Month update

[johnridley]

Been a while since I've updated.

Jenn went to Interlochen for band camp, I went up on Friday for the Saturday and Sunday concerts. I spent some of Saturday doing the M22 loop up into the pinkie and rode through Sleeping Bear Dunes. Very nice ride.
The concerts were, as expected, very good. I was impressed by Jenn's control over her horn, that horn is great and she's progressed a lot on it in the 2 years she's had it.

On the heels of the trip to the UP, I was looking for a more modern comfortable long distance touring bike. I'd been looking at a Yamaha FJR but had doubts since it's a very powerful bike, which I don't particularly need, and I'd have to get one 10 years old or less to get the features I really wanted (cruise control, traction control). While browsing Marketplace in the hotel in Traverse, I came across a 2007 BMW R1200RT in very good shape with only 11K on it for a good price. I texted the guy, and on Monday went home, hooked up the trailer and went and bought it. Nearly a month on I'm happy with the purchase. I think maybe I've got my keeper bikes now.

I actually stripped the CX down and am running it naked. It's fun in that configuration and I have the BMW as a fully faired highway machine now. The CX is also easier to deal with in the garage without all the stuff on it.

We also went up to the bridge walk as we have for years now. It was the nice weekend with friends that it has been in the past, a bit low key compared to some years. Most of us did the 10 mile round trip, two did half way out and back. We had to leave Monday afternoon even though we had the place until Tuesday, Jenn had a work thing in Lansing early Tuesday morning.

I also got around to doing something about fixing the bad job I did on the garage front gutter years ago. I tore all the plastic gutter with leaky joints down and replaced it with aluminum gutter in two 16 foot lengths with hopefully a watertight seal. We'll see.

I've got my annual physical coming up this week. I'm going to try to get the updated booster at that time, if not there I'll go over to CVS, and get the flu shot at the same time.

At the Wednesday motorcycle meetup last night, I got informed of a bike meetup in Milford. I'm terribly uninformed about these things. I had planned to go to the big event at the Gilmore museum on Saturday, but it sounds pretty hectic. I'm probably going to the Milford event instead. It sounds interesting. It's focused on vintage British motorcycles and to some extent cars and European bikes. I had planned on riding the Honda to Gilmore as it's the only > 25 year old bike I have, but for the Milford event I guess the BMW is the choice. I haven't had the BMW more than 30 miles from home yet (Monday rehearsal in Ypsi was the limit)

Speaking of, OLC's new season has started. Just barely, the first Monday is new member night and it's mostly getting people sorted into committees, intros, etc. We got maybe 20 minutes of very light rehearsal in and that was it. We have a new director, he seems good. I'm remaining in baritone.

Comments

[minnehaha]

I thought the Bridge Walk was only N > S?

K. [would like to do it some year]

[johnridley]

Not for years now.
Was true at one time, you had to shuttle north then walk south. They only closed half the bridge.
Then someone decided it was a huge terrorism target - only a 4 inch angled curb separated the walkers from the traffic and someone could drive a large truck into the walkers. So they closed the whole bridge for the event.
Then someone decided that the shuttles were a terrorism target, someone could plant a device on the busses. So they tried having the national guard check every bus for devices before letting them start service in the morning. But rather than do that the night before, they decided to do it in the morning. By the time they shut down only a fraction of the busses that were there to provide shuttle service had been cleared and thousands of people were unable to walk that year.
Finally they gave up, no shuttle service, and just closed the bridge and let people walk any damn way they want. You can walk north, you can walk south, you can cross half way and back, you can walk 10 feet up the bridge, walk back, whatever.
This started 8 years ago. Basically now they close the bridge at 6:30, open it to walkers at 7, close the center of the bridge at 10:30, if you aren't there by then you have to turn back. There are other turn back points too. You can walk any way you want within those times.
There technically IS still a shuttle service, I think - you can get a ferry across. Or you can pre-position your own vehicle at the opposite end of the bridge and cross once.
Most people that want to do the whole thing just walk the 10 miles across and back though.
I bought the shirt this year, my first bridge crossing shirt after years of doing the walk.

[minnehaha]

Before the bridge was built (my mother from the Son told me) there was a train ferry. They could take a train in sections on a ferry across the Straits. My grandfather was a captain with the US Steel fleet, and after the war, he thought about applying for the ferry captain's job. According to mom, her mother said, "Now, Jim... someday they're going to build a bridge and that ferry will be out of business and you'll be out of a job!" So he stayed with Steel until he retired in the early 60s.

Probably true except I doubt the "train ferry" part of it.

K.

[johnridley]

There was a train ferry, that mainly took cars. I have photos of my dad and grandfather in the early 50s waiting in line to go north for deer camp. This is a video by Alexis Dahl about the bridge. Her videos are wonderful and worth watching, though almost entirely Michigan topics. The Incredible Engineering Behind Michigan's Iconic Bridge