the statistics from this ride, 23.5 miles, 32.5 max, 10.5 average speed and 2 hours and 13 minutes time on bikes.   

As I finish writing the ride statistics I am reminded where we got up to 32.5 mph.  To get to the Paint Creek Trail (PCT) we head down the Dutton hill.  Dutton Road is dirt in this area and typically it is not in the best shape so we have to be cautious going down the hill.  On this day I noticed the road was in very good shape, probably the best I can remember.  So, I let off my brakes which usually I have on the whole way down the hill just to maintain control going over the bumps.  We coasted down the hill and got up to 32.5 mph without even pedaling. 

Sunday October 23, 2005
Before we parted company on Saturday Pete and decided we should ride again on Sunday and time it such that we could watch some of the Lions game at Hamlin Pub while we eat lunch.  We decided to leave around 11:30 am.  Steve joined us, so it was me , Pete and Steve on this ride. 

I rode over and picked up Pete at his house.  Next we rode over to Steve’s to pick him up.  Steve was just about ready when we pulled up.  As Steve was making his final preparations Pete and I started riding our bikes in a circle in Steve’s driveway to pass time.  Pete was behind me as we circled and for a minute I thought maybe I should change positions so I could keep an eye on Pete.  Next thing I heard a crash and looked back to see Pete sprawled on the grass next to Steve’s driveway.  I rode around and asked Pete what happened.  Pete was upset, he had banged his knee and after he got up was noticeably limping.  He sat back down trying to stretch his leg.  I was wondering if he was going to be able to continue.  Pete told us he rode too close to the edge of the driveway and fell off his bike when his tire slipped off the edge.  This isn’t the first time Pete has fallen when slipping off the edge of a driveway, you may remember he did it in his own driveway a few months ago.  After a few minutes Pete was able to compose himself and was able to continue on the ride. 

The three of us headed through the sub over to Dutton road heading for the trail.  Like the day before we were planning to take the trail into downtown Rochester.  I remembered from the day before that the condition of the road was good, so I started coasting right away.  We even got up to a higher speed than the day before, 34.5 mph.  It is actually quite fun to coast down a hill like this at a relatively high rate of speed.  34.5 mph seems a lot faster on a bike than it does while traveling in a car.  We all made it safely down the hill and turned right onto the entrance of the trail.   

There were three woman walking north as we just started riding on the trail.  Pete slowed down and asked one of the woman if there was a place on the trail to get coffee.  She was carrying a cup of coffee and Pete thought it would be funny to ask this question.  All three ladies laughed at his question and they were yelling comments back as we passed by.  

We ended up on the east side of Rochester Road and we stayed on this side as we headed south toward Hamlin Road where the Hamlin Pub is located.  It was still too earlier for the Lions game when we got to the Pub, but it was good that we got there early so that we got good seats.  The place filled up pretty good by around 1:00 pm, game time.  We started out by ordering appetizers with our diet cokes before ordering our actual lunches.  We figured we could stretch out our stay by munching on appetizers.  Before we ordered lunch Max called to find out where we were.  Diane and Max were alone and they were considering driving up to join us for lunch.  Jeff Garcia replaced Joey Harrington as the starting quarterback for the Lions in this game against Cleveland.  The Lions ended up winning, but it was actually a boring game between two very bad teams.  Just shortly after we ordered and received our lunches Diane and Max showed up. 

Pete and Steve each ordered greek salads.  No beets for Pete and extra beets for Steve.  Pete apparently hates beets and he stressed to the waitress to make sure there wasn’t even a drop of beet juice in his salad.  A strange lady sitting at a table next to us was visibly upset when Diane showed up with Max.  She just couldn’t figure out how someone could bring a child to a bar.  This lady was a strange bird, if Max hadn’t showed up she would have found something else to consume her attention.  Pete was asking Max if he wanted a cigarette and then he started asking Max if he liked the chicken wings better here at Hamlin Pub or at Hooters.  Pete was talking loud, as he was trying to make sure the lady at the table next to us could here.  He was also asking Max stuff like, what is your favorite beer.  I’m sure this lady will be telling stories of her lunch at Hamlin Pub to anyone and everyone who will listen to her for weeks.  I almost forgot to mention something that Steve did when Pete left the table to go to the rest room.  The greek salads were quite large and they came in these big plastic bowls.  While Pete was away from the table Steve planted a couple decent size pieces of beet in Pete’s half finished salad.  We both laughed and figured Pete would notice the beets and get all upset and maybe complain to the waitress.  I suggested to Steve that he stick one of the beets right on the end of Pete’s fork, Steve didn’t like that idea, it would be too obvious it was planted there by us, I had to agree with Steve.  Once Pete got back I forgot about the planted beets because Diane and Max showed up.  After a little while Pete finally did notice a piece of beet and he let out a yell and asked Steve to remove the beet.  After Pete found the first piece of beet we told him there was a second.  Pete looked long and hard but the second piece was no where to be found.  Could it be that Pete actually ate the second piece of beet without noticing, we think he did.  As fast as Pete eats I would be surprised if he actually tastes any of the food.  At least we learned that Pete is not allergic to beets, because he didn’t have any negative physical reaction.   

We stayed long enough to visit with Diane and Max, finish our lunch and watch the Lions bungle the last drive of the first half without any timeouts.  At half time it was time for us to head out back on our bikes for the ride home. 

Pete set a rather fast pace for the ride home.  As you know if you follow our adventures the ride home from the Pub is primarily up hill and this day it was also against the wind making it even a little more difficult than usual.  Pete’s knee must have been feeling OK because he did lead us home at a good pace with only a couple short pauses to cross major roads.  Following are the statistics from this ride, 16.0 miles, 34.5 max, 10.9 average speed and 1 hour and 27 minutes time on bikes. 
David Lindquist