Lion Home Opener - Good Eats - Yep, They Still Suck

The cornbread was there for the taking as I woke up this morning with eternal optimism for the team I am hoping gets to a Super Bowl before the clutching of the chest thing happens for me where my friends are gathered to talk about my life without a Lion's world championship. Thoughts of death aside, the food was delicious at the Ochs' compound as we had a chance to compare homemade, deep fried wings versus the franchise, cookie cutter items from BW-3. Well, I must say, besides having the homemade ones coming straight from the fryer, there really wasn't much of a difference. They were both delicious (the halftime cookies were a treat as well Laura). Oh yes, there was some football today, and yeah, the Lions still blow. By the third quarter, we were already talking draft strategy for 2011 (need a stud linebacker, defensive back or left tackle) and it was only the second game of the year. That is pretty sad.  

Trail Head

Holdridge Lakes - Holly Rec Area - Gruber's Grinder

I have no idea who Gruber is but apparently he decided to make a path in woods and was on some kind of five hour energy kick and kept making the trail longer and longer. After 15 or so miles, I am guessing Gruber got tired and decided to call it a day. The mountain biking gods were so inspired that they named the trail after him. That is my theory. Did he have to make the first three miles feel like ten? I honestly was ready to utilize the shortcuts at one point. The hills just kept coming and coming. My man boobs have been sagging lately so I decided to see the whole trail. I did have a nice wipe out at about mile 13 that sucked some air out of my lungs. Besides a nice abrasion on my knee and shoulder, all was well. I was Hans Solo out there as I had the day off and my riding brethren were either rehabbing on the injured reserve list or out in the woods hunting anything that was moving. Next year might see some more Reeves' blood on the trails as my nephew Jackson has been asking to come on the tour. If my fellow riders are absent, the J-man is going to come aboard. He is more than welcome as long as he keeps his Facebook postings away from the tour. I like the whole picture posting portion of Facebook but get nauseous when people are telling the world what they are eating for breakfast, doing their homework, po'd about their job, hate the government, are mad at their boyfriend/girlfriend, etc... The people reading it could either care less about how you feel or are happy that you are having it bad. With that, keep it happy or keep it to yourself. (a little commentary today I guess)

Trail Head

4th Annual Chip Float

Five former Chippewas converged upon the Oil Capital of Michigan this weekend for the 4th annual Chippewa River float. We met up at the Bird Bar & Grill on Friday night and from there, set out to soak in the college atmosphere. The college atmosphere, however, has changed since the late 80's. We walked down Main and University streets expecting to hear loud music and parties everywhere. Besides a few hangers on the porches, there was not a party in sight. It seemed like every house had a 60 something inch screen television and people were just sitting there. What's with that? The youtube/facebook/xbox youth need to get off their rear ends and talk to their neighbors. We ventured over to Al, Eddie, Greg, and Mike's old house, the Peace House. The front door was literally open so Al walked in and chatted it up with the current residents. I think they were a little freaked at first that these old dudes were in their front room but once I asked if the throne in the basement was still standing (elevated toilet in Al and Mike's area of the house), they knew we weren't just talking trash that the fellas used to live there. We were invited back for the Central/Western game. We felt our age later in the evening at the Blackstone Bar. We had the jukebox playing the Seger, Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, Blues Traveler, etc.. tunes while playing pool (Eddie P. was putting on a clinic). Once our music choices stopped, the tunes for the others in the place took over. I didn't recognize one song. Sad.

The forecast for Saturday called for a chance of showers for the river float. While the doppler had a long green line of rain over Lake Michigan at about 9 AM, we felt confident that we'd be down the river before it reached us. Well, that long green line must have moved pretty fast. The float started dry but after about an hour, it started spitting a bit. No problem as the spotty rain didn't affect us too bad plus the fishing was going well (nice catch by Al). The spotty rain, however, became steady rain and the steady rain became a serious downpour. We were soaked. The casual, nature watching float became a sprint at that point. 

The rain didn't melt us and after drying out along with some fresh clothes, we got our second wind and enjoyed some cold beverages and many, many chicken wings. The day even brought about an Elvis sighting at the Bird later in the evening.  

Good time; good people.

Trail Head

Elvis in the house!

Soul Cleansing On The Potawatomi

What better way to spend a well earned day off from work than pedaling roughly 18 miles through the woods at Pinckney Recreation Area on the Potawatomi Trail. The "hills of hell" are still present on the trail as I did walk up a fair share of them (hell isn't supposed to be pleasant) and the last two miles were a chore but the views and serenity of the ride made it worthwhile. There is nothing better than blocking everything out, listening to the iPod, and zooming through the woods. Pure, 100% utopia. There are no thoughts of work, the oil spill in the gulf, the war in the east, the upcoming Lions' season, Oprah, crappy summer television, laundry, my 401K performance (or lack there of), chores; the only thoughts are "that's a cool leaf color." Thanks to the DNR and the Boy Scouts for creating this great trail back in 1964. I wonder if the BMX-ers were riding the trail back then on their Sting-Ray cycles? 

Trail Head