Edward Hines Park Trail Part II

So now I know why it's named Edward Hines Drive.  The area must have been held as a place of importance to have a bridge built over it as the 395th project by the Wayne County Road Commission, plus whom ever did the work did an outstanding job, the bridge was in great shape considering it's 80 years old.

Yesterday was another adventure exploring the middle section of of Hines Park Trail.  Today's ride started and the eastern end of the middle section and I rode west to the place where I had left off on the first trip.  Last time it was from Northville Downs to Wilcox Lake, yesterday's ride took me from Nankin Lake to Wilcox Lake for just over 13 miles round trip.  This section was a tad bit flatter, some rolling hills and a couple of good size climbs, but overall it was less daunting.  A map to the route can be found at this link.


Spring is popping out everywhere and Mother Nature's visual splendor is everyplace you look.  Pedaling along it's like one scene tries to outdo the one at the previous bend in the road.  I had a more than chance encounter with a family of Canada geese.  Mom, dad and little yellow puff balls were crossing the path up ahead.  I slowed down to let them pass well ahead of where I was and as I approached I steered clear of them and avoided eye contact.  This was one particularly fierce momma goose, as I passed I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and veered farther off the path away from them.  She was having none of me!  She took flight for a brief few seconds with a lot of flapping and honking, my heart pounded and blood raced through my veins.  I was sure I was a goner, but maybe it was for show, something turned her attention away.  Geeze, I never thought I looked that menacing.  Close encounter.  Not my first with waterfowl, I've been chased by geese and once by a trumpeter swan but those are tales for another time.  That all happened in the first 10 minutes of my ride and quickly the ride calmed down and was very uneventful after that, thank goodness!

 The Middle Rouge River is dotted with lakes as she meanders her way through southeastern Michigan dumping out into Lake Erie and Hines Park is home to many of those lakes.  In my short journey, parking my vehicle at one lake I passed another before I ended up at Wilcox Lake.  That being the largest of the lakes called Newburg Lake.  Like so many of those lakes along it's route there was a large dam constructed there and a power plant sat along it's shore.  The dam and plant was built, in part, by Henry Ford to power his village plant to build drills for use in his factories around the world as pictured in this dialogue board.  In addition to what's included in the photo here are two different links to historical information about the plant and about the refurbished comfort station at the lake.   The lake, once polluted


cleaned up in 1998 and new piers were installed for fishing and the lower level of the comfort station was outfitted for canoe and kayak rentals.  When I was younger and lived in the area I took my canoe and paddled and fished the lake, once catching a very large goldfish (about 10 inches) that I took home to my aquarium.  I kept him over the winter and let him go the next year.

This trio of photos is taken around the refurbished waterfront, I was not
the only photographer around, however this guy was far better equipped
than I was with my little travel camera. 

I enjoyed a little rest stop along the riverside alongside a portion strewn with some rapids and the sounds of the water spilling over rock was a pleasant backdrop for the emerging foliage and birdies tweeting. These last several days in a row now have been some of the most exquisite weather patterns we have had all year so far.  If you had the ability to order up beautiful days and gorgeous weather, you couldn't do a better job than what we've been having.

About mid ride I found a spur off the Hines Trail that is a connector to the I-275 Metro trail that traverses north and south along I-75 which would put it perpendicular to the Hines Trail.  the 275 Metro is a 44 mile long trail and one of the first built in Michigan.  It fell into disrepair and was so overgrown as to be un-navigable in some areas until a couple of years ago a project was undertaken to renovate and rejuvenate the trail and make it great trail again.  A link to a map and historical information about the trail can be found here

Lastly are a pair of photos from the starting and ending lakes on my ride today.  Who knew that recovery from heart surgery and getting healthier and fitter could be this much fun?  Even though I had tried to ride as much as I could before the heart valve surgery, a bit as weather permitted afterwards and even though I rode my trainer during the winter months, it was not with the intensity or level of fitness I had enjoyed earlier in the year and the previous year.  Pedaling my way back to health has been a bit daunting at times when I struggled through frustration over having lost fitness, but as I regain my strength I am delighted.  It's a blast when you can combine the love of exploring with the joy of pedaling.  Oh yeah, in the process, get healthy!

Having taken on this adventure I am obligated to finish up the final third and easternmost section of the trail.  I'll be sure to post a ride report when I do. 

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Edward Hines Park & Trail

Northville Downs Racetrack

Truly in the spirit of Spring it was time for more exploring.  I've been wanting to explore the Hines Park trail for some time now and yesterday seemed like a good day for it, beautiful Saturday afternoon.  I had mapped the trail out and noticed that the north western most end of the tail was right near Northville Downs.  They have a huge parking lot and even an overflow lot so it seemed like a good place to start from.  I arrived and couldn't believe my eyes that the overflow lot which generally sits empty was overflowing with cars, duh, it's the Kentucky Derby and I was looking to park at a racetrack!  I did find a place luckily, but once on the trail I found a park, playground, rest stop area with ample parking.  Oh well, now I know for next time.  As a youngster and young adult I lived near Hines Park and cruised Hines Drive thousands of times.  Mostly it was in the south eastern portions of the park and when out for Sunday drives we usually turned around just before the Northville section.   After I moved away a trail was added to the park, I'd seen it briefly from a car but was anxious to ride it.

Hines Drive takes you through Hines Park within multiple cities and townships, it meanders along the Rouge River, indeed it was created as an overflow flood basin for the Middle Rouge River and helps to protect neighborhoods and homes from spring floods. The basin is in a valley and is one of the most scenic drives in the urban areas of Wayne County.  The park is littered with ball diamonds, picnic areas, shelters, play sets, fishing spots, disc golf courses and the bike trail.  You can find more information about the park here.   

As a teen I fished many areas of the river and most of the lakes that the river passes through.

When I first set off,  I headed south from the intersection of Sheldon Rd. and 7 Mile Road, it was a mistake.  I missed the path and somehow ended up on a connector that is the Bennett Arboretum (link to information about the arb) it was built to connect and serve several neighborhoods right off of Sheldon between Six and Seven Mile roads.  The path from Six to Seven Mile is nearly straight uphill, so I started my ride with an immediate big climb.  I thought that the path would turn into the park and traverse the southern side of the drive but it kept climbing and climbing, all the while heading further and further from Hines Drive and trail.  It was tough to see because the trail twisted and turned.  It was an elegant portion of trail but carrying me in the wrong directions so about 3/4 of a mile into it, I oriented myself and turned around.  My trip back to my beginning was swift because it was all downhill.  The hilliness didn't end as I now headed eastward along Hines Park Trail.  After about another half mile I was treated to another very large climb.  Note to self, if you're looking to avoid big hills start the trail about 2-3 miles east of where I started. I have a link to a route mapped at Map My Ride here.  This weekend is Greek Orthodox Easter with lots of preparations and I didn't have all afternoon for a leisurely ride so I only explored the upper reaches of the trail.  I can't wait to get back and ride it's length.    I snapped a few photos below.  

This trio of photos comes from the Bennet Arboretum section of the trail

it was quite beautiful, with this Living Wall, boardwalks and stunning

climbs.  This connector passes by some subdivisions with large, beautiful 

estate size homes. 

The next series of photos comes from the remains of the old Meads Mill and it's foundation

There is an excellent pictorial and historical guide
to the  Rouge River Tour and the communities
that it meanders through, including Meads Mill.  It
has lots of very old photos of a bygone era and the link is here.

This is where I should have parked because it puts you right 

on the trail

Just off the trail for a rest along the river

Kicking Spring Training Up To The Next Level

My longest ride yet this year and it was a doozy, with an epic hill (for Michigan) thrown in for good measure.  Today's ride took me from Downtown South Lyon, north up the SL Rail Trail which becomes the Huron Valley Rail Trail.  A spur jutting off the trail about 5 and a half miles into it veers off to the west and serves as a connector to Kensington Metro Park and Island Lake State Park.  The connector is short, about 3 and a half miles but the catch is the hill that travels over the old landfill.  It's wickedly steep and long.  Travelling the hill takes up most of the connector.  Heading west it's sharp and steep, heading east from west it's a longer climb with steep sections that creep up around twists and turns.   The view from the top overlooking I-96 and all of Kensington Valley is pretty awesome.  There is a pictorial below.

Huron Valley Rail Trail with spur to the west to Kensington and Island Lake

Way in the distance on the upper left you can see the patch of trail near
the top of the hill, this portion of the trail goes parallel to I-96.

Not what you want to see on a bike path, the radiation symbol looks

similar but this one looks like it represents some kind of toxicity

and since the trail goes alongside the top of the landfill I'm certain that

there are plenty of toxins here.  I found those markings in three places

along the portion of the trail that goes right over the old landfill.

Triple juncture where the Huron Vally Rail Trail, Kensington Metro 

Park and Island Lake trails all come together.  To the right is back to 

Downtown SL heading home, shadows are getting a wee bit longer, 
and next up is contending with that hill again on the ride back.  

Looking out over the grassy hills in the 

landfill I can't help but chuckle at what

lies underneath.  Where ball diamonds

and soccor files now exist was the trash 

dump.  The remains of two homes that I 

demolished/tore down/dismantled lay 

buried under there.  If those hills could 

talk!

 o

The view from the top heading back to the car. Near the water tower

in the distance, take a right on the trail and about 5.5 miles later

is downtown South Lyon.   

It's The Journey, Not The Destination Ithica

I created a Facebook page for this blog today and my friend Jim Purrington made a great suggestion.  He suggested that I add the poem The Road To Ithica to this blog.  Those who bicycle for the pure joy of it all talk about how it is that the journey  is what propels us and the destination is merely a product or afterthought.   So today I share with you readers the poem written by Constantine Cavafy.

The Road To Ithica 

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygonians
and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.

Then pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first time
with such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road.
But she has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
you must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.

Thank you Jim Purrington, what a great suggestion and a good reminder for those who pedal for pleasure.

The link for those who have Facebook access can be found here.

Dexter Revisited

The quaint little village of Dexter, Michigan embarked on a journey to transform the riverfront from a body of water that flowed through the village into a fablous outdoor riverwalk.  In the process the riverfront which was mostly viewed through a car window when you drove over the bridge, or from the sidewalk view of a pedestrian or bicycle over that bridge or from the river itself by an occasional kayaker or canoeist, has now been opened with public access for everyone.  The ambitious project has yielded a gathering place and a central focal point for outdoor enjoyment, with paved walkways, boardwalks, places to sit and take a rest, all along a new redeveloped waterfront.    I wrote a post in September of 2011 that you can find here and it had a few photos of the "project in the works."  Friday I took another ride around downtown and explored the length of the new riverwalk including a portion of the new path that will lead from downtown to Hudson Mills Metro Park.  That park has two bike trails in it, one that is a loop around the inner portion of the park and another out-and-back trail that follows the river from the other side of the park.  This is going to be great for people who visit the park and want to ride into town, do a little exploring, shopping or catch a bite to eat and also for townsfolk to bike ride to the park without having to rely on getting there on the heavily traveled roads.

The riverwalk was well thought out and links various features in the community.  From it you can access the library, farmers market, downtown and it also links a couple of subdivisions with downtown.

If ever there was an example of excellent city planning, look no further.

Photos below

Looking north out of town toward Hudson Mills, the building on the

right is the Library, the boardwalk goes under a railroad bridge and 

will eventually take you to Hudson Mills Park, construction has begun

and it's expected to be complete by late summer.  There used to be a rocky 

shoreline but now you can see where there is tiered access right to the river 

for flyfishermen.   Kayakers or canoeists  have a landing if they want to stop

and get supplies in town.  The farmers market is located up on street level

between the Library and the main road, you can pedal up the hill or there

is a set of stairs taking you up to street level.

Looking south up the "rapids" and toward the long winding portion
 of the riverwalk 

 If you continue on the path under the rail road bridge, along the board walk you come to where the connector will join the path toward Hudson Mills, if you continue to your right along the existing portion of the path it will take you to a large subdivision which now will have cycling access to downtown.

Here are several views of the winding riverwalk.  My first impression?

It's a joy to ride on!  The photos are taken from up on street level and the
park and boardwalk is about 30 feet down a gradual incline. 

I rode around town and explored a bit then hitched up and headed to Hudson Mills and took a ride on both of the trails there, it was a beautiful day with little to no wind and finally loads of sunshine and warm temps.  I've struggled with a few handfuls of spring training rides and today was the payoff, I finally felt strong on the bike.  My cadence was higher, it was easier to push harder gears and there is a quite steep short hill from the  river level up to street level, I was able to sprint up it like a billy goat.  The stronger performance made me feel a hundred times better after this ride than any I've been on so far this spring.  

Try Harder Spring

Spring is trying hard to establish herself, but it isn't easy! Rode in a tee shirt yesterday with low 70 F temps and it snowed all afternoon today.  The ground's too warm so it didn't stick but it's playing havoc with my spring training.  Sigh.

New Bikes

A new bike is the coolest thing!

My friend, named Deb also, just got a new bike and I accompanied her on the maiden voyage.  We took a ride out to a nearby park, cruising through the gravel back-roads.  For this time of year the roads were unexpectedly dry and in places freshly graded and not in others.  If you're not familiar with riding gravel roads, fresh grading is not desirable.  While it cuts down on the pot holes and washboard effect, it's a bumpier ride on the newly turned chunky gravel.  On even the worst washboard roads you can usually pick out a path of hard pack down the middle of the road and since they are low traffic roads, it's easy to ride right down the middle of the road. A hard packed dirt or gravel road can be nearly as smooth as pavement, for a bike anyway.

Deb Anderson's new bike

Today's ride took us out to Independence Lake.  The park is run by the County and they have planned a $4 million dollar renovation with the addition of a new water spray park.  There was an older small one at the end of the park, located lake side.  This one is located closer to the entrance, it's bigger and will offer more play stations for kids, shaded and covered pavilions for picnicking  plenty of lounging chairs for moms and dads, a changing area and food concessions. Workers were putting on the finishing touches while we were there and since a gate was open I got a chance to get inside and take a few photos. That is, before I got shooed away by the workers.

 Some might argue that the park is already under-utilized and that an investment of $4 million dollars is a lot for a park tucked out of the way, however a recently added disc golf course has increased participation at the park and undoubtedly the new attraction will boost attendance as well, once word gets out about it.  While there are many lakes throughout the area, most are private or can only be accessed through a public boat launch, so if you don't own lakefront property or a boat you have no way to enjoy the waterfront, swim or cool off in the summer heat.   Independence lake is a hidden gem, that has a paved bike trail and several wooded hiking trails that are for foot traffic only, allowing multiple uses and enjoyment.  Cyclists can enjoy a loop around the park while riding through wetlands over boardwalks, wooded areas and lakeside views.  Hikers can amble unencumbered by bicycle traffic while birding or just enjoying the quiet surroundings.  There is a look-out tower for bird watchers deep within the park.  There is an abundance of fowl as evidenced by my friend who had a turkey vulture nearly swoop down on her while on the path yesterday. As we rounded a corner on the boardwalk we startled a pair and one just wouldn't let up on my friend and for a moment I thought it was going to land on her.

All in all it was a great day to be out for a ride, one of a small handful of really nice days so far. It was a good chance to enjoy the outdoors with little wind, mild temps, abundant sunshine and we made the most of it.  Sunshine and Bonny Blue skies warmed us inside and out!

Lucky for me I went back to the bench before leaving for the ride home, good thing because otherwise my phone would have been left behind.  If you look close you can spot it on the bench. 

Spring Training

Well the up and down weather continues. We've had 80 F this week and in the same 24 hours we had below 40 F.  Yes, it's been one of those kind of springs.  Earlier I rode in shorts and tee shirt, today I went with a friend to pick up her new bike pictured here  and had to wear long silk undies, my neoprene ear covering, fleece jacket and full finger gloves!


We took a brief ride in the neighborhood behind the LBS and the winds stung my cheeks and my eyes watered so much is was hard to see.  It was fierce!  But when we turned out of the wind the sun made it tolerable.

Earlier this week I had a couple of new exploring rides.  I went out the the Border to Border trail but took a loop I've never been on that really isn't part of the trail but keeps you in touch with it and there are various points you can hop back on it.  The link to that route is here.  It took me on the other side of the Argo Loop.  That side is on the eastern side of the river along a high ridge, the climb up to that ridge was steep and sharp but once up it it was mostly flat at the top with great look outs over the river at this time of year with no leaves on the trees.  I did stop and take a photo of this tree cause I was giggling at the fact it seemed to be looking back at me when I rode by.  I called it the voodoo tree and it was on the ascent up the ridge.  Once the ascent was completed the route takes you along the east side of the river to the Argo Dam.  The following day it was warmer yet with lots of sunshine and I took another new route in Webster Township to Dexter Michigan via Gregory Rd. I came across this Llama Farm at the corner of Zeeb and Gregory Roads.  The trip was all rollers with some significant climbs.  The trip out was fully into a 25 mph strong and steady wind and nearly wore me out.  I was packing an energy bar and it powered me up enough for the return trip, minus the wind helped.  These curious little critters love to come right up to the fence to check you out.  The link to the route can be found here

30 Days Of Biking Pledge

Beginning April 1st over 3,000 people around the world have taken a pledge to ride every day for 30 days.  I did too, I took the pledge to put  in writing this commitment.  Bicycling is a love and passion and doing so should not be something that I need to commit to in order to ensure that I get out and do it.  However on some days the additional motivation serves up a big boost.  Bundling up and prepping for a ride in the cold early spring is not the same as hopping on your bike in tee shirt and shorts in the summer.

I started this post in the first few days of the month and unusual busyness has kept me from completing it and posting.  Spring is here even if it is only in fits and starts and regular posting is back in order.  Thanks to the readers who continue to peruse the blog.  More reading coming up!  

Is It Spring Yet!

My goodness winter is hanging on with claws and won't let go!  I do believe we had several nicer days in January and more opportunities to ride outdoors  than so far in March.  I got outdoors for a ride on March 10th and everything else has been indoors on the trainer.

I want to hear the birdies, feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.  I want to go outdoors without being bundled up and most of all I want to see green grass.

We've had snow on and off all winter but even the largest snowfall has been met with melt off for a perpetually grey and drab landscape all winter long.

Oh March, you are a cruel month, but I have high hopes for April!