Conditioning Ride - 26.47 miles

Route

Newport to Huron River Dr to Zeeb to Joy to Mast, turn around at N. Territorial, back on Mast, Huron River Dr., and Newport.

Stats

* 26.47 miles

* 1 h 39 m

* 15.3 avg mph

Interesting Happenings

As I passed another cyclist who wasn't going very fast, we exchanged a few words, and when he said that he'd biked all the way from Ypsilanti to Dexter, I slowed down to chat some more. I was impressed. He'd taken some of the parkland trails through Ann Arbor rather than the roads. That sounded like a good idea to me, given some of the roads he'd have to travel on.

I encountered two bad drivers and one rude one on this ride. Usually, motorists are surprisingly good around cyclists (or at least, around me). They give me plenty of room, and if there's oncoming traffic, they slow down enough so that they don't have to crowd me to get by.

Once in awhile someone shouts out the window, or brushes too close for comfort, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

Today, one delivery truck sped by dangerously close. Very dangerous. I noticed it wobbling as it continued up the road. Another motorist pulled out of a side street right in front of me at the last minute. Very stupid. Someone else honked at me from behind when I wasn't doing anything improper, and there was no oncoming traffic, so there was plenty of room to pass. Very rude.

Impressions of Ride

This was a pretty nice ride, although it rained for part of the ride. For some reason, I really like the long gentle slope of Zeeb Rd up to Joy Rd. Going up the slope is not terribly difficult, but it demands a constant output of energy, and I feel like I've accomplished something when I reach the top.

I also like the paved part of Joy Rd. I had tried Mast months ago, and had abandoned it at that time due to strong headwinds, lots of hills, and a sort of rough surface. But I decided to stick it out this time. I'm a lot stronger, so the hills weren't a problem. There was a little bit of headwind, but I've survived plenty of headwinds in the past several months. As it turned out, Mast wasn't all that long, so it was really no big deal.