2025 Mileage: 308.2
I was just beat yesterday, so rather than killing myself, I took the day off. Happy to be able to get back to it today, on a day of cold rain, I headed over to Planet Fitness to ride early this afternoon.
This gave me a ride of 13.0 virtual miles today, in 1:00, while listening to Acoustic Eidolon.
2025 Mileage: 295.2
Today I rode again on the stationary cycle at Planet Fitness, and though I had considered riding for two hours (changing machines midway through, because they have a one-hour limit), I ended up cutting it down to a single hour as I'm eager to dig into a new choral piece I just began composing (a setting of Psalm 3: 3-6 that I'm calling "Shield Around Me.")
This gave me a ride of 12.2 virtual miles today, in 1:00, while listening to sports talk radio on 97.1 The Ticket.
2025 Mileage: 283.0
Today I again rode for an hour on the stationary cycle at Planet Fitness..
This gave me a ride of 12.1 virtual miles today, in 1:00, while listening to John Denver.
2025 Mileage: 270.9
I seem to have settled into a comfortable pattern of riding for an hour each day at Planet Fitness (their limit on the machines). In the past, I've built up more mileage in the winter by doing longer rides here at home, but that is only feasible when I can watch movies, and until we replace our cycle at home, that option is out..
This gave me a ride of 12.1 virtual miles today, in 1:00, while listening again (like yesterday) to Chris Springer's piano hymn arrangements.
2025 Mileage: 258.8
I took yesterday off from riding, with a fair chunk of the day consumed by a drive up to Lansing I made in order to meet my son for lunch. Today, then, I got back to it, though my day's plans changed as I went along ... originally I had planned to leave early this morning and go practice piano at church, and then go to work out ... however, I ended up deciding to sleep in (till past 7:15, which is exceptionally late for me ... the day is usually well along by then) ... and then stayed home to compose. So I did my piano practice and working out this afternoon instead.
This gave me a ride of 12.2 virtual miles today, in 1:00, while listening to Chris Springer's piano hymn arrangements.
2025 Mileage: 246.6
Did another single hour at Planet Fitness this afternoon, while listening to Acoustic Eidolon.
This gave me a ride of 12.1 virtual miles today, in 1:00.
2025 Mileage: 234 .5
Due to the bitter cold we were experiencing (subzero at night), I took the last two days off from riding. Today, returning to it, I went early (right after dropping Michelle off), and had wanted to ride for two hours.
The first hour went fine, listening to Chris Springer's piano arrangements of hymns that I had first discovered a few days ago. However, for the second hour, after I switched cycles and began, I encountered trouble. About 10 minutes into the ride, the monitor froze up so that, while I could still pedal, I could determine neither time nor distance. In light of this, I decided to stop early.
This gave me a ride of 13.7 virtual miles today, in 1:10.
2025 Mileage: 220.8
Though I didn't get a blogpost written for it, I did manage to squeeze in a ride yesterday, going to Planet Fitness in the early afternoon, to ride 12.4 virtual miles in 1:00.
Today I had considered trying to do a longer ride. However, taking my time, I did not get as early a start as I would have liked. And then, since it is an historic day for our country (the second inauguration of Donald Trump, as our 47th President, following his earlier term as 45th President), and I wanted to get home to watch the coverage (even though I am definitely not a Trump supporter), I truncated my ride to an hour (while listening to John Denver).
This gave me a ride of 12.4 virtual miles today, in 1:00.
√
2025 Mileage: 196.0
I knew that, for my ride today, I'd need to get it done early, as Michelle needs our car for much of the day. So I got it done VERY early (facilitated by Planet Fitness's 24/7 schedule). When I woke, about quarter to midnight, I simply allowed myself to slip out of bed, make my way quietly out to get dressed and then to the car, and was soon pulling up to their workout center at Briarwood (only about 3 miles from us).
I had considered doing a longer ride, but I allowed myself to settle for just an hour. When I arrived, there were only 3 other patrons there, and when I left (about 1:20), I was the only one. And during my ride, I listened to a playlist that Spotify suggested, based on my listening preferences as determined by my history -- an extremely nice collection of piano versions of hymn arrangements.
This gave me a ride of 12.5 virtual miles today, in 1:00.
Also, Friday I had thought I'd be unable to fit in a workout, but I was able to squeeze in an hour-long ride during the afternoon. However, I did not get a blog post written about it. During this ride, of 12.4 miles, I listened to music of Acoustic Eidolon, a husband and wife duo from Colorado that I like exceptionally much. They play a unique style of music that blends Celtic, Americana, world, and flamenco influences. Their music is known for its "new acoustic" sound. The players, Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire have become dear and treasured friends of mine online.
2025 Mileage: 171.1
At midday today, I left out home intending to go to Planet Fitness to ride the stationary cycle (mine at home still being in need of replacement). When I left the building, I walked straight into a substantial snowstorm, and experienced my first fall of the season. It was quite energetic, going right down onto my back. However, uninjured, I continued with my plans, and rode while listening to a smooth trumpet recording by my cousin, Rich Harris.
This gave me a ride of 12.6 virtual miles today, in 1:00.
Someone to Watch Over Me, performed by Richard Harris
This morning I went to Planet Fitness intending to do a long ride (3 hours). However, earlier in the morning, my assistance had been requested to help prepare some musical manuscript with the software Finale, so, as I pedaled, I changed my plans on the go in order to get to the Finale work sooner, and settle for a one-hour ride instead. It was a sunny experience, too, listening to symphonies by Mendelssohn, including his well known "Italian" symphony.
This gave me a ride of 12.6 virtual miles today, in 1:00.
Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony
2025 Mileage: 145.9
I wasn't able to get to Planet Fitness today until rather late in the day, and accordingly I trimmed back my ride to only a single hour, while listening to piano concertos by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), including my favorite, his #1 in D-flat major, a scintillating and brilliant work with which I became acquainted when a classmate of mine at the Interlochen Arts Academy won the concerto competition with it. I regret that I never worked on it back when it was still within my range technically, as it is clearly NOT now.
This gave me a ride of 12.3 virtual miles today, in 1:00.
2025 Mileage: 133.6
I returned to Planet Fitness this evening, and employed the workaround that I thought up yesterday, riding to the hour limit on one stationary cycle and then moving to the adjacent one and doing another hour. While riding, I enjoyed a schizophrenic pairing of music by English classical composer Ralph Vaughan Williams during the first hour, and the soundtrack from Wicked during the second.
This gave me a ride of 24.5 virtual miles today, in 2:00.
2025 Mileage: 109.5
I went back to Planet Fitness this afternoon, and after addressing a couple of issues that troubled my ride yesterday, I had a better experience today. For one thing, my tennis shoes were too big to fit securely inside the top straps that loop over the feet to hold them in place on the pedals. Because of this, my feet kept coming off the pedals. Today, though, I simply left my shoes in may locker and rode in my socks, and that took care of the problem. Secondly, my iPhone has no headphone jack (Apple has abandoned that on more recent models), so yesterday I had to haul my laptop out to the exercise room, find a way to prop it up on the cycle, and then I could use my earbuds with the headphone jack. In light of this, yesterday after I left Planet Fitness, I went to the Apple Store and picked up a pair of EarPods that plug in, not into a headphone jack but into the power jack.
Today I rode while listening to Mozart symphonies, which was a glorious experience!
I had hoped to ride for two hours ... but found that after 65 minutes the monitor for stats shut down, terminating the ride. I accepted the fact that a limit exists on the machines. However, on the drive home I realized a workaround, which I can employ in the future. There are 3 adjacent recumbent cycles, but they are little used, so in the future, I should be able to ride to the limit on one, and then simply move to a different machine.
Finally, riding on a good and smooth machine once again made me very aware of how badly our cycle at home has deteriorated, so that I am now determined to move forward with the process of acquiring a new one as expeditiously as possible.
This gave me a ride of 13.4 virtual miles today, in 1:05.
2025 Mileage: 96.1
Yesterday, I woke before 3:00, and was unable to get back to sleep. Accordingly, I was completely exhausted, and I decided to accept Michelle's suggestion that I take a rest day from riding as the voice of wisdom.
My stationary cycle at home remains problematic. A couple of days ago, Michelle suggested that I go to Planet Fitness (a new one of which is now at Briarwood, just about three miles from us). Then last night, she reversed field and asked me, in an ideal world, what would I choose to do—I told her I'd like to get a replacement cycle for our home, but at that point it was too late to get one here for today, so I did, in fact, go to Planet Fitness today, and found it quite a feasible option for me.
I again rode while watching the TV sitcom Frasier, which Michelle and I began binge watching during the later part of 2024, and today I rode while watching 3 episodes.
This gave me a ride of 10.4 virtual miles today, in 1:03.
2025 Mileage: 85.7
After the failure of my stationary cycle yesterday, I was quite concerned, and was considering ordering a replacement. However, when I explained it to Michelle last evening, she looked it over, and in fairly short order had the problem taken care of. She said she was able to achieve it just by pedaling backward for a short time.
I was kind of wondering what kind of condition I would find it in today, and while it was not perfect, at least it was rideable. It did hang up a few times today, though.
I again rode while watching the TV sitcom Frasier, which Michelle and I began binge watching during the later part of 2024, and today I rode while watching 3 episodes..
This gave me a ride of 13.0 virtual miles today, in 1:12.
2025 Mileage: 72.7
Always something! I decided to wait on my ride today until late afternoon, and then planned a 90-minute ride. However, at the 30-minute mark, the mechanism (which has been growing increasingly problematic over the last few months) seized up, and would pedal no more. I've put over 15,000 virtual miles on it in the 4 years that we've had it, and so I am now weighing the thought of ordering a replacement from Amazon.
Because of this issue, I'm trying to psych myself up to ride outside tomorrow. The coldest ride I've done so far was one brisk 17° February day a few years ago, but I had thought I had "aged out" of such winter riding. I may have to dig out my gloves, hat, and heavy coat for tomorrow, though, as it's supposed to reach a high in the low twenties tomorrow afternoon.
I again rode while watching the TV sitcom Frasier, which Michelle and I began binge watching during the later part of 2024, and although I had intended to ride watching 4 episodes, I only got through one and a half before the cycle gave out.
This gave me a ride of 5.8 virtual miles today, in 30 minutes.
2025 Mileage: 66.9
I took yesterday off, as i frequently do on Sundays, and also because I played a piano solo at church and was really dragging afterwards and needed the rest. Today, I again rode while watching the TV sitcom Frasier, which Michelle and I began binge watching during the later part of 2024, and I allowed myself to be lazy, settling for only 2 episodes of it.
This gave me a ride of 7.5 virtual miles today, in 45 minutes.
2025 Mileage: 59.3
This afternoon I again rode while watching the TV sitcom Frasier, which Michelle and I began binge watching during the later part of 2024, but during my ride I cut back and allowed myself to be lazy, settling for only 2 episodes of it.
This gave me a ride of 8.0 virtual miles today, in 45 minutes.
2025 Mileage: 51.1
This afternoon I again rode while watching the TV sitcom Frasier, which Michelle and I began binge watching during the later part of 2024, and during my ride watched 4 episodes of it.
This gave me a ride of 15.0 virtual miles today, in 1:30.
2025 Mileage: 36.1
This afternoon I returned to the TV sitcom Frasier, which Michelle and I began binge watching during the later part of 2024, and during my ride watched 3 episodes of it.
This gave me a ride of 10.9 virtual miles today, in 1:08.
2025 Mileage: 25.2
I got the new year off to a good start today. Last night, Michelle and I saw the old year out by cuddling up on the couch and watching Wicked, which is now available on Amazon Prime. Both of us being musicians, we have loved its music ever since the Broadway production was first released back in 2003—so our affection for the currently popular movie is no new thing. Last night was, in fact, the third time we have seen the movie, as we have twice seen it in the theater.
Today I decided that watching it during my ride would be a good way to start the year off. (One trait that I share with my son is that we can both watch media events repeatedly with no decay in our enjoyment.) This gave me a ride of 25.2 virtual miles today, in 2:34.
