I went out for my longest ride of the year this morning. Ken stopped by and we headed out a little after 6AM. For some reason, he decided to accept my idea of riding around Lake Minnetonka to hook up with the Loose Line Trail, of which I hadn't ridden before. The wind was a little stiff from the SSE, so it ended up giving us a headwind on our way home. Not the most intelligent idea, but turned out ok.
We cruised out the Kenilworth Trail and hooked up with the North Corridor to take us to Victoria. We stopped for a small refueling and headed out to roads neither of us had ridden before. With the wind at our backs and the sun coming out, it was pure bliss. The roads are really nice and most of the time had a wide enough shoulder to ride side by side. We soon entered the town of St Bonifacious. This is a town we didn't even know existed (sorry to all the residents). It's a nice little town and I certainly won't hesitate to have a ride go through there again. We were a little early to enter the parade.
A little further north and we came upon the Luce Line Trail. We then turned into the wind and headed back. Being on the trail, we were sheltered quite nicely from the wind. For about 8 miles. It started to open up and unfortunately, the increasing wind and the fact we were hitting the 60 mile mark culminated in an unhappy rider (that would be me as I have never seen Ken unhappy while riding a bike). Fortunately, Ken has a fantastic sense of graciousness and helped me limp into Golden Valley to recharge at Chipotle.
Having food in my stomach was a much needed thing. But it then sat about midway in my gut, taunting me with the possibility of expelling it. Good thing that only lasted about 40 minutes or so. It's hard to say if it was about being home or I was just starting to feel good again, but while riding up Minnehaha, I really felt I could ride some more. After getting home and showering, I'm glad I called it quits.
The map is more or less accurate. There was a lot of cut and tack maneuvering around north Minneapolis that I'm sure I didn't get right, but it's pretty close.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Choices Choices
It's nearly summer here in MN and as we close a little early on Fridays, it means I don't have to ride a bike with lights. That opens the door to riding bikes I don't normally commute on. I am lucky enough to have a locker at work to store a pile of stuff, so I could get away with packing lightly. Just had to have room for the tool kit, pump, lock, shorts, gloves, long sleeve (summer still is chilly in the morning), camera, wallet, phone, keys, and leave enough room for my breakfast wrap from Nelson's (an end of the week treat).
As I went to the basement I was already trying to decided which bike to ride. I have a couple bikes in various states of disassemble (thanks to a stem recall), so I had it narrowed before I even made it to the bottom of the steps. It came down to a choice between a 15 year old Trek and a nearly 25 year old Schwinn. For all the newer bikes littering the hooks, it struck me that I would rule out all the new for the old. True, there really aren't any old parts on those rigs, but it still sticks with me that those are the frames I think of to ride.
I chose the Schwinn. As crappy as it may be in today's standards, that thing rides smooth as anything. And for a small 20 mile round trip, I would match it up against anything else I own (obviously.) It makes me feel that I am getting older, faster than I can keep up.
As I went to the basement I was already trying to decided which bike to ride. I have a couple bikes in various states of disassemble (thanks to a stem recall), so I had it narrowed before I even made it to the bottom of the steps. It came down to a choice between a 15 year old Trek and a nearly 25 year old Schwinn. For all the newer bikes littering the hooks, it struck me that I would rule out all the new for the old. True, there really aren't any old parts on those rigs, but it still sticks with me that those are the frames I think of to ride.
I chose the Schwinn. As crappy as it may be in today's standards, that thing rides smooth as anything. And for a small 20 mile round trip, I would match it up against anything else I own (obviously.) It makes me feel that I am getting older, faster than I can keep up.
Monday, May 4, 2009
It just happened...
I participated a little differently than originally expected at the Trans Iowa bike race this past weekend. Unseen forces just happened to keep my entry postcard from arriving so I decided to volunteer to support a checkpoint during the race. We ended up being stationed at the final checkpoint which was open from 9PM through 2AM Saturday/Sunday. It made for a long day.
We drove down Friday in order to attend the pre race meeting Fri evening. After checking into the Hotel, we hopped on our bikes and made the quick jaunt into town. Got all the update at the meeting, and stopped by a local bar for a few beers and some dinner. We just happened to get the last two pitchers of Fat Tire Ale that the bar just happened to have on tap after a delivery error.
After a couple hours sleep, we were up and riding back to town to watch the start. Both Ken and I had some mixed feelings about feeling good about not having to ride, and really wanting to start. We showed up about 3 minutes before they took off, which was very nice to not have to stand around for long in the pre sun chill. Another quick ride to the hotel to clean up and change and we were off to checkpoint 1 in Washington. We took some back roads because "all you see on interstate, is interstate." Driving the small highways of Iowa sure made for some wishful dreaming about being on bikes.
When all the racers were through checkpoint 1, we wandered our way up to Traer where our checkpoint would be. We tried to take up some time getting there, taking back roads and even stopping for some cheese curds along the way. But we still showed up around 11AM. There were a few hours to kill. So we rode around tow
n checking out the city wide garage sales that were happening, stopped at the grocery store for lunch supplies and had a very nice picnic. We also ended up taking a nap, and heading out for a little gravel ride. I decided the common factor is that when in Iowa with Ken, gravel riding will happen. We took a small loop which allowed me to ride my first IA b road, and we just happened to end up riding a small section of the actual race course. A wonderful descent into town and across an old bridge. Perfect.
Our time "working" was really great. It did make me think twice about riding next year. I need to make some serious decisions before entering later this year. I want to make sure I make the right choice. Anyway, watching the difference in rider's attitudes and how they interacted with others was extremely interesting. Most of the time people were not too happy pulling into the station, but as they ate a little and spent a little time off the bike, attitudes almost always reversed. It was hard to watch how much hurt some where experiencing, but then to see the change happen, or just how determined people were to continue on, perseverance at it's best. A special congrats needs to go out to Paul. You are amazing.
After we sent the last rider on his way, we cleaned up and pushed for home. I was so tired I failed in my duties to keep up my end of the conversation to help the driver. I don't think I ever slept for long, but I certainly nodded off a number of times. Sorry Ken. We pulled up to the house about 6:45AM. I was fortunate to not have anything to do but recover. I definitely want to keep that in mind for next year.
We drove down Friday in order to attend the pre race meeting Fri evening. After checking into the Hotel, we hopped on our bikes and made the quick jaunt into town. Got all the update at the meeting, and stopped by a local bar for a few beers and some dinner. We just happened to get the last two pitchers of Fat Tire Ale that the bar just happened to have on tap after a delivery error.
After a couple hours sleep, we were up and riding back to town to watch the start. Both Ken and I had some mixed feelings about feeling good about not having to ride, and really wanting to start. We showed up about 3 minutes before they took off, which was very nice to not have to stand around for long in the pre sun chill. Another quick ride to the hotel to clean up and change and we were off to checkpoint 1 in Washington. We took some back roads because "all you see on interstate, is interstate." Driving the small highways of Iowa sure made for some wishful dreaming about being on bikes.
When all the racers were through checkpoint 1, we wandered our way up to Traer where our checkpoint would be. We tried to take up some time getting there, taking back roads and even stopping for some cheese curds along the way. But we still showed up around 11AM. There were a few hours to kill. So we rode around tow
n checking out the city wide garage sales that were happening, stopped at the grocery store for lunch supplies and had a very nice picnic. We also ended up taking a nap, and heading out for a little gravel ride. I decided the common factor is that when in Iowa with Ken, gravel riding will happen. We took a small loop which allowed me to ride my first IA b road, and we just happened to end up riding a small section of the actual race course. A wonderful descent into town and across an old bridge. Perfect.Our time "working" was really great. It did make me think twice about riding next year. I need to make some serious decisions before entering later this year. I want to make sure I make the right choice. Anyway, watching the difference in rider's attitudes and how they interacted with others was extremely interesting. Most of the time people were not too happy pulling into the station, but as they ate a little and spent a little time off the bike, attitudes almost always reversed. It was hard to watch how much hurt some where experiencing, but then to see the change happen, or just how determined people were to continue on, perseverance at it's best. A special congrats needs to go out to Paul. You are amazing.
After we sent the last rider on his way, we cleaned up and pushed for home. I was so tired I failed in my duties to keep up my end of the conversation to help the driver. I don't think I ever slept for long, but I certainly nodded off a number of times. Sorry Ken. We pulled up to the house about 6:45AM. I was fortunate to not have anything to do but recover. I definitely want to keep that in mind for next year.
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