Basketball Season Can’t Come Fast Enough
The NBA regular season starts October 20, and Michigan and Michigan State begin their college basketball seasons on November 2. As far as I am concerned, for fans of Michigan, Michigan State and the Detroit Lions, basketball can’t come fast enough.
Football in Michigan is in a sorry state, especially after this past weekend.
The Lions’ defense is so bad that the offense may need to score 31 points just to stay in the game. Some days, even that may not be enough. The Lions lost 32–26 to Carolina Sunday night and have now given up 127 points in four games. Their secondary continues to struggle, and penalties and poor execution aren’t helping.
Yesterday’s game also got off to the kind of start that makes you wonder whether everyone was ready to play. The Lions committed an illegal-procedure penalty on their opening possession. Later, they had to call a timeout because they were missing a player on a field-goal attempt. Surprisingly, the missing player was the long snapper, one of the most specialized positions on the team.
The good news is that the Lions can move the football. Jared Goff threw for 412 yards against Carolina. The bad news is that the Lions needed him to throw 52 passes because their running game produced only 46 yards. A team built around a strong offensive line and running game suddenly looks very different.
Michigan has almost the opposite problem. Its defense can keep the Wolverines in games, but the offense has to find a way to score. Michigan lost 20–14 to Minnesota Saturday and is now 0–2 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines managed only 101 passing yards and turned the ball over three times.
The offensive line has struggled with both run blocking and pass protection, while the passing game hasn’t frightened opposing defenses. That is a shame because Michigan has a very good defense. Unfortunately, turnovers, penalties and other mistakes continue to put that defense in difficult situations. Too many of those mistakes look less like a lack of talent and more like a lack of discipline.
Michigan State may have even more work ahead. The Spartans lost 31–3 to Wisconsin Saturday and have now lost three straight games. They managed only 235 yards of offense against the Badgers and converted just one of six fourth-down attempts. Michigan State is also 0–2 in the Big Ten.
I remain willing to give new head coach Pat Fitzgerald time. He knows what it takes to win in the Big Ten, but the size of the rebuilding job is becoming apparent.
That brings us to November 7, when Michigan State travels to Ann Arbor to play Michigan. Both teams are currently 0–2 in conference play. I don’t know what their records will look like by then, but right now it isn’t difficult to imagine that game being played by two teams desperately searching for something positive from their football seasons.
In the meantime, basketball is coming.
The Pistons open October 20 against Boston. Michigan opens November 2 against Oakland, while Michigan State opens the same day against Quinnipiac.
I am ready.
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Maybe I Need to Stop Complaining About E-Bikes
I’ve spent years grumbling about e-bikes on bike trails. At 75, I’m beginning to think I may have been missing something.
I don’t particularly like e-bikes. Actually, that’s putting it mildly. As an avid cyclist, I’ve spent more than a few miles complaining about them.
My biggest complaint isn’t really the bike. It’s often the person riding it. I’ll be riding along a beautiful bike trail when someone on a rented e-bike comes flying past with no warning and no “on your left.” Sometimes riders are side-by-side, taking up most of the trail. Too often they’re going faster than their experience or surroundings warrant, and many aren’t wearing helmets.
E-bikes can also be considerably heavier than conventional road bikes. Put a relatively inexperienced rider on a heavier bicycle traveling 20 miles per hour, mix in pedestrians, children and other cyclists, and the consequences of a collision can become serious. A recent New York Times article about e-bike and scooter injuries in New York City reinforced many of my concerns about what happens when speed, weight and inexperienced riders come together.
I’ve had plenty of reasons to complain. However, lately I’ve begun reconsidering my position.
Then I Started Talking to E-Bike Riders
Over the years, I’ve talked with several people riding e-bikes, and I’ve heard one comment repeatedly: “Without this bike, I wouldn’t be riding at all.”
That got my attention.
Some have bad knees. Others have heart or lung limitations. Some no longer have the leg strength they once had, while others simply can’t ride the distances or hills they could when they were younger. An electric motor doesn’t necessarily replace their effort. It supplements it, allowing someone who might otherwise be sitting at home to get outside and ride a bicycle.
At 75, that argument is becoming easier for me to accept.
Then I Read About Grip Strength
This week I read a Wall Street Journal article about something that sounds completely unrelated to bicycles: grip strength.
Doctors and researchers increasingly view grip strength as a useful indicator of overall strength and fitness as we age. That doesn’t mean squeezing something harder magically makes us healthier. Rather, declining grip strength can be one indication that muscle strength elsewhere in the body is declining.
That made me think about biking.
Every time I ride, I use my hands and forearms to control the handlebars and operate the brakes and shifters. Cycling, however, involves much more than our hands. We use our legs, stabilize our torso, coordinate our hands, eyes and feet, react to changing terrain and constantly make small adjustments to maintain our balance.
Perhaps the real connection isn’t simply grip strength.
Perhaps it’s functional strength.
Balance May Be Even More Important
For people my age, balance may be particularly important. Falls are one of the major threats to independence as we get older, and research suggests older cyclists may have an advantage. Studies comparing older cyclists with non-cyclists have found that cyclists perform better on several measures of balance.
That makes intuitive sense to me. Think about everything that happens during a bicycle ride. You start from a dead stop, balance at slow speeds, turn, brake, look behind you, avoid potholes, react to pedestrians, shift your weight, stop with one foot down and then start again.
Your brain and body are constantly communicating.
At 75, I’m beginning to appreciate how valuable that may be.
Which Brings Me Back to E-Bikes
Suppose someone my age can no longer comfortably ride a conventional bicycle. Which is better—stop riding or ride an e-bike?
I’m increasingly convinced the answer is obvious.
Ride the e-bike.
Research involving older adults suggests e-bikes can help people remain physically active, particularly those with limitations that otherwise make cycling difficult. An e-bike may not provide exactly the same workout as my conventional bicycle, but it doesn’t have to.
For many older people, the real choice isn’t an e-bike versus a road bike.
It’s an e-bike versus no bike at all.
That’s a completely different comparison, and I think that’s what I’ve sometimes failed to appreciate.
I Still Have Some Rules
My newfound tolerance has limits. If e-bikes are going to share recreational trails with conventional bicycles, pedestrians and children, their riders have responsibilities. Learn basic trail etiquette. Slow down when approaching other people. Announce yourself before passing. Don’t treat a recreational trail like a racetrack. Wear a helmet, and understand the machine you’re riding.
An e-bike allows someone without years of cycling experience to reach speeds that previously required considerable conditioning.
The motor can provide the speed. It doesn’t provide the judgment.
That still has to come from the rider.
Perhaps bike shops renting or selling e-bikes should spend more time teaching people how to ride them safely, rather than simply showing customers how to turn on the electric assist.
I’m Changing My Mind
If an e-bike allows a 70-year-old to keep riding for another decade, that’s a good thing. If it gets someone with bad knees off the couch and onto a trail, that’s a good thing. If it allows a husband and wife with different physical abilities to continue riding together, that’s a good thing. If cycling helps us maintain our cardiovascular fitness, leg strength, coordination and balance as we age, that’s a very good thing.
The Wall Street Journal article about grip strength reminded me of something larger. As we get older, the goal isn’t simply to live longer.
It’s to remain capable.
We want to be strong enough to open the jar, balanced enough to avoid the fall, fit enough to climb the stairs and independent enough to keep doing the things we enjoy.
Maybe that includes being healthy enough to get on a bicycle and ride—even if that bicycle has a battery.
So, to my fellow older cyclists riding e-bikes: I promise to complain about you less.
Just do me one favor.
Wear a helmet, slow down when you pass me and please say:
“On your left.”
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Quote of the Day
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
— Often attributed to George Eliot
Whether George Eliot actually said it is uncertain, but I like the thought. Changing our minds and changing our habits shouldn’t have an expiration date.
Orchid of the Day
Today’s Orchid goes to the older person who refuses to stop moving simply because moving has become more difficult.
Maybe it’s an e-bike instead of a road bike. Maybe it’s walking instead of running. Maybe it’s using lighter weights at the gym. The important thing is continuing to move.
Onion of the Day
Today’s Onion goes to the cyclist—electric or otherwise—who passes someone on a bike trail at high speed without giving a warning.
Three words aren’t difficult:
“On your left.”
Question of the Day
As we get older, should we sometimes be more willing to change the way we do something if the alternative is eventually giving it up altogether?
Lyrics of the Day
Friday’s answer:
“Money” — Pink Floyd
Today’s lyric:
“I get knocked down, but I get up again.”
Name the song and the artist and put your answer in the comment section of the blog below.
Answer next time.
Video of the Day:
I bought an e-bike to use on the the golf course and enjoyed it so much that it rekindled the joy of bike riding. Two weeks ago I bought a new Trek pedal bike and have been putting in about ten miles every other day. So I guess it went the other way for me.
lol Just goes to show you. You teach an old guy new tricks!