One week down, how many more to go?

Well, Greg and I survived the first week as bachelors. Neither of us got food poisoning and the house is still standing and relatively clean. With our individual schedules we still managed to eat dinner together a few nights and only ate out once. We have decided that each of us will cook at least once each week, I will probably do so more often. But we already miss Sandy's cooking. Plus just having her here; the dogs just aren't a good substitute.

I entered into the modern era of cell phones, finally breaking down and getting a smart phone, along with its associated benefits and costs. I had been looking at them for a few weeks as I was getting more involved with MICA responsibilities. Sandy's departure also meant it would be nice to stay in touch via text and photo messages. Under our former plan each of those types of messages cost a quarter.

In doing research on phones available under our carrier I ran across discussion of a new phone that was due out. So I opted to wait a few weeks and on Thursday I picked up an HTC Incredible for Sandy and myself. This was the first day they came out and the supply was limited. The phone is amazing in its capabilities and now I have to upgrade my skills to use it. But now free to send me all the text messages you want.



Yesterday I took part in a social bike ride I had been wanting to do for several years. The ride started in Ferndale, about nine miles north of Detroit and covered quite a few of the famous landmarks in and around the city. Plus stops at several bars along the way for refreshments.

If you saw the Dateline piece a few weeks ago you know what some areas of Detroit are like. We rode through some of the best and worst that the city neighborhoods had to offer. But we never felt threatened; most people we saw just smiled or waved and said hello. Of course, they probably weren't going to mess with 70 or so cyclists riding together.

It rained hard before the start but then we had mainly clear skies and warm weather, although a pretty strong wind was present for most of the ride. We wound our way to several landmarks including a goat farm in a blighted neighborhood, Mexican Town, the old train depot, the Riverwalk Park, Dequindre Cut, Heidelberg Project, Eastern Market and Hamtramack Disneyland, just to name a few. We only rode about 40 miles but the ride took almost 8 hours. We spent a lot of time looking at the sights or stopping for refueling.

I am glad I was able to see the city from a different side. It is quite different to be rolling through it on a bike rather than in a car with the windows up and doors locked. I intend to visit some of these areas again when I get a chance. For a look at the pictures I took you can go here.

This week brings our third MICA board meeting and the bike demo day at Island Lake. I had planned on being there to help at the Cannondale tent but now will probably be at the MICA tent instead.