CruzLike
Guru
Hello Tribe
Stepping Out
Last year my riding changed. I'm not sure it was for the better. My bike sat on the trainer all summer. It did not get dusty or neglected. I steadily rode on Zwift and stayed in fair shape. One thing that I often hear is ”You need to get outside in the Summertime”. Enjoy the weather, either good or bad. This Spring rolls around and I'm in the same rut. It's a nice rut. Start Zwift, ride and hour and hop in the shower. Wham bam. No riding gear, helmet, sun block and cars. They say “No man is an island”. My rut was on its way of making me an isthmus.
To break out of this riding rut, I contacted a friend that lives a state away. We made plans for a 3 day stretch in late May to do some riding.
The night before, I tested and charged all my gear. Most had not been used in 15 months. They all seemed to work so I could not back out.
I drove over, got there before lunch. After a little catching up. We took off for the bright lights of Macomb. Nice little ride into town. https://www.strava.com/activities/14705033290 My bike computer didn't automatically start the ride. My ride started a few miles down the road. C'est la vie We meandered the streets while he pointed out the highlights of our passings. We stopped at The Old Dairy for lunch. It was quite busy for a Wednesday. While we sat eating lunch, I noticed how Jeff knows most of the people in town. Either they are adult friends or a younger generation that he taught French. After lunch we took the long way back home. Rolling in at 27 miles.
The following day we started a little earlier and rode a big loop north and east of the house. https://www.strava.com/activities/14705031606 This route took us by a hammer plant in Bushnell, I dared Jeff to stop and ask how smart are there hammers. He didn't stop. I guess the world will never know. We then headed north to the idealistic Little Swan Lake. We then rolled up and down the gentle hills on to the wind farm. We really timed it right. All the big fans were off, and we didn't have much wind to blow us around. We then saw the town of Good Hope and stopped in with a friend of Jeff's. He has known her since riding the bus in grade school. By the time we made it home we had just under 50 miles.
![20250530_092506[1].jpg](https://forum.cruzbike.com/data/attachments/18/18898-c3f6ef6be4204e10b4606fc906ab224f.jpg "20250530_092506[1].jpg")
For 3 day, the pièce de résistance . We rode into town to meet up with some of Jeff's ridding buddies. We then rode off to the town of Tennessee to have breakfast. The seven of us sat around the table solving the world's problems. I ordered an omelet and a pancake. The meal came to the table staggered. I ate the omelet then waited on the pancake. It was a good thing I had time to rest. When the pancake arrived, my eyes got all wide. It was the biggest pancake I've ever seen. I chewed on that inch thick cake for a while. With a little perseverance I finished it. After breakfast broke up and the group went different directions. Jeff and I headed to the largest hill in the county. I went blazing down the hill belly full of pancake and all. Abruptly slowing to climb out of the valley. My legs not quite ready and warmed up. They were barking at me to stop. They got over it. We then rode part of the route that Jeff had won a bike race in his youth. We finished the ride with several miles of tail wind. We ended up even closer to the half century mark. https://www.strava.com/activities/14705030415
![20250530_114014[1].jpg](https://forum.cruzbike.com/data/attachments/18/18900-c03e7323c1954957d86800dea98ac2ea.jpg "20250530_114014[1].jpg")
Jeff sent me on the road home with some fresh vegetables and a soup recipe.
It was really a good time away. Had good conversations, fun rides. In spending this time with him and his wife Susan. It was interesting to see how connected with his neighbors, near and far. Some of them, for most of his life.
I don't think I'm dyslexic. This may be a test. Does anyone else see Ranay Franklin in the next photo?
![20250530_161305[1].jpg](https://forum.cruzbike.com/data/attachments/18/18899-df8eed82558da16952efa183d396d9c1.jpg "20250530_161305[1].jpg")
I might be weird, but I saw it. She is one of the most interesting people I follow on Strava. She is a Cruzbiker that documents her rides in California and Thailand with pictures. Some of the pictures from Thailand are soooo different from America or Indiana. I have to take pause and study them.
Stepping Out
Last year my riding changed. I'm not sure it was for the better. My bike sat on the trainer all summer. It did not get dusty or neglected. I steadily rode on Zwift and stayed in fair shape. One thing that I often hear is ”You need to get outside in the Summertime”. Enjoy the weather, either good or bad. This Spring rolls around and I'm in the same rut. It's a nice rut. Start Zwift, ride and hour and hop in the shower. Wham bam. No riding gear, helmet, sun block and cars. They say “No man is an island”. My rut was on its way of making me an isthmus.
To break out of this riding rut, I contacted a friend that lives a state away. We made plans for a 3 day stretch in late May to do some riding.
The night before, I tested and charged all my gear. Most had not been used in 15 months. They all seemed to work so I could not back out.
I drove over, got there before lunch. After a little catching up. We took off for the bright lights of Macomb. Nice little ride into town. https://www.strava.com/activities/14705033290 My bike computer didn't automatically start the ride. My ride started a few miles down the road. C'est la vie We meandered the streets while he pointed out the highlights of our passings. We stopped at The Old Dairy for lunch. It was quite busy for a Wednesday. While we sat eating lunch, I noticed how Jeff knows most of the people in town. Either they are adult friends or a younger generation that he taught French. After lunch we took the long way back home. Rolling in at 27 miles.
The following day we started a little earlier and rode a big loop north and east of the house. https://www.strava.com/activities/14705031606 This route took us by a hammer plant in Bushnell, I dared Jeff to stop and ask how smart are there hammers. He didn't stop. I guess the world will never know. We then headed north to the idealistic Little Swan Lake. We then rolled up and down the gentle hills on to the wind farm. We really timed it right. All the big fans were off, and we didn't have much wind to blow us around. We then saw the town of Good Hope and stopped in with a friend of Jeff's. He has known her since riding the bus in grade school. By the time we made it home we had just under 50 miles.
For 3 day, the pièce de résistance . We rode into town to meet up with some of Jeff's ridding buddies. We then rode off to the town of Tennessee to have breakfast. The seven of us sat around the table solving the world's problems. I ordered an omelet and a pancake. The meal came to the table staggered. I ate the omelet then waited on the pancake. It was a good thing I had time to rest. When the pancake arrived, my eyes got all wide. It was the biggest pancake I've ever seen. I chewed on that inch thick cake for a while. With a little perseverance I finished it. After breakfast broke up and the group went different directions. Jeff and I headed to the largest hill in the county. I went blazing down the hill belly full of pancake and all. Abruptly slowing to climb out of the valley. My legs not quite ready and warmed up. They were barking at me to stop. They got over it. We then rode part of the route that Jeff had won a bike race in his youth. We finished the ride with several miles of tail wind. We ended up even closer to the half century mark. https://www.strava.com/activities/14705030415 Jeff sent me on the road home with some fresh vegetables and a soup recipe. It was really a good time away. Had good conversations, fun rides. In spending this time with him and his wife Susan. It was interesting to see how connected with his neighbors, near and far. Some of them, for most of his life.
I don't think I'm dyslexic. This may be a test. Does anyone else see Ranay Franklin in the next photo?
I might be weird, but I saw it. She is one of the most interesting people I follow on Strava. She is a Cruzbiker that documents her rides in California and Thailand with pictures. Some of the pictures from Thailand are soooo different from America or Indiana. I have to take pause and study them.
