OCTOBER 3 • 2019 | 5

W

hile we’
re still
enduring a season
of road construc-
tion, there is one completed
stretch worth celebrating. It’
s
the new Rails-to-Trails path
that begins
where the West
Bloomfield
Trail previ-
ously ended at
Haggerty Road.
The asphalted
path is approx-
imately 1 mile,
connecting
walkers, joggers and bikers to
the M-5 Metro Trail, which is
now accessible by a beautiful
new pedestrian bridge that
extends over the highway. It’
s
all part of a scenic network of
194 trails that crisscross our
state for 2,835 miles. (Visit
railstotrails.org.)
The photo of me was taken
by a kind lady, Emily, who
took pity on my lack of coor-
dination as I tried to take a
selfie. I had already ridden
7 miles, while Emily, having
already biked from Berkley,
was riding to her sister’
s house
in Ann Arbor. She figured she
had another five hours ahead
of her. You go, girl! (Before

you get too impressed, Emily
told me she wasn’
t riding back
home. Her husband was pick-
ing her up. Just sayin’
.)
My endurance challenge?
I biked back 1 mile to carbo
load at the Breakfast Club
restaurant on Haggerty.
Fabulous multigrain pancakes
— and they give you a choco-
late- covered strawberry with
your check. The perfect nutri-
ents needed to ensure a safe
6-mile journey home; which
included one more break to
get a Yoz Yogurt at Crosswinds
Mall. (Caution: My training
regimen is not for everyone.
Check with your doctor before
attempting to duplicate my
efforts.)
Before the snow falls, I
intend on making my way
back to the pedestrian bridge
for an inaugural ride on the
M-5 Metro Trail. At that
point, the trail will safely make
accessible either LuLu’
s on
Welch Road, great omelets,
or the Commerce Costco
for free samples, an all-beef
hotdog and a slice of pizza.
(Suggestion: The signs on the
trail that identify wildlife you
might see should also include
restaurant locations.)

By the way, did you
happen to notice my
bicycle riding attire?
Unlike many male riders
I’
ve seen of a similar
age and (ahem) girth, I
have the good sense to
wear my skintight, TMI,
cycling shorts under
a pair of gym shorts.
You’
re welcome.
Meanwhile, I have
an update on another
healthy journey I shared
a few weeks ago — my
CPAP treatment. I
received emails from
readers who shared their
apnea adventures. Even
several doctors weighed
in with opinions. More
medical care that doesn’
t
go toward my deductible.

After three months of CPAP
,
I can definitely feel a marked
improvement in my daytime
energy. And I have the num-
bers to prove it.
My obstructive sleep apnea
has been eliminated. However,
it turns out I’
m also dealing,
with success, with a trickier
problem called “central sleep
apnea,
” which is when your
brain actually doesn’
t tell your
muscles to breathe while you’
re
sleeping. Isn’
t that special?
My brain doesn’
t do a lot
things. It doesn’
t remember
where I put my cell phone. It
often doesn’
t remember why I
went from one room to anoth-
er. It doesn’
t tell me where I
parked my car. It has never
been able to stop me from
watching Lions games. But my
brain not telling me to breathe
at night?! Thank goodness it
at least still has the courtesy to
wake me twice a night before
I go to the bathroom. Stay
tuned.

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-
over/acting talent and emcee. Visit
laughwithbigal.com, “like” Al on
Facebook and reach him at
amuskovitz@renmedia.us.

for openers

Happy Trails!

A NICE BIKER NAMED EMILY

Alan
Muskovitz
Contributing
Writer

Views

publisher’
s notebook

We Hear
You
T

hank you again for
your feedback and
comments about the
new format of the Jewish
News. You told
us that one of
your concerns
was the size of
the typeface for
editorial content
— it seemed a
bit smaller and
lighter than
when we were using standard
newsprint. You’
ll notice
(hopefully!) that the typeface
now has a different shape and
density, making it easier to
read.
You also recommended that
with a larger cover logo, the
Jewish News would be easier
to identify, especially from
other glossy publications.
We’
ve incorporated that
suggestion into our updated
front cover template.
In recent weeks, one of
our biggest challenges has
been returning to a level of
consistent delivery for some
of you. As devoted readers,
you rely on the successful
execution of a weekly
sequence of events that brings
the Jewish News to your
mailbox.
We transmit final pages
and updated subscription lists
to our printer. The printer
“plates” the pages for printing,
stitching and trimming. The
publication then moves to a
mailing area, where address
labels are ink-jetted in zip
code/carrier route sequence,
bundled and trucked to U.S.
Postal Service entry points for
expedited distribution.

Arthur
Horwitz

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