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A number of things have transpired since my last post. Biggest and best of all being that I was able to ride a couple days of RAGBRAI this year. Usually, it is the same week as the MS TRAM that I have been providing support for, for a number of years. Being the week before, Ken and I crafted a plan for a small loop to include a couple days of the route.
I can't really describe what happened. People ask me how it was and I just have to say that it is in the top 5 experiences of my life. From the food, drink, people, dancing, riding, tom foolery, and carousing, it was an almost perfect combination of ev
erything. What I can describe is yet another adventure that Ken took me on in order to get to the route. We parked in Knoxville and rode over to Indianola to pick up the official route. Ken had warned me that we might have to ride some or all gravel, and I am not one to shy away from some lack of pavement. Little did I know that the rain from the night before had turned our closed road into a quagmire. After deciding that the road couldn't be THAT closed, we had to push our bikes because our wheels wouldn't turn due to the mud packing in under our fenders (so much for thinking I had ample clearance).
As you can see, Ken was simply in his element. Having the time of his life.
This is the view from our first night campsite. This is the entrance to the dean's office. Nice view.
Here is the porch where we spent the second night. We had a little rain, but all-in-all, not too bad.So, we rode for a couple days and then headed back to Knoxville via paved roads. Great time. Almost the best time I have ever had on a bike. Can't say enough good things for this ride.
So after coming back from Iowa, I had a day to go to work and catch up on things before heading off to TRAM for 5 days. Fortunately, everything was pulled together so it was just a matter of packing the van and driving off to Ortonville for the start.
TRAM, was the best ever. Weather was perfect. No huge bike problems. Was able to hang out with a number of people that I hadn't had in years past. It was just great. At one town, we were shopping in the local grocer and came upon the paper bag that is on the ground. It says, "99 cents + tax. Grab bag. No peeking. All sales final". Well, we couldn't pass that up, so we bought it, didn't open it, and sold it for 99 cents (no tax). Turns out it had a beer baster.
The problem with having a couple of super fantastic weeks in a row, is that the real world calls. So this past week has been me getting back into the swing of things. Luckily, I enjoy my work so that isn't much of a problem.
Last year during one of our rides, Ken and I thought it would be a fun idea to throw some clubs in the panniers and ride to play some golf. Last week, we again thought this would make for a fun day's events. I think we could make a new sport of it.
The bike/golf duathlon. We were thinking of a few names, I like the "Pedal and Putt Classic". We rode out to Stacy, MN where there is a nice little executive course so all we had to bring were a few clubs. I wish I had taken my 9 iron or sand wedge as well, but the 5 wood, 7 iron and putter were sufficient for most everything. It was the first time golfing for me this year and it certainly showed. We hacked our way around and if it weren't for prior commitments, may have gone around again. It is probably best we didn't.
Riding 40 miles and then playing 9 holes of golf will make you a little hungry. We stopped at a pub in Wyoming on the way back and had some great grub (Blu cheese salad dressing you had to cut with a knife!). A couple of beers with lunch and it was all I could do to get back on my bike. Fortunately, the wind was to our backs most of the way home, so it was not much of an effort returning home. Just that my legs felt like jelly almost all the way home.
So we are going to try to round up some more people who may be interested. Possibly pick a course a little closer to home so we don't scare anyone off with excessive mileage. A little marketing and then maybe a 2016 bid for the Olympics.
I went for a much needed ride this morning.
I left the house around 5:30 to pick up Ken. We didn't have any particular ride in mind, and since I hadn't been out North/East of town for a while, we headed out to Marine for some coffee. We took the somewhat normal route out and each of us at separate times, mentioned how much we needed to get out and ride. After working on building a new front landing and steps, not taking any time during to go for any pleasure riding save one Sunday Slow Ride, it felt amazing to get out on the bike.
We stopped for coffee and a couple signature muffins and decided we shouldn't return the same way we came, so we started wondering our way home. We passed a girl on a nice old Centurion as we climbed the first hill out of the river valley. Over the top of hill, we came upon a gravel road that headed in the right direction. We hadn't ridden any gravel yet, and we both had gravel in our heads after eyeing one on the way out to Marine. So, we took it.
We ended up back on 170th about 100 yards from another route I had been talking about. Neither Ken or I have done a lot of cycling this year, so we weren't after an epic ride. So we followed our route out for a while. Coming up a hill and over some rail tracks, Ken veered right. A gravel road named for a former pet of his (coincidence, I think not). This turns out to be a great alternative to the "normal" routes we have established. We passed the same girl shortly after returning to the pavement.
After a quick water stop at the end of the Gateway Trail (and being accused of following the Centurion girl), we followed it most of the way into the cities.
Ended up with 72 miles. Actually a little further than I thought. Very much needed. I'll try not to let myself go so long between rides.
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.
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.
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.
So the first of many projects is almost to an end. After way too much time, I completed the build on my cousin's Trek. I can't even remember where this frame came from, but I had her in mind immediately when I found it. It turned out pretty well (I am not completely happy with the tyres) and I think it will give her a good start at riding the roads of nearly rural MN. Hopefully she will let me put some bigger tyres on it to cushion the ride, but she has had a true road bike in mind, so sporting the 32's right away didn't seem quite appropriate. It was also tough not too don fenders and a rack right away. Have to remember this is not my bike.
Bike Specs:
Frame: Old steel Trek 80's ish
Wheels: Tiagra hubs, Bontrager Fairlane rims, DT spokes
Tyres: Bontrager Race Lite 700x25 (should be Panaracer Pesela 28, or 32's)
Brakes: Shimano DuraAce centerpulls (I had never seen these before, great fender clearance)
Crankset: Shimano 105
Derailleurs: Shimano 105 rr, Ultegra ft
Brifters: Shimano Ultegra
Handlebar: Modolo Custom (nice and flat on top)
Stem: Sakae riser
Saddle: Ritchey Pro Ti rails (gotta have a nice saddle)
Extras: Tressostar tape (over another wrapping of tape), not sure what pedals she'll choose yet.
erything. What I can describe is yet another adventure that Ken took me on in order to get to the route. We parked in Knoxville and rode over to Indianola to pick up the official route. Ken had warned me that we might have to ride some or all gravel, and I am not one to shy away from some lack of pavement. Little did I know that the rain from the night before had turned our closed road into a quagmire. After deciding that the road couldn't be THAT closed, we had to push our bikes because our wheels wouldn't turn due to the mud packing in under our fenders (so much for thinking I had ample clearance).
This is the view from our first night campsite. This is the entrance to the dean's office. Nice view.
Here is the porch where we spent the second night. We had a little rain, but all-in-all, not too bad.
