Catch Up

Got out with Amy today. I was pretty tired from yesterday's heat. Amy had raced. We needed to catch up...hadn't gotten our usual Saturday in.
It was very nice, as we just rode up into Baker, enjoyed the scenery and talked.

Unusual as it is, for a Sunday ride, we stopped to take on some more liquids. It's pretty hot out.
The Rebel In Me Just Couldn't Resist
Isles Tonight

Cedar Lake

Summer Time

Another hot and steamy Saturday summer's ride. Red lights were even less appealing, because the heat radiating from the asphalt made it all the more oppressive.
Four bottles of water and two 32oz Gatorades for me. Greg, my 60 year old riding buddy, downed six bottles of water along with two other sources of electrolytes.
We rode to Belle Plaine, easily my favorite route, but I've got to figure out a way to flatten it out some. My days of hill hammering are waining. A drop dead gorgeous day, beautiful rolling landscapes, farm fields, river valleys, and a typical Minnesota hazy summer sky made this a ride to remember. 89/19.1

Got out with Penny tonight for a concert at Mears Park in St. Paul. Greg Brown was the headliner, along with other folk and blue grass minstrels. Summer lightning storms in the distance made for a perfect backdrop.

Day Off The Bike

Got to be with all the grandlumps and most of my kids tonight. Gabrielle and Joe weren't there. Brit and Nate had us over to do a little BBQing. I brought an empty stomach that needed to be fueled for a Belle Plaine run tomorrow.

Brit and Taylor (notice the earrings)
Notice The Bracelets
Elijah and Bryson Shooting Up The Living Room Star Wars Style

Uh Oh! C3PO is Down

It Was Nice of Bryson to Give Nate a Ride on His 4 Wheeler.
Kels Loved It!

Bridges

I like showing the beauty of nature that exists here in Minneapolis. Here's some of the urban in the urban of tonight's ride. 25/17.7

Cedar Lake Trail Under Interstate 394 Heading East Towards Downtown (2 bridges)
Interstate 94 Over Cedar Lake Trail (4 bridges)

New Section Of Trail Next To Target Field (2 bridges)

Mississippi River Near Mill Ruins (5 bridges)

Entrance To Lock and Dam No. 1 On The Mississippi

A Couple of H's

Out just minding my own business riding the roads and who do I come up on, but BK. He also remembers when the Foshay Tower was the tallest building in Minneapolis, and I dare you to call him old. 25/17.6

Heat and humidity is back. yipee

Fire In The Sky Over Isles Tonight

Falls, River and Creek

Checked out the last leg of the downtown bike trail. It's been completed for a while now, but I'm just getting around to trying it out. I like my ruts and am not all that good with new things. The trail is great and drops you right on the Mississippi just above St. Anthony Falls, and this landmark next to the Hennepin Ave bridge.

When I was a kid the two tallest buildings in Minneapolis were the Foshay Tower (on the left with the antenna) and the County Courthouse (green roof and clock). And they were the tallest by a lot.

Mostly a river ride today. Picked it up at the falls and rode along the east side all the way to Minnehaha Falls. A beautiful day 27/16.5

Needed It

I sure needed a ride today, so much so, that I got in two. First on my own 25/17.8
Second with Penny 21/13.6

Nice Sunday

Start was a bit on the cool side this morning. I felt slightly chilled with the temp in the low 60's. The bank thermometer only registered 75 by the time we got home. Delightful!
Another really nice ride too. Steve, Amy and I covered our standard Sunday ride. 50/18.0

Went to pick up Elijah this afternoon, and he was on his bike. When he saw me he yelled, "hey grandpa, look what happened", and proudly showed me his battle-scarred knee. Apparently it had happened shortly before I got there.
He wanted to keep on riding, so we took his bike over to my place. I think it's in the genes. Poor kid!

We also got the balsa wood glider air force out.

Plan B

I've got no issues with riding in the rain, but lightning changes the game. I hear it's especially attracted to carbon. So, the tour was on and Andy was getting his ass handed to him by Cadel. Delaying departure past cracking skies was really a no brain-er. It was going to be 5 of us, but the storm and time change messed with everyone's schedules.
Still wet and dripping, there was blue sky to the west, and Cadel had finished his morning ride in 55 minutes, I met Amy with no particular place in mind to ride. Default for the last month or so has been the Dakota Trail, and Amy hasn't taken it all the way to Mayer so, off we went just chatting away catching up on all the news of the week. Sun was out, trail was drying, speed didn't matter.....NICE! 80/18.0

Four Lakes Two Bikes

Did some bike maintenance this morning while watching the tour. New chain and cassette for the Cannondale, and just cleaned up the fast goodlookin' bike along with a little lube and greasing. She was complaining a lot after some wet rides last weekend...kind of finicky. So, to make sure I didn't mess anything up, I took them out for Friday Night Ride Pics. 17/14.0 and 13.0


Eight Miles And Two Lakes For The Cannondale
(North Cedar Lake Trail runs through a prairie restoration project. I think it's working)

Nine Miles And Two Lakes For The Orca
(Sun in the clouds over Harriet)

Two Addicts?

A little on the tired side this week. Let's blame it on the heat. I'm pretty pleased though with a 250+ mile week considering just how hot it was. 25/17.2
A Small Patch of Minnesota Prairie Near Lake Nokomis

Gabrielle Bought Her Bike Tonight (she's already addicted)

Waiting Out The Heat

Again just kept it simple, but was out twice. 25/16.7 & 15/12.9

Still Sweating

Simple is what works best for this type of weather. I was pleasantly surprised by all the friends I saw out on the trail tonight. The asylum was full. 25/16.7

Plenty Warm

Feel like I did a Hammer Hundred. Totally wiped from yesterday's ride. That heat is rough. Kept it to 20 miles and I felt lucky to break 16mph. 21/16.3
My daughter Gabrielle wants to get a bike, so we went over to Freewheel to take a look tonight. Hard not to flashback to when she was little, and zooming around with streamers on the end of her handle bars.

Dang Stinkin' Hot

Woke up to condensation on my windows. Stuck my head outside and couldn't believe how hot it was for 7 in the morning, 80 degrees with a dew point of 77, and it was only going to get better.
I thought maybe I'd join up with the Flanders guys, but I couldn't get my butt moving fast enough to get there by 8. Left my apartment at 8:30 and still didn't know where I'd go. These are pretty extreme conditions, so I wanted to be smart about what I did and safe. Started towards Wayzata, and then thought I'd catch the Dakota Rail Trail to St. Bonni. Trees would give me a little cover from the sun, and I'd never be too far from some help. No climbs, so little exertion needed. It would be easy to take it easy, and that's what I did. If I got too tired...just turn around.
Pretty nice. Wound up taking the trail all the way to Mayer. Ron had told me that after the new bridge over the marsh, it was about a half mile and the trail was asphalt again. He was right all the way to Mayer.
I was surprised by how many people were out, but the numbers had diminished significantly on my return trip. People were smart and got their rides in early to avoid the oppressive heat and humidity. Four bottles of water and 32 oz of Lime Gatorade. For me that's a lot. I was pretty tired when I got home. That heat and humidity really pulls it out of you, but it was a very nice ride, and I really enjoy that trail. 70/17.3

Here's some stuff I saw along the way.

Lake Minnetonka (Thick Air)
Standing Water In The Farm Fields
This Is In Mayer. No Wonder Ron Wanted Me To Go All The Way To Mayer.

Six Miles And I'd Be Home (still 77 degree dew point)

Wet

Not a drop of rain, but it might as well have been pouring. The humidity was off the charts. It was one of those days where you're glad the clouds were more stubborn than the sun persistent.
Four of us met for an easy steamy ride. I missed the pink jersey notice. Amy brought her kitties. It was really fun, just kind of rode where we wanted to and until we wanted to stop. Lots of talk, beautiful scenery, great friends, which we all know makes for a great ride. 80/17.8

About 10 miles into the ride we had a close call. A blind corner on a path. We were on the trail for only about 1/2 mile to avoid some road construction. Another cyclist coming the other way and not with our group, clipped Greg's front wheel. Greg was moving slowly, and didn't go down, and was unhurt, but the other cyclist went down hard, smacking his helmeted head on the asphalt. A good sized crack was left in his helmet. At first he seemed OK, but about 5 minutes after the crash he passed out. We got an ambulance there and got him taken care of. He was joking around as he left. This was very similar to the circumstances of my crash, totally out of the blue, little time to avoid the other cyclist, and very dangerous in a seemingly safe place.

I just mention this to help us all remember to be careful.

Bike Maintenance And Dinner

Amy made a delicious hamburger tonight, but I had to get my hands greasy - new chain and cassette, before I could eat it. And, she had to provide the muscle to loosen the cassette. Lots of rain, and it being Friday, kept me off the bike.

On my way home Isles reflected the clouds.

Up

I ride along the Mississippi River almost every week day. A little cloudy today, but still beautiful. 25/17.5
Slept in my bed all night last night - first time since the crash. The hairy ribs feel like a mildly sore muscle now, and don't keep me awake anymore. It sure is nice to be feeling a little closer to normal. The hairy hand is weak, and still doesn't like to do some things, and complains now and then, but it is close to being silent. I'm still not all the way there yet, but the hard painful stuff is over.

Just Trying

Took the fast bike out for a slow ride...trying to even things out a bit. No splint or ace bandage on the hand today, felt just fine. 25/16.9

Little

Just 25 today. A little tired so I'm going to use the excuse that I'm still being a little (only a little) cautious.
Hoogerland still in polka dots...coolest story of the tour, so far. 25/17.1

Slow Progress

Actually slept in my bed laying down last night. It only lasted 3 hours until I had to be in a more upright position, but hey! this is progress. So I guess the actual tally of hours slept in a bed, for the last 5 weeks, is now up to 6, of which 3 were the night of the crash, when I didn't know how bad I'd been hurt.
Worked a lot today. Drove 240 miles. Driving that much kind of zaps me. Ride was good for a Monday. 25/17.2

All Bike Day

A guy shouldn't be able to have this much fun. Started out with several friends and rode our Standard Sunday Route, stopping in Wayzata, for what Phil Ligget would call a nature break. Can you believe how blue that sky and water are? An absolutely beautiful day! It was wonderful to ride with my friends. 49/18.6
After getting home I grabbed my camera and went over to the Hopkins Rasberry Festival Crit.

Getting Instructions From The Race Official At The Start of The 35+ Race The Boys Playing Hard Gotta Love Cyclists
Elijah kind of lowered his head when I told him we were going to a bike race. Not his favorite thing to do, but he is such a good kid that he went with his grandpa anyways. The cheese curds and ice cream I bought him made it worth his while.

Dropped Elijah off and came home and watched the tour. It was all about the bike today.