Extra

An extra day of cycling. I'll take it. The storm didn't amount to much, however, last night did produce some ice and a tricky drive for work today. But, by the time I got out on my bike this afternoon the trails were clear, no ice, no snow, just wet. 20/14.6

Barn Near Scandia (saw this while working today)

Streak Still Intact

Still haven't missed a day riding outside this year. May have to pull out the Winter Beast tomorrow to keep the streak alive. Evil's full fenders were nice during today's rain ride. 20/14.6

Minnehaha Creek

A Cold But Gentle February Rain

Rain Is Turning To Ice Tonight

Usual Monday

20/15.6

Roads

Another February weekend of road rides. Mighty nice!
Seems like we had a tail wind pretty much the entire ride. It takes some serious math skills, difficult calculations and intricate timing to plan a ride so the wind is always at your back. 42/16.6

Rode With Another Group of Really Good Friends (refueling in wayzata)

Sun Makes All The Difference

I presented my Lime Gatorade and Rice Crispy Bar along with a $10 bill to the register lady at Holiday and she said, "your money is cold", as she gave me my change . Temp didn't make it above 20 before we got home. Cold, bright, sunny, Saturday rides seem much warmer with friends.
Hit some rollers out in Medina and Maple Plaine with one small climb. Perfect for February, and we were on road bikes. Yeah Baby! 54/16.6
Eric Thoerner took this picture of Ben, me, Taylor and Amy.

Day Off

The bikes need a rest too, you know. It's not just about me.

Intact

Hey! A two hundred mile week. In February. I've done it before, but it is rare.
Feelin' a little better today. I'll take Friday off, and hope I'll be up for at least 50 miles on Saturday. 20/15.5

Continuing

Still haven't missed a day riding this year. It's all been outside in the saddle. I mention this because it feels like something is building in my chest. I might be coming down with something. I'll get to bed early tonight and see in the morning how things are feelin'. The streak is only 7 weeks, but what is remarkable is that this streak has been during what is usually the coldest and stormiest weeks of winter.If the old hairy body can avoid an onslaught of microscopic foes the streak is likely to continue on.
20/15.3

No Ice On The Mississippi

Still Winter

The landscape has changed some so it's back on Evil. 20/14.8

Movin' Slow

Oh man! I could move, but it was slow. Just had nothin' to put into those pedals. The glorious weekend of riding turned into a slow-motion Monday recovery. 21/14.9

Speaking of the weekend...had a guy Sunday. Solo ride, then the afternoon with Elijah, and finally beers with Gordy. Very Nice!

Bonk At 25

Another drop dead gorgeous day...light winds, mild temps, cloudless sky. I felt pretty good when I got up this morning, but could tell after the first couple of crank rotations, I still had lots of yesterday in the old hairy legs. I just reminded myself, you did great yesterday, just pedal and enjoy today. Had a crosswind to Excelsior, then a tail wind up into Baker where I took these images.

Well that was that, I hit that cross wind out of Baker, which was all of 5-8 mph and it was bonk city. I trimmed the Cannondale down to its 42 and hoped I could make it into Wayzata. The apple fritter at Caribou, although delicious and gone in about 3 seconds, didn't really do anything to bust the bonk. The 15 miles I needed to get me home seemed more like a century. If I'd been with others, I rehearsed how I would have told them to go on without me. I wouldn't want to sacrifice their speed for the group. I was expendable.
Made it home and was surprised to see my average speed was rather respectable, for a February spin.
Another great day on the bike...feeling mighty fortunate. 48/16.3

Pics Say it Best

Solo effort today. Longest and fastest since mid-November. 71/17.3

Day Off

Off the bike, but got pics and a birthday celebration in.
Even A Power Line Looks Cool At Sunset.

Took Brit out for dinner. Saturday is her 29th birthday. We went to Osaka. Nice place. It's a favorite of hers. They cook the food right in front of you, with knives, spatulas and forks flying.

Back On The Road Bike

New bar tape, brake pads, and left shifter...it's like a new bike. 23/16.3

Different Day

Same weather. Same bike. Same 20. Same speed. Same legs. And you know what? I'm not complaining. 20/15.4

My Valentine

It was the winter of discontent...snow upon snow. It seemed like it snowed every weekend and this Saturday was no different. I'd ventured out with two buddies. The snow might as well have been rain it was getting us so wet. Just as we got started we came up on 5 runners. They were all chatty and amazed that we could stay upright, on our bikes, with all the snow. I just wanted to keep on riding. Damn runners on the bike trail. Eric, he's much more friendly than me, and was enjoying the conversation. I just wanted to get as much of a ride in as I could before the trails were impassable. The runners asked if we'd take a picture of them, and I wound up getting handed the iphone. Congratulations were offered to each group, for being out on such an ungodly day, and we all went our separate ways. This was November 2010.

Around the end of March 2011 I'd met a woman on line, and we decided we wanted to meet, in person. Before we could meet, however, she needed to travel to Boston, for a week, so later in April we finally had what we thought was going to be our first, in person, glimpse of each other.
As we talked over dinner on our first meeting, I found out that her trip to Boston was brought about by her running the Boston Marathon. We discovered that even though our passions for running and cycling weren't exactly the same, there were two hours worth of similarities. At least that's how long we were able to talk about eating right, hydrating, tapering, and training in all types of weather. She asked if I rode year 'round, and then asked if I remembered coming across some runners on one of those snowy Saturdays and taking their picture. I told her I didn't. Despite my response, she seemed to think it was a pretty good chance that I was the cyclist who had taken a picture of her and her running mates back in November. I asked if it was two of us, thinking it was me and Amy out riding together. She said no, there were three of you, all guys. I was even more sure now that it wasn't me. I didn't remember riding with anybody but Amy on any of those snowy Saturdays.
We went out again and once again she tried to jog my memory, but it wouldn't budge. When I got home from our second date I called up Eric. I was starting to remember that he and Ben and I had slogged through some snow together, but I still didn't remember takin' any picture of any runners. I asked him, hey, do you remember riding together last winter, snowin' like crazy, and we stopped and talked with some runners and took a picture for them? Eric says, Oh yeah, sure, that was a blast. I asked, did I take the picture? He said, yep.
Well, this certainly was not a good way to start off dating someone...I mean admitting she was right, that is not a good precedent at all.
As it turns out, the woman second from the right in the picture I took, on that snowy November day, was Penny. I am a very lucky man because, she is my Valentine this year, and I hope will be for many years to come. Our Valentine's Day dinner tonight was at Barbette's the first place where we actually intended to meet each other. 20/15.5

Haven't Seen A Lot Of This.

Had tired all over me today. I was just heading out with my road bike when I took one last look out the window. Hard to believe, but I was surprised at what I saw. A quick change of plans was needed. Grabbed Evil, pumped up his tires and was riding through some very fine dust-sized particles of SNOW.
20/15.1

ottiD

Did the same route as yesterday, just in the opposite direction. I like this route a lot. Working on waking up the old hairy body, and getting it ready for another riding season. This route works well for that, as it has some mild rollers and a bit of a climb. Amy joined me for the entire ride. Temps were much more comfortable. Lots of talking today. 47/15.6

Picked up Elijah and got a two for one deal. Bryson was hanging out with Elijah. It was Brit's baby shower, so Bryson had come along with his mom. My daughters are on the far right of this shot. I'm not sure where Kim (Bryson's mom) went. Nate, the proud Dad, put in 2 or 3 hours toughin' it out.

 Put these two grandlumps to work building a wall in my rental's basement. Did some measuring, sawing and hammering.

Finished the evening off watching the Grammys with Penny. That Adele is pretty good. Nice weekend.

Cold and Sunny

Never took it out of the small chain ring for the first 20 miles. That was a persistent and cold wind. A couple of times as we turned directly into the wind I could feel it penetrating my 4 layer armada. It was pretty nasty. Had the company of Steve and Amy to Wayzata when they turned back. Steve put on more miles than me today and Amy wound up just a little shy of my total. Amy was showing off her newest bike. It was the maiden voyage. I thought the flowers in the window were a nice touch.

I'd had a tail wind for about 3 miles when I took this image. The wind was at my back the rest of the way home.

Temp was 2 when I started and 16 when I got home. Wind chill never got above 0. I was warm and had a very enjoyable February road bike ride. Pretty amazing! 45/15.8

Friday

Cold and windy is OK when it blows in on a day off. Road is the plan for tomorrow.

A February Week Of Road Riding

A real nice week of riding. Tonight 20/16.1

Went and saw Elijah perform at his 3rd grade concert. Being a grandpa is Very Cool.
He Pointed At Me In The Way Back (and asked afterwards if I saw him wink)

Wednesday

Usually in February I'd be raving that temps in the 30's were warm, but this year things have been different. Travelled on my road bike this evening, and 33 degrees felt...dare I say it...cold. But the roads and trails are clear, except for the sand that once provided traction and now makes the tire grip a little less sure. 20/16.0
Minnehaha Creek Is Solid Again

Still Winter

Didn't have that Springy, Summery feel today. Twenty degrees less on the old hairy thermometer. I thought Evil's heft would keep me a little warmer...kept me slower, that's for sure. 20/15.7

Three In A Row

Enjoyed a Super Bowl party of two with Penny last night.
Home made pizza, chips, dip, beer, Penny-made apple pie and a Giants win created a very nice evening.
Favorite commercial?  Fiat.
Pizza With Ham, Gorgonzola Cheese, Basil Leaves, And Red Bell Peppers (my favorite)

Three days in a row of road cycling, in the first week of February...smiles everywhere. Lots of people out enjoying the all sun 45 degree temps today. I was too, with a vest and my road bike. I was thinking Spring and Summer thoughts. 25/16.3

Nice Sunset Tonight

Still Remarkable

Another remarkable ride for February in Minnesota. Riding again with Steve and Amy, we made our way through Excelsior and Wayzata. I even showed Steve the heated port-a-potty. He complained that the heater wouldn't come on. Seemed a little colder than yesterday, and it just stayed cloudy with none of the flocking we had yesterday. I got good friends. 42/15.9

From Yesterday

Thanks

There have only been a few rides, I've been on, where nature was putting on such a stunning display.
The disc of the sun was overhead filtered by grey and white clouds. Flakes of white were slowly floating to the ground, not only collecting on us, but also on bare and pine laden branches, golden-brown dormant stems, fences in disrepair and stop signs. Hoar frost had angularly crystallized where flakes hadn't accumulated, giving all things a fairytale look. This magical landscape accompanied us through tree lined roads, along lakes, over rolling hills and as-far-as-the eye-can-see vistas. We were unaware of the spell that had been cast on us slowing our pace and silencing our cycling jargon. Journeying with some of my best friends only made this scape more fascinating and enjoyable. 60/16.0

Friday Night Pics

Off the bike today, but rumor has it there's a road ride heading out to Stillwater tomorrow...in the first week of February? That's amazing.
If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that I love the type of image I've displayed below. Sorry to bore you with another.

Sun Was Out Oh So Briefly This Evening, But What A Treat.

Still Gray But Nice

A very nice week of riding. Mostly roads today. It's been so nice, that I've been putting on some extra miles the last couple of days. I mean, why not? 24/15.9

Just Above St Anthony Falls On The Mississippi

A Little Extra

Gray day. Rode with Steve, for a little, on part of his commute home from work. Old guys commiserating - I almost went down when I rode over some snowplow debris. Yeah, with temps like we've been having, I didn't expect it either. I wasn't paying attention, instead I was chatting away. Stayed up while getting the old hairy heart rate above my LT.
Cleaned Evil's bottom bracket. Silence, all is well. 24/14.9

Steve Noted The Ice On The Mississippi, How He Liked The Way It Looked.