Bonk City

There was nothing in the old cold hairy legs tonight. I actually thought about walking for awhile, and I was on a flat. A bit of a northeast wind got me home to some tomato soup and bread sticks.20/14.6

What's Better

It's a tough call, whether I like the soup or the bread sticks more. Bread sticks alone? No. Soup alone? Doable. I guess the soup has it, but man soup and bread sticks after a cold ride is mighty fine. 20/15.5

Better

I liked those extra 20 degrees today...makes all the difference. 20/15.0

Could I Get A little Warmth?

Even with a long hot shower, and a bowl of split pea soup right after my ride, I'm only now , at 10:30, starting to warm up. Damn that was cold. 20/14.5

One of Those Good Days

Still cold but it seemed a bit more tolerable today. I guess that's acclimation. Got out with Greg, Aaron and Amy for a 40 miler around Lake Minnetonka. Yep, that is snow. It's been on the ground since Thanksgiving, which means it hasn't been above freezing since then.

Went to birthday celebrations for Elijah and Taylor tonight. Spending time with my kids and grandkids...as good as it gets. A ride with friends and an evening with family....yeah, man!

Makenna

Kelsey, Elijah, Bryson and Taylor

Taylor thinks Grandpa's ears are very entertaining.

Cold and Hard

13 degrees at the start. Got home and the temp had made it to 21. Amy made the right call, with the road bikes, I was having second thoughts. Road conditions were just fine, but the cold took its toll. We put on a little over 50 miles, but I feel like I did a century. Just Amy and me, which is never a complaint.
We did have to fix a flat, but we've got a pretty good system down, and were back on the bikes quickly. I think every year the cold gets a little harder to take, but being off the bike would be even harder. 54/15.0

Black Friday

I wasn't at the store at mid-night, I didn't wait in any lines. I did sleep in and, yes, I did go shopping, but all the stores I went to were bike shops. Picked up a some cables and brake pads for Evil. Stayed off the bike since it was Friday....yeah, the cold may have had something to do with it too, but, in my defense, I did work on my bike.

Ride, Friends, Food and Family...Good Day

Got a ride in this morning before the temp change came. Close to 60 again, but tonight is a different story, with snow, rain, sleet and now ice on the everything. Could be interesting riding for the next couple of days as temps aren't predicted to get out of the 20's.

Pre-Feast

Thoroughly enjoyed each and every degree on today's ride, all 62 of 'em. 20/16.5

Already getting the cooking done for tomorrow's feast. Two pumpkin and one French silk. Yes, I'm quite sure the Pilgrims had French silk pie on that first Thanksgiving.

November Sunset

Felt the few degrees less from yesterday's temp, but the sunset over Harriet made up for the chill. 20/15.8

Keep It Coming

Knickers and a light jacket...great temps for riding in November Made it to 59 degrees today. 20/15.5

As Good As It Gets

I sure enjoy these Sunday rides with my daughter, Gabrielle. 45/15.9

Then there's Sunday afternoon with Elijah exploring the Minnesota River bottoms.

Let's recap the weekend; Saturday 78 miler, with great friends, Saturday night the movie Lincoln, with Penny, Sunday ride, with Gabrielle and finally Sunday evening, with my grandson Elijah.
God I'm a lucky man!

Gift

At least a foot of snow on the ground two years ago at this time, today 56 degrees. I love it!
Four of us took the long route to Jordan, which also includes some extra credit climbs and rollers. Don't let the descent in the image below deceive you, we had to pedal down the hill because of the strong southerly wind.
Good friends, Steven, Greg and Amy stole one from mother nature. Please don't tell on us cuz she'll make us pay.

Needed 61 miles to break the 10,000 miles ridden mark, for 2012. Did it at this spot today. That's 8 consecutive years of 10,000 miles or more. 78/17.4

Friday Post?

Made from scratch potato soup and bread sticks....soooo gooood.

 

Decided I needed to try out my new light, so I pulled the Schwinn out of the closet and hooked up the new NiteRider Minewt Pro 750. I liked it, but don't take my word for it. The cyclist coming down the other side of the trail said, "TURN THAT F#$%&*R DOWN!" Can't beat that Endorsement.   4/??

 

More Riding Less Winter

Another nice and easy 20. I'm lovin' this weather. Looks like I'll break 10,000 miles, for 2012, on Saturday. 20/15.7

Fifty Felt Fine

Liked that temp today. Apparently these two did as well. I spotted them along the Mississippi at about 40th Street. 20/15.2

Still Riding

Back on the road bike, with temps moving closer to warm. I have to admit warm is what I like and when that isn't quite achieved, I'm willing to settle for a bright sun warming my back. That's not asking for much is it?
Got a new light today. With work taking so much of my time recently, I realize my rides could take place without a bright sun, or even a bright moon, for that matter. Got a Nite Rider Minewt Pro 750. I'll let you know what I think first time I take it out. 20/14.8

Tingle

Whoa! That was cold. I don't think it even got above 30 today. I was a little caught off guard when I woke up to a 1/2 inch of white covering everything this morning. Courthouses were closed for Veterans Day, which used to be called Armistice Day, so I had the day off from my abstracting business. I opted to head out to my house and get some work done, which I've been putting off too long. I thought it might be a good idea to let the sun clear the trails before I rode, and if I waited 'til the afternoon it could possibly be a little warmer. The sun didn't work too good, but after I got home from my rental, I called on Evil and we hit the trails together. Evil is a really good bike. He can handle it all.

I was feeling it today; recovering from the weekend rides, a little manual labor at the rental, and I was up late with Penny last night. She took me to the Springsteen concert, which was great. I was motivated to a quicker ride pace by the thought of my favorite split pea soup and bread sticks, both made from scratch, waiting for me at the conclusion.

Nice long weekend. Now prepping orders for tomorrow's abstracting work. 20/14.1

Oh Minnesota

70 degrees yesterday...ice today. Three of us headed for Wayzata. The sleet was like needles to the face. Snow came a little later and a small dusting started to accumulate. We were on road bikes and the temps and wet conspired to foil our plans, gunking up our drive trains, brakes and even headsets with ice.
Favorite ride quote of the day: Holy Jeez! My brake levers have ice on them! - Aaron

Amy and I rode together for a little bit and them came back and reunited with Aaron, who was very under-dressed. She said, well, Tom, here we go again. Yep, a couple of veteran winter riders. Obviously there aren't too many friendships out there like Amy's and mine, but also, when things turn a bit adverse I can trust her to be at her best and be watching out for me too. We did turn back for home a little sooner than we hoped, but the conditions did do a number on or bikes, and things started to get a bit sketchy.

Warm Wet and Windy

A lot more people showed up for today's ride. I figured with the fog and drizzle it would just be Amy and me, but 8 of us set out for Stillwater. Nice to ride with so many in November.
I'm going to try and get a post up on Saturday and Sunday for the next week or two, and then hopefully, after Thanksgiving, get back to a post a day. Sorry for the diminishing number of posts.

Gettin' Ready To Ride

We got back to St Paul, and the sun started to come out. About 3 miles from home I ran over some broken glass. Decided to walk the bike home and change the flat there. As I walked the weather just kept on getting warmer and warmer. I couldn't resist the temptation to ride some more. Got the flat fixed and put on another 15 miles around the lakes. The afternoon was glorious. Temp got up to 69.
65/ 16.4 and 17/16.1

Gray Winter Ride

Six of us out there today. Nary a breeze but the temps registered at the brisk level. I opted to dress  a little extra warm...no regrets.
All clouds and no leaves...rather bare, but a beauty still exists in the starkness.
Absolutely wonderful to be with friends. I don't understand how anyone could want to spend their Saturday morning doing anything else.75/17.2