64 mile Dryden bike ride

Just like I did last summer, I did a ride all the way from Clarkston, to Dryden in Lapeer County, then through Metamora and Hadley on the way back. It was quite the ride, taking five and a half hours, I left at 6am and got back at 11:30. Avg. speed was 11.77mph. It was a great day for it, not anywhere close to as hot as the past week...

For anyone not familiar with southeast michigan, here's a large field outside downtown Dryden about a mile or two, at the intersection of Bishop and Tubspring roads.

The sign reads "Welcome to Dryden: Where friendliness is served country style." So true! When I got into downtown I was completely drained, so I stopped in the local coney island restaurant and had a chili dog, and it wasn't even 9am. It was one of the best I've ever had because I had to actually use a fork, since the 'chili dog' was SMOTHERED in more chili! I couldn't even see the buns! Excellent way to spend $2.32. Then the guy next to me at the counter started comparing soil for farming between Clarkston and Dryden, (Dryden is much better) and then continued by talking about growing up in Colorado with hobos. Yep, the Dryden sign was right!

Overall I ended up riding 72.2 miles. The total for the month of july is 682, and 2295 on the year. In the last 3 days, I've gone 179 miles. I think tomorrow I'll take a break.

Another Retirement

So here we are about a week later, talking about the Red Wings….this time it’s Kris Draper, hanging up his NHL career after 20 seasons, 17 of them with Detroit. (The other three were with Winnipeg, the ORIGINAL Winnipeg!) Draper played on all four of Detroit’s recent Stanley Cup teams.

What a sad way to end it, the end of your contract, and to find that you’re only being offered a two-way contract for one season to come back, which means you have to play your way back on the team. Just like Maltby the year before, both players have met the end of the line the classic way, you’re old and all the 20 year olds are playing better and faster than you are. But hats off to a Red Wing that played 1,137 games with Detroit, that’s 5^th all time for the team. Glad Draper decided to retire like Ozzy and go home to his family.

Nice new logos

So the moment we were all waiting for, if the name didn't make it more than perfect, the logo sure helped.

And here is the new logo for the new Winnipeg Jets. Of course you had to expect that some alteration was coming, but True North did a great job and didn't make the logo outlandish or anything like some modern hockey team logos, imagine if they did a Windsor Spitfires job with the plane logo! (I still think the old Spitfires logo looks way better than the new, cartoony one)
I like how this logo is almost "Canadian" in its own right, with respect to the Air Force, AND Canada in general by even throwing a maple leaf in there. Hats off to True North, I'm behind every move they've made so far.

Farewell to Chris Osgood

I would like to bid a well deserved farewell to Chris Osgood, longtime goalie of the Detroit Red Wings.

Osgood was a member of the Red Wings for 14 seasons, starting in 1993. He helped them to Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998, and 2008. In his career he won 401 games, had 50 shutouts, and is one of only 5 NHL goaltenders to have actually scored a goal.
As the Red Wings have slowly grown older, we've seen old heroes sign off after long tenures with the team.
Maltby, Chelios, McCarty, Rafalski, the list goes on. Lidstrom and Holmstrom are nearing the end of the line, and Draper may be done. I guess Ozzy decided it was time to go. At 38 years old, I don't blame him. He wants to spend time with his family I'm sure, they're not going to be there forever, and his kids wouldn't be kids anymore if he retired at 41 or something. This is a smart move by an aging goaltender, part of it likely had to do with the firm job Jimmy Howard has done since arriving. Joey MacDonald is also a backup, and the Wings can certainly find another from the Griffins or elsewhere.
This past season certainly wasn't the best for Ozzy, and I have first hand proof. I was at the game where he was supposed to win his 400th, against Dallas on december 19th. It was a struggle throughout the night for him, eventually losing in overtime, leaving the entire arena dissapointed. The few games he played, (only 11 of them) weren't the best, a 2.77 GAA can tell that story.
Though, a GOOD memory of him was game one of the 2009 Cup Finals against the Penguins. (I don't know how I was possibly that lucky, to be able to go to a finals game)

There he is, in goal during the opening faceoff, a night which I'll never forget. The Wings won 3-1.



So I would like to congratulate Osgood on a great career, and thank him for some great memories. If he isn't quite hall of fame worthy, look for a #30 banner hanging from the rafters of Joe Louis. You never know......

Lakeville Bike Ride

Yesterday I took a 41.2 mile ride to Lakeville, MI. Quite the feat, considering it would be a scorching hot day in the low 90's; I had to go as early as possible to avoid the worst of it. I woke up at 5:00 and by quarter to 6:00 I was on my way. Even with leaving so early, it was already in the low/mid 80's by 8:00, with a good chunk of my ride still left. I did the whole ride in 3 hours, 4 minutes, about 13.4mph. (Put to shame when I tuned into the Tour de France later that morning)

This was probably about 5:50am or so, aside from a few strays ones, not a single car on the road. Sunday morning + very early in the morning=NO CARS!!!!

Riding across Clarkston Rd ended up giving some good photo ops as always, especially at a farm by Stony Creek Rd. (A little before 7am)

and here we have Lakeville, MI, a small town that consists of an intersection, and a couple of small roads along a lake. It's directly east of Oxford and directly north of Rochester.

and there I am, successful in the ride to Lakeville. This ride was notable because I passed 2,000 miles for the year on it. Even more notable, I've never rode my bike 2,000 miles in a calender year so quickly before, July 17th is the new record. So hats off to biking in 2011, there's still loads of summer to go!!!

and yes, there lake is even called Lakeville Lake.

For anyone curious, my bike is a 2008 Trek 7300, with charcoal black and dark blue colors. I got it in April '08, and added on clip pedals for it around May 2009. I absolutely love this bike, I'd get a road bike, but Oakland County (like most other counties in Michigan) is a mix of paved roads and dirt roads. Being a hybrid bike, the 7300 works perfectly for the job, great on either surface. This 7300 has been through about 7,000 miles, 6 flat tires, and many wear and tear events along the way. But it still rides great! I can't imagine myself owning any other bike.

Welcoming myself to the world of blogging

Well here we are, not only have I just replaced my comcast email account with a gmail one, but I have just made this blog on Blogspot, (part of Google) and I soon plan to jump onto the bandwagon and join Google Plus.....what a world we live in with Google taking over the internet.......
Anyways, I'm Justin, on this blog as Jnjo92. I am soon to be a sophomore at Central Michigan University, hoping to major in Broadcasting. (My dream job is calling hockey games just like Bob Cole and Jim Hughson for Hockey Night In Canada) I have huge interests in marching bands, cycling, bowling, and watching hockey games. Let's hope this blog is a success!