Hurricane Hill

Walking up hurricane hill at Olympic National Park. There is still
plenty of snow on the mountains.

This past weekend was the Michigan MS 150 in Holland, MI. Here's our team, Dan, Carly, Bruce, Mark, Bill, Jan, Shawn and Becca. The weather was very accommodating. Saturday was warm and muggy. We usually stop along Lake Michigan for a picture but it was so foggy you couldn't see the lake. As the day went on the weather cleared up and the evening was beautiful and cooler. Sunday was a bit cooler and still muggy. I rode 100 miles on Saturday and 75 on Sunday, keep in mind it was on a mountain bike. I think it was the slowest century I ever did, but I made it. It was great training for the Big Ride which starts in a week.

Detroit Riverwalk

Here's the Detroit Riverwalk fountain at the Ren Cen. It was a
beautiful day for a bikeride downtown, hot and sunny
Along the Riverwalk the kids were playing in the fountain, families
picnicing under the trees and folks skating by. It's hard to believe
I'm in downtown Detroit.

Iris garden along the lake

Vincent may paint a beautiful picture but there's nothing like the
real flowers. I stopped to snap this along Lakeshore over Memorial Day
weekend.

Swan family in Grosse Pointe Shores

Belle Isle bell tower

Coldwater to Dearborn Century Ride

Our group did the annual Coldwater to Dearborn Century Ride on Sunday. This year the weather was HOT, one place showed 92 degrees. Here we are on the banks of the St. Joseph River with the water overflowing it's banks. From left to right, Bruce, Jan, Carly, Mike, Mary(our sag driver), Mark and Dan. Dan and Bruce organized this ride for me to give me some hills before the Big Ride next month. I can't believe in less than a month's time I'll be on my way. The first day is 77 miles uphill over the Cascades. I thought about that every time I climbed a hill on this ride. Thanks to all my friends for making the Coldwater Century another success.

A beautiful evening on Lake St Clair

Detroit from Belle Isle

Last day skiing for the year

Our last day skiing for this season was at Snowbird on April 13th. We had 14" of fresh powder. These photos don't show the steepness of the Cirque, but it is pretty steep. What a great way to end the year. See you next year Snowbird and Alta. Next time I'm in the west will be on my bike.

Skiing at Snowbird and Alta

We took a long weekend skiing at Snowbird and Alta, Utah. We missed the big snow by a couple of days. So far the skiing has been pretty good. It's spring skiing, icy in the morning and then softens up in the afternoon. At Alta a band was playing at the mid-mountain restaurant and it was a nice break to listen to the band and enjoy a beer. After we carbo loaded we skied a couple more hours till 4:30. As the day went on the skiing got better. A couple more days then we're headed back home My Big Ride training will kick into full swing. Hopefully I can aim for 100 plus miles a week.

Spring is coming

The weather is warming up so I've been out riding Yesterday I was on Hines Drive with my friends and put in 32 miles. In the meantime I've been training indoors. I look forward to consistently warm days, but it is just March in Michigan. Think spring!

Happy Winter

Here's Lake St. Clair on a cold January morning, frozen over to Canada.

A couple of weeks later the weather warmed up and I was out riding for 3 days straight. Warmed up means in the high 20s to low 30s, but it was sunny and the wind was light. We just had some snow so the roads are slick and I won't take any chances of crashing. Glad I'm not on the east coast, too much snow this year. I'm considering an indoor training facility for the month of March and then in April I plan to be on the open road. Think sunny weather so I can get outside.

I'm waiting for the weather to warm up

Living here in Michigan, you never know what the weather will be from minute to minute. One day it can be 20 then the next up to 60 and then right back down to 30. We've had a cold winter, so cold that Lake St. Clair froze over. It just thawed a couple weeks ago. There's been only a few days that it's been warm enough for me to get out riding. I find that no matter how bundled up I am, my toes and fingers don't stay warm. With that in mind, I've been out only a few times. Tomorrow should be in the upper 40s so I hope to get some time in.