response 151 of 291:

Aug 1 14:47 UTC 2002

The bike trail is very, very nice.  It's terrific to not have to 
contend with cars going by, and most of the trail is through the woods 
so it's great scenery for riding.  As I've mentioned before, it's flat 
so it's easy riding.  I'd like very much to have more trails like that 
in my area.

If it's railroad land, it's probably easily and cheaply available, and 
yes, I'd support getting and using it.  

response 153 of 291:

Aug 1 16:11 UTC 2002

Sure, but people have a right to their property, too.  There are not 
enough bicyclists to justify taking people's land for bike paths.

But the bike trail that we used last night is really terrific.

Are there many trails like it in Washtenaw County?  I'd be willing to 
pile the bikes in the car to take my son on other rides.  Does anyone 
know of others in Lenawee County?

response 155 of 291:

Aug 2 13:02 UTC 2002

I'd worry about toxic cleanup from all thsoe railroad ties, if I was planning
on using the land for anything besides trails.

response 157 of 291:

Aug 3 12:53 UTC 2002

In W. Michigan the bike trail on the tracks was surfaced with a soft gravel
that made it hard to bike, and ran through a very thin strip of trees with
farmland on both sides.  We found the regular rides preferable - plain hard
dirt, few cars, and more to see.  The bike trail was very crowded with very
slow bikers and the dirt roads nearly empty.  I would greatly appreciate a
bike trail starting at Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor heading west for two
miles as there is no safe way to get out of town going west.  

response 159 of 291:

Aug 3 23:36 UTC 2002

I've watched a new bike trail being put in along Jackson, from Wagner to High
Lake.  So you've got part of your wish, I think, Sindi.  On Thursday, I saw
workers digging up a path on the south side of Jackson, from where the
construciton is being toward Wagner.  So you may have more of it.  However,
there may still be a bit of trouble getting from, say, Seventh and Huron to
Jackson and Maple.

response 161 of 291:

Aug 4 09:19 UTC 2002

If I remember correctly (it's been a few years), the Toledo trail runs 
from Sylvania to UofT, and there are a number of access/parking sites 
along the way.  Note also that it requires crossing several busy roads, 
and that the trail is also popular with pedestrians and rollerbladers.

response 163 of 291:

Aug 4 20:49 UTC 2002

Jim just spent a few hours measuring the rim width of all our aluminum wheels
and he has selected the two narrowest (7/8" instead of 1 1/6") rims onto which
to put wheels for my latest bike.  Narrowest wheel on the front (with the
least tread) and something thicker and wider on the back wheel which wears
out faster due to more weight.  He showed me how the tread was gone more on
the back wheel of a matched pair that he had been using.  So he is
recommending that we put unmatched tires on our front and back wheels.

The latest bike made two different sorts of noises depending which of the gear
rings I was on - chain rubbing and a deeper grinding sort of noise.  The cause
turned out to be a bent derailleur which he straightened in the vise.  A
previous gearing problem on another bike was from the derailleur not being
quite vertical.  Jim's bike has a shifter that moves until you attach it to
the cable, and a cable that moves unless attached to the shifter.  They are
all different on the inside.  We have four or five of the two-lever variety
now.  In some you push the top to go up a gear, some you push the bottom to
go up a gear.  Some of them the levers stay where you put them so you can see
what gear you are in, some they all come back to starting point.  Some you
push just a little, mine you have to push about 120 degrees (we had to rotate
the shifter so I could reach it).  There is one double-lever type where you
push on one lever and pull on the other.  Presumbly this is some sort of
improvement over the single lever, which I had no trouble pushing AND
pulling on.  Sales gimmick?

We are setting up as many bikes as possible with these double lever types so
as to avoid the twist grips, which all come with bumpy and uncomfortable grips
that you cannot replace with smooth flattened ones so as to rest your weight
on your hands.  You cannot buy anything but bumpy grips now (new).  

On the more used of the tires that we have the tread is worn down in the
middle but never on the sides.  I doubt anyone who abandoned these bikes ever
rode them much on anything but pavement.  We are choosing tires that do not
have much tread on the sides, which saves weight.  I could bike on grass and
sand just as well with narrower tires.  The knobby ones are more likely to
trap gravel, I think.

response 165 of 291:

Aug 5 22:16 UTC 2002

My roof rack only fits one of my two cars.  Unfortunately, I
haven't seen a recumbent which will fit the kind of rack which
mounts on a car's trunk lid (the tubes are far too large to
go in the holders).

Can anyone here recommend a good recumbent/carrier combo which
can be swapped between cars easily?

response 167 of 291:

Aug 6 23:59 UTC 2002

Jim has found a new use for his rear rack - groundhog transportation.  He
brought over his freshly caught one (a yearling, he says) in our friend's
trap, wrapped in a large grey plastic bag, and then placed it in the shade
under a grapevine behind my apartment.  I tried to poke some edible weeds
through the bars, but it just hisses a lot and won't eat them.  24 hours
already without food or water.  Tomorrow it gets a new home.  I offered it
to my landlord but he already has one.  Groundhogs don't seem happy very far
off the ground.  We may offer it Barton Hills for a new home.

This is at least the third animal caught in the trap.  Not counting the cat.
So far we are lucky that the skunk family has not found the bait appealing.

response 169 of 291:

Aug 7 05:52 UTC 2002

I think I'd offer the groundhog trail mix -- even if it eats "edible
weeds" in the wild, this may not be its first choice even there.
Trapped, it's probably not in the best state of mind, so it would likely
take something pretty special to take its mind off its predicament.
Fresh water, in a bowl, would also likely be a good idea.  It's not
likely to either eat or drink while it even thinks you're watching -- as
long as you're in sight, it's going to be much more worried that you're
going to eat it or looking for a chance to escape, than in consuming
anything under such conditions.

Probably a park or a national forest would be the best place to release
such a critter.  There are several large and fairly wild parks to the
west & north of A^2.  I paid to have some racoons who were infesting my
chimney deported to Jackson, although I don't think groundhogs are
territorial enough for such a distance to be necessary.

response 171 of 291:

Aug 7 13:19 UTC 2002

The groundhog ate the wild amaranth after I left.  I just poked some more in.
I figure if I eat it, it must be edible.  It has water in it.  I don't feel
like opening the trap to put in a bowl of water.  We will find some park for
it today that is not too close to houses, unless some other grexer wants it.

Jim 'fixed' the neighbor's bike with the broken spokes by replacing the wheels
and robbing a few other pieces off our bikes, and ajusting brakes etc.  A nice
quality upright-style ten-speed.  He needs some clips for the cable housings,
or string.

response 173 of 291:

Aug 7 21:25 UTC 2002

From rhonda@boaa.com Wed Aug  7 17:19:56 2002
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 15:02:14 -0400 
From: Rhonda Foxworth <rhonda@boaa.com>
To: "'keesan@grex.org'" <keesan@grex.org>
Subject: Bike racks

Just to let you know we now have 2 bike racks installed near the door off
the covered parking area as you suggested.
Thank you for your patience.  Enjoy!
Rhonda Foxworth, Marketing Officer
Bank of Ann Arbor


----
I had emailed the marketing officer after the vice president expressed
supreme disinterest.  I pointed out that it did not do a whole lot for the
bank's image to have bikes locked to the flagpole out front.  The racks
were on order for a long time.

Today we took our groundhog's digital photo, then wrapped it in a grey
plastic bag again, perched on Jim's milk crate on his rear rack, and biked
along the river to Parker Mill.  We photographed it and us again near the
sign to the interpretive trail, where we walked in a distance and over the
river, and opened the cage.  It sat there looking the opposite direction
for a bit, then turned around and scampered off.  On the walk there a
large dog expressed interest but the owner dragged it away.  The
groundhog's nose looked bloodied.  Probably it tried to push its way out.
It had stopped hissing.

On the way back (with Jim's son, with whom we had a nice visit to be
repeated shortly) we saw a bunch of geese and ducks with one white gull,
and then two swans.  Nice day to be out.  My bike is much better than my
old one.  I could bike along the paved level trail in highest gear, and up
the Spring St. hill in middle gear.  I used to have to walk up the hill.
.