Saturday morning, I tucked my bicycle into the bed of the Gladiator. I put the bike rack into the trailer hitch for extra capacity before heading across town to ride with Tinkerbell and her boyfriend. I was feeling off my game. I was running behind schedule.
As I made the forty-minute drive to their side of town, I was having no luck connecting my phone to the information system of the truck. Firefly was texting me, and I could not reply while driving. She was in the middle of breaking up with her boyfriend. Something long overdue. He was telling her he had some different girl interested in him. I told Firefly that was a load of crap. If he was so interested in this other girl, he would not be blowing up Firefly's phone over the next three days. He is so transparent.
When I reached Tink's condo, she was walking her cat outside. Yes, she has a harness and regularly takes the cat for walks. That cat is so spoiled. I don't know how Tink's boyfriend puts up with it.
We decided to start on a trail close to their house, so we never used the bike rack. The temperatures hovered around 70 degrees. We packed snacks and water, covered ourselves in sunscreen, and headed out. The first part of the ride took us through Walled Lake. It was not a trail, just a series of sidewalks, and we had to watch for cars closely.
The trail started in downtown Walled Lake. The little town has become a hotbed for weed shops. We took the route down to Sout Lyons, where we ate at a restaurant created out of a converted hotel. The menu was not expansive. Tink and her boyfriend had salads, and I got a bowl of soup.
I continued texting Firefly while we ate. She was upset over the issues with her boyfriend. I reminded her THAT was the least of her worries. She needs to get her habit under control and eat. She is still skinny.
Our bike ride continued. On the way back toward Walled Lake, we took a cut-off leading to Kensington Park. We were curious to see what the route was like. It meanders along the edge of a landfill. It is a very hilly cut. Tink's boyfriend and I were happy just getting to Kensington, but Tinkerbell complained and wanted to ride in the park. By this point, we had been out for four hours. I wanted to head back but did not argue.
The loop around Kensington park is eight miles. We did that before heading home. On the ride back, my left knee started bothering me. I get pain in the joint. It held up longer than it used to. In all, we rode for forty-seven miles. We were out for six and a half hours, including breaks. Not a bad start for our first bike ride of the season, although I think there are diminishing health returns once you get beyond twenty miles.
I declined to stay for dinner and headed home. Firefly indicted she was going to come over. She didn't want to be alone. She doesn't consider being around her family as being with people. I didn't hear from her and decided to just go to bed. She finally texted me after midnight. She asked if she could come over the following day.
"I can pick you up now if you like," I told her. That was a mistake. I did not know she had taken several Xanax and could barely keep awake. When I got to her parent's house, she did not come out; her dad did. He was not happy. I think he was more upset with her than me, but Firefly had to be helped into the truck.
I had to carry her up to the bedroom when I got her to the condo--lifting ninety pounds of dead weight after riding forty-seven miles on a bad knee. I didn't find out about the Xanax until the next day.
Her birthday is ten days away. I warned her she needed to straighten up if she wanted to go somewhere for it. I am hoping it gives her something to look forward to. After her birthday, she plans on returning to rehab out of state.
