Small bikes, stupid trails, injuries and rides with J2

It's been a while since I've posted up...not due to a lack of things to discuss...just because I'm lazy. Or, busy. Or, stupid. You take your pick.


Small bikes:
I was leaving work the other day. I'd hopped on the Cannondale to ride home...was leaving my parking lot at work, and had just pulled out in to traffic at Lake Eastbrook Dr and 28th St. This is generally one of the more dicey portions of my commute as there is lots of traffic coming from many different directions...most of which are just as happy to run me over as look at me. On this particular day, though, something other than the traffic caught my attention.

There was a man riding a bike from one parking lot to another in roughly the same area I was riding. Sadly, the traffic prevented me from hauling out my camera and snapping off a picture...as it assuredly would have been an amusing one. But, in the interests of expressing the situation to you, my loyal reader, I will paint as vibrant a picture as I may using my semi limited vocabulary.

This man was on a bike...a bright purple bike with yellow and white daisies painted on it. There was a white faux-wicker basket on the front, and it had white tires that appeared to be approaching the end of their life cycle. What was particularly interesting about this fairly large man on this fairly feminine bike was that it was exactly that...a feminine bike. It was a 16" barbie bike of the type sold at Wal-Mart or Target. No. Seriously. My first impression was that this a-hole had stolen some 7 year olds Barbie bike and was riding it to make his get-away. Where are the police when you need them? Probably too busy staging SWAT raids on MC's street in a veiled attempt to obtain further evidence of our subversive cycling activities.

After another 2 seconds of inspection of this mans bicycle I realized that he couldn't have stolen it. In an astonishing fete of bicycle engineering, this man had fit himself to a little girls bike. He had attached a seat post that was easily 2' in length...possibly more. And, had replaced the handlebars with a set of old-school 70's style ape hangers. The kind where you would normally be grabbing on the the grips at about ear level. Except, since this bike was so short, his ape hangers really only came up to about his waste. What I found particularly interesting was that he had replaced the original pedals. Pedals which were designed to fit a 7 year old foot, with standard platform pedals from an adult bike. However, the crank arms and drive train remained completely stock. Thus, he was pedaling like mad to go about 10mph. I believe he was pushing a cadence in the 110-115 range in order to "hurry" across the busy section of the bank parking lot.

As I stared with what must have been a fairly amusing slack-jawed, stupefied look upon my face, this 'cyclist' of sorts looked over and made eye contact with me. His reaction?

"Nice day for a ride!" he stated cheerfully.

I didn't reply...I just was lost for words. What would have been an appropriate response?

Riding with J2:
Last Sunday I had the privilege of riding with J2. While all the Asheville portion of the JDRF team was in recovery and slowly making the journey back to West Michigan, J2 and I had simultaneously concluded that there was not Sunday ride planned. And, that simply would not do.

John and I met at my house at Noon-ish and set out for a 60-ish mile trip to Grand Haven and back. And, I had a blast!

We had a few exciting moments as we dodged through traffic at the US31 interchange in Spring Lake and then hopped on the Draw Bridge to make our way South in the Grand Haven. But, other than that, the ride went really smoothly.

The wind was pretty heavy out of the Northwest, which meant the ride on the way out was a bit tough. But, it meant that we got to go check out the big rolling waves on the lake...and, they were HUGE.

Wind helped us out on the way home and we made pretty good time...the total route finished in the 65 mile range...and we hustled for a good portion of it.

All-in-all, it was a ton of fun. J2 rocks!

Injuries:
So, my knee has been screwed up for about 10 days now. It took a little time fo the Dr. to figure out what the issue was...but, now I'm pretty sure we've got it nailed.

Some sort of an issue with how tight the muscles and tendons are in my left leg. Basically, it is so tight and out of place that the tendon that runs on the front, inside of my knee is causing my kneecap to track incorrectly. That incorrect tracking means that the cartilage is inflamed and is sensitive, plus the bones around the knee area are clipping the edge of my knee cap as it passes over the bones when I bend my knee.

In short, it hurts a lot every time I move it.

Doc put me on a 10 day regimen of 2400 mg of Ibuprofen. 30 minutes of icing it daily. And, solid routine of stretching.

The stretching made an immediate and sustained difference...my knee feels MUCH better after I started stretching in the last couple days.

I should be back in action on Sunday. Provided I don't do something stupid to injure myself in the meantime.

Stupid Trails:
So, I thought it would be a good idea to take my kids out for a bike ride today. And, in the interests of giving them a bit more freedom from traffic, I thought we'd just head over to Kent Trails for a ride. My thought was that the kids would enjoy being able to ride on a trail were they essentially "owned the road".

Well...I still think they might have. If we could have found the trail.

My plan was to give the new-ish section of Kent Trails along M6 a try. I knew that it connected to the old section of Kent Trails as it heads south of 60th St. Unfortunately, there are no good places to park and hop on Kent trails as it moves south through the residential area in Grandville. I didn't want to park in some guys yard and then hop on the trail. So, I decided we would just go park at the new Metro hospital along M6 and just catch the trail from there.

The problem?

You can't get to the trail from anywhere along there. Seriously...the hospital? No access. The new Hyatt Place hotel being built? No access to the trail. The City of Wyoming kids park? No access. The newly built ITT Technical School? No access.

Ok, ok. We'll just ride back toward Byron Center road and catch the sidewalk heading south. From there we'll hop on the trail from where it crosses Byron Center. Sadly...there is no sidewalk. And, there is no place to connect with the trail unless you are willing to hop out in to traffic.

In short, this is a trail with no access. You can't actually get on to the trail from anywhere...at least, no where near the most populous area the trail passes through.

Now, forgive me if I am just being a bit dense. I assure you I'm not being willful. I legitimately am failing to understand. Why in the world would we have built a trail that doesn't actually allow anyone to use to get from anywhere to anywhere that is actually on the trail?

I've always viewed "bike trails" as being great for recreational purposes or for commuting in the very narrow circumstance in which you live and work along the trail. But, they've never really seemed useful to me...partly because they don't appear to be terribly safe if you're planning to ride at speed, and partly because they just aren't practical as a route for my commute. I don't live along the trail. I don't work along the trail. And, the trails in my area don't actually go in a direction that I ever need to go. So, I just have no need for them.

But, I've generally been willing to defend the expense to build them because I understand that they may have a use for some people.

Out for a ride with your kids? Use a trail. Nice Sunday ride on your cruiser bike? Use a trail. Rollerblading? Use a trail. Out for a walk? Use a trail. Out for a run/jog? Use a trail.

There are all kinds of people who might use a trail for plenty of valuable reasons.

But, if our community is going to build a trail that runs along a highway, passing through some of the most populous areas on the South-West side of town...you'd think that we'd want to make that trail accessible to the people in that area. There is a huge new hospital right there. How many of the staff working at that hospital, whose parking lot has Kent Trails pass directly through it, would ride their bikes to work? Well, none right now...because, in spite of the fact that the trail passes with 5' of their parking lot...there is no way to get from the trail to the parking lot. The whole trail is fenced off...on both sides. What's the point? How many people are going to stay in that Hyatt Place hotel who might want to use the trail for a jog or a ride? Too bad...you can't get there from here.

I'm failing...completely and utterly...to understand the purpose of this trail.

And, to be quite honest...this isn't the prettiest section of trail in history. It's along a highway...not known for its sublime beauty or breathtaking scenery. And, the whole thing is fenced in on both sides to within 6" of edge of the pavement. The combined effect of lots of pavement, cement, inaccessible buildings, and fences leaves one with the impression of a prison yard.

So...if you'd like to know what it would be like to spend time in the clink...check out the new section of trail along M6.

If you're looking for a place to take the kids for a bike ride...probably better look someplace else.