Nice Week

It's been a delightful week of riding. The weather has been perfect, and the scenery spectacular.
Looks like the weekend will be full of the same. It's a favorite time of year to ride. 33/17.1

More Mississippi Color

So Good

About 6 miles into the ride I came up on Mike and BK. We made a quick stop at Birchwood Cafe (the sponsor), so BK could pick up a baguette, then along the river and creek to the lakes for a perfect early fall ride. Yeah, it was just like riding in France with BK carrying a sliced baguette in his jersey pockets.
Just ideal weather and scenery today. Could ride forever in these conditions. 33/18.2

OOH! Got Bike Goodies Today

Colorful

Mr Bill was right, it feels good to feel good again.
This is sure a nice time of year, cool, crisp air, beautiful colors, and there were lots of people out enjoying it. Saw three or four friends out on the trails including Ms. Hammerburg. 33/17.7

Mississippi River From The Ford Bridge
(amazing how blue the water was today)

Back

Gotta little giddy-up back. 33/17.4

Hard To Beat Today's Beauty

Solo effort into Baker. Warp drive is still down.
One of those days where you don't want to be inside. Cool, crisp and cloudless. The air had the smell of autumn; that hint of leaves, wood burning, with a little dampness added in. Leaves are still trying to turn, they're just not quite around the corner yet. 50/17.3 (put in a 2 lake ride this evening for an additional 10 miles)

Yesterday's Post First Sentence
Drove Over To Stillwater This Afternoon In Search Of Some Fall Color

Who Knew Slow Could Be So Nice?

It was a red barn surrounded by a white fence and a purple sumac backdrop ride.
Amy and I rode up north of Stillwater. Fall colors starting to emerge enforce amid the numerous lakes, rolling hills and pine trees. Very beautiful up there.
Yes! There were HoHos and Cheesy Crackers in Stillwater.
Amy "tolerated" the pace caused by my disease ridden week. The rollers we encountered just weren't nearly as fun though. I deserved ridicule this week for my massive layering. It was raining and 49 degrees when I left, so I had tights, long-sleeved base layer, long-sleeved jersey, jacket, hat on, and gloves. Amy? Short-sleeved jersey and knickers. Every once in a while she'd pull on her arm-warmers. I gotta toughen the f&%$ up.
Hard to believe, but I don't think we shut up for the entire 80 miles. Thinking back on it though, there were probably a few things that could have gone un-said, but that's the beauty of the prime directive: what's said on the bike stays on the bike.
Captain Kirk was definitely yelling at Scotty, "more power to the engines", today. Scotty could only respond with, "the warp drive is down, sir, I'm givin' it all she's got".
A really pleasant, fun, beautiful ride today. 76/18.0

Better

Stayed off the bike. Feeling better. The deep rich Barry White voice is gone, I didn't have to carry Kleenex with me everywhere I went, and I am no longer doing sneeze repeats, followed by a cool down period of nose blowing. I think it was about a week ago I started whining about a sore throat. Can't complain I guess. I still got my rides in, got my work done and slept really well. Still a little weak, but...what do you do? Thanks for all the good words to help along.

Planning on an easy eighty tomorrow.

Bonk

I started getting shaky topping off the tires before the ride. Not a good sign. Plus it was pouring out. I got the rain gear on. I use an O2 waterproof jacket. You don't get wet from the rain, just from the sweat 'cause there isn't a lot of ventilation. I like it on cold wet days. I stay plenty warm and don't get any of the cold rain on me.
Bonked big time today. Just no energy. It is so rare for me to bonk. I bet I can count my bonks over the last 15 years on 1 hand. But being sick I understand why it happened. Cut a few miles off the ride. Just had nothing to put into the cranks.
Took the Evil One out in the down pour. Unlike yesterday, there was no finagling with the radar. There was green and gold everywhere. Some places just south of the cities got over 10 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. We're talking wet. I think the cities got around 3 inches of rain. When I rode along Minnehaha Creek it was over its banks in many places. 30/15.5

More Colors Everyday
This Was Up In Sherburne County.

Good Plan

Threat of rain, even though the day started out with a cloudless sky. I'm lucky to have my own business - got my work done early and got home to get my ride in before the rain started.
Got off the bike at 3:20pm. Rain drops on balcony at 3:30pm.
Still sick. Slept for 10 hours last night. I'm tired of this. 33/16.7

Summer's End

Energy level is still quite low. Almost cut my ride short. I don't have much of an appetite and have lost a few pounds since Saturday, so, aside from having a cold, that may explain the lack of giddy-up. I don't know, I've been wanting to lose some weight anyways. Even though I was doggin' it, it was nice to be out. A beautiful end on the last full day of summer. 33/16.8
Got a brief walk in this morning over by Hyland Lake. Nature sure makes it look good.

No Pushin'

Got to practice my flat changing skills today. I used my favorite method, where the wheel isn't taken off the frame, and 80% of the tire remains on the rim. I patched the tube and put a boot inside the tire, got the bead back in place, used compressed air to re-inflate everything and was back on the road.
Still sick. I sound like Barry White now. Hey Baby. Didn't push it. Couldn't have if I'd wanted to. 33/16.7

Hazy Sun Tonight

Nice Weekend of Riding

Turned in to a beautiful day, with the sun taking over the all of the sky this afternoon, from the morning clouds. My cold and sore throat are still hanging in there, but when you're addicted...
Kind of tired but had another nice ride, with Amy, up into Baker. It sure is nice to have such a good friend. 50/17.9

Weekend Images

This Evening At The Harriet Rose Garden
Took Time To Smell The Roses

A Bit Cold In Two Ways

Been fighting with a sore throat the last couple of days, and feeling just a smidge tired. Not enough though to keep me from a ride with Amy to Hanover. And there's no way I'm going to miss HoHos in Delano.
Day started cold, windy and cloudy, but we could see blue sky, and it was in the direction we were headed. It's starting to get very pretty out. The fall colors still have about 3 weeks before they peak, but there's definitely change out there. Corn stalks are tall and beige, soybeans are golden, and there are hints of red, orange and yellow in the trees.
We saw a couple of herons and an eagle along with a curious blue clad cyclist up by Medina. Hey that's Talib! Got to ride with him for a good 40 miles.
The wind was exhibiting no sympathy for me and my under-the-weather status, and it seemed to even intensify between Medina and Hanover. Just put my head down and ground it out. I backed off on the hills a little trying to conserve a some energy. My legs had that general don't feel good kind of ache.
It was beautiful out though. I love to see the change of the seasons, although, the older the hairy legs get, the less I like to see it change to cold. Despite ridicule at the beginning of the ride I got the cycling gear right and was warm for the duration. It was, however, a sobering reminder about what is ahead when we stepped out from our stop in Delano and felt the cool breeze on our wet jerseys. It's always a quick and motivated effort to get back to speed and warmed up again.
A really nice ride. As always the company and conversation was delightful. 81/19.5

Three Lakes and Pics

Cloudy most of the day, but the sun finally peeked out this evening.
Got 3 lakes in tonight for about 13 very slow and flat miles.

What I've Seen Over The Last Few Days
Minnesota River Turtles

Fall Is Coming

Isles Tonight

Nothing But Gray Skies

Didn't even make it into the 60's, so I pulled out the tights, long-sleeved jersey and shoe covers. The old hairless head even got a hat. Nice ride, feelin' good, but slow is starting to set in. 33/17.0

Not $1650.00

Rain everywhere. Earlier I was sure it would be an afternoon on the Evil One. Then the clouds quit raining and the sun peeked out just enough to dry the roads. I took my cue and hopped on the "B" bike. First ride on it in almost a week, since it's wheels were the ones I'd taken in to get the bearings replaced. Only $33.00, not the $1650.00 for a new wheel set. Bike rode great, with the hub and cassette all cleaned up and everything nice and tight. Maybe too tight as I was movin' pretty slow. 33/16.5
Started raining hard about 15 minutes after I got home. Nice!

Still Summer

Daylight is fading fast and the leaves are losing green, but the rides are mercifully still at summer speeds and distances...not much longer though. That set cement feeling is leaving the old hairy legs. Looks like a nice enjoyable fall riding season on the horizon.
Met Amy after work and got a very nice ride in before the sunset. 33/17.4

Nothing But Blue Sky

Another beautiful late summer evening. Felt good out there. 33/17.1

Couple Of Old Guys

Did my usual Sunday 50 miles up into Baker. A drop-dead gorgeous day, with a cloud count of zero. Steve crossed the river to join me. He said more than once, "it's nice here".
We covered the usual old guy stuff, and solved all of the world's problems, including global warming. Kids and grand kids, wheel sets, religion, politics, winter riding and a plethora of social issues were discussed. We even talked about not being able to see, hear and... I'll leave it there.
Very nice! Very, very nice. 50/17.9

Trading Pulls

Just BK and me. I guess everyone is getting ready for cross season.
Wind was a bear today. We worked it to Waconia and Mayer trading pulls and then echeloned the crosswind to Watertown. Not a lot of fun, especially at the end of the season. We're both pretty shot.
Pulled into Watertown and made the stop for Lime Gatorade. Road construction was in our way, but there was only 1/2 mile of it before pavement resumed. Yeah! Sure! We can CX it. Forgot about the rain last night. The dirt was soft, the consistency of cement. We sunk deep.

Got off the bikes and shouldered them to the more stable front lawns, and corn field that were adjacent to the construction. Finally made it to pavement.

It took a good three miles to get clipped in through all the accumulated mud. Then the problem was clipping out. The cement like mud had started to set. We should've just taken the detour and put on the extra 5 miles.

All that wound up being pretty easy to bear though, because now we had a 20mph tailwind. Good laughs and conversation all the way home. 78/19.8

Took the DeRosa fixie out this evening with my camera on my back, for a 3 lake ride. Beautiful late summer evening.

Another 13 very slow miles.

Just Fine

Stayed away from anything with two wheels. Well...actually I was at a bike shop with two wheels in hand, they need new bearings, and I didn't feel like doing the work. The mechanic wanted to sell me some Fulcrum Racing Zeros. He's an old friend so I told him I'd think about the $1650.00 price tag over the weekend. There's a discount he'd give me, but I'm not sure I need to go that fast.

Couple of concerned comments and emails from yesterday's post. Thanks for your concerns, and don't worry. I'm fine and there are still 300+ mile weeks in my future. I am getting older and I need to know my limits, even though the kid in me still pushes at them. There used to be 400+ mile weeks in my training, and more intense efforts. It's just what happens with age. It's been a good year, I'm on track to be 1000 miles over last years total. I'm just feelin' it right now, which is exactly how it should be. It's the end of the season. I'm not done riding, by any stretch of the imagination.

I'll be out for 80 tomorrow. Leavin' from Punch. Anyone is welcome to join me.

Last

Last 300+ mile week of the season, maybe of my life. I am so shot! Gettin' old sucks. In the past I could pretty much match my effort to my desire. Unfortunately, as I've gotten older, effort and energy level are lagging behind desire.
Another cool ride today. Very likely I'll be off the bike tomorrow. 33/16.8

Cool

A beautiful day full of cool temps, loads of sun and light breezes. 33/17.1

Right Hand Drawer

Opened a drawer that hasn't been opened for a few months. Yeah, the one with the knickers, long-sleeved jerseys, and full-fingered gloves.
That recovery ride I needed yesterday? Got it in today. I think I will need a few more too. 33/16.8

This Is What Was Old (Amy's New Old Bike With Lime Green Wheels)
Like I said, pretty snazzy, huh? (chocolate chip banana bread is gone, in other words I can descend faster now)

All Bike Day

Six of us from the team met at 9am and got a ride in before the clouds and rain came. Steven lead us down to Farmington, and set a tempo that was well above the recovery pace I needed. I stayed in the slipstream of anyone I could find and hung on for dear life. The wind aided ride back took us over a few rollers where things got a little feisty, and any hope I had of a proper recovery was gone. How can you help yourself? Somebody takes off, what do you do? Yeah, you chase 'em down.
Home by noon and I was quickly on the hunt for food, then it was time for a friend's bike alteration. A $6.00 trip to the bike shop became a lime green wheel set purchase, and 16 speeds were turned into one. It took awhile, but finally a singulator solved the chain length dilemma, and what was old looks mighty snazzy now.
A big mess left in the living room, but smiles everywhere. I got some very tasty chocolate chip banana bread, and preserves, for my efforts. 58/19.0

SSR

Nice ride up into Baker, but that wind was a little sneaky. You know you can't see it, and it was waiting for us behind Excelsior. Typical Sunday ride, with plenty of good conversation.
52/18.0
Harriet Tonight

Favorite

Favorite bike, favorite route, favorite companion, favorite temps, favorite gas station destination and food (yep grape Gatorade and HoHos in Delano! I'm pretty confident cheesy crackers were also consumed). You'd think this was my birthday weekend or something.
Northwest winds were still a bit on the brisk side, and a long-sleeved base layer was needed, but I love a sunny day with temps in the low 60's. It was one of those rides, where you don't want to stop, and the thought "it doesn't get any better than this" was a regular tenant of the brain.
The old hairy legs seemed to be enjoying the ride too, but the route didn't require much out of them. I got minor complaining on a few of the simple ascents, and including Christmas Lake Hill and coming out of the Purgatory Creek ravine, but all-in-all and considering how I've felt over the last two weeks...I gotta give 'em credit. 83/20.4 (yeah, I know! Cool, huh?)

Old

Over 340,000 miles on this truck - all mine - we're talkin' winter storms, hail, rush hour traffic, dance classes, hauling my bikes to races and even two daughters learning how to drive. I bought a new zippy 2009 Yaris last year, but still haven't sold my truck. I rarely use the truck; the frame is bent, it needs new tires, and is slow to start. It shimmies whenever the speedometer registers 30 mph or above, and the air-conditioner needs a recharge. It's been in a few crashes, has accumulated more than its share of dents and dings and kind of leans to one side. Rust is starting it's cancerous spread and the smell of burning oil wafts into the cab once it works up a little engine heat.
I needed him today. Something the Yaris couldn't do for me. He seemed almost excited to see me walking towards him. He sits outside now, on call, in the heat and the cold, ready to give his all whenever I need him. Yeah, he didn't start right up, but a couple of pumps on the gas pedal and the loyalty was revving. He was coughing as a couple of stop lights turned green, but eventually got the congestion out and started to even purr a little.
I was surprised by how comfortable the drivers seat was, but I guess after 340,000 miles we're pretty use to each other. Couple of old friends, him 340,000 me 52 today.

A one lake Friday. Maybe 5 miles.

Shift

Another 300+ mile week. That makes eleven 300+ mile weeks for me in 2010. I was only able to muster five in 2009. Today 36/17.0 It's been a good year, and I'm definitely feeling just how good. Still very tired.
A wind shift is bringing with it some cooler weather. Temps won't be getting out of the 60's for the next couple of days. Change is one of the many reasons it's nice to live here in Minnesota. The hot of summer makes the cool of fall welcome. The cold of winter makes the warmth of spring exciting.

A Couple Of Shots From My Balcony Tonight




My daughter-in-law took this (http://www.kimrussellphotography.com/)

My Granddaughter Taylor at 9 Months
I make pretty cute grand kids, don't I?

Better

Think I broke up a little more, still somewhat unresponsive, which is better than totally unresponsive. 34/17.4