Little Kids

I decided to stay off the hills tonight and rode solo over by the State Fair Grounds, Como Park, Lake Phalen and Mounds Park. I kept it simple tonight just looking for miles.
There was almost a summer feel to my ride. As I went by Lynnhurst Park I could hear the little kids playing. One girl was teasing another by saying "nana nana boo boo you can't catch me". I thought, I'm a little kid too riding my bike.
I came around Calhoun just as I was finishing up my ride, and saw the sun low in the sky and realized dusk was settling in. It's my favorite time of the day. 45/17.8

Can't Beat The Rain

I tried to out smart the rain, but within 5 miles of starting out I was getting wet. Cold, wet and windy are always unpleasant conditions, this afternoon was no exception. The roads were clear of cyclists, but there were plenty of puddles. Long hot shower. 41/17.8

Sunburn

Calves caught some rays yesterday, and got the red tinge and sting. Maybe....just maybe we've turned the corner and are finally headed toward Summer.
It felt great to be out tonight. I felt very peppy for a recovery day. I had to keep telling myself to take it easy. Like every Monday after a century, I'm stiff and sore, but like I said, for a Monday I felt good.
Just rode around the city finishing up around the lakes. Lots of people out enjoying the evening.
41/18.0

Coffee Ride

35 people showed up. We left from the cafe where Tracy had supplied coffee and pastries for all the riders. It was great to see everyone and talk and enjoy a nice easy recovery ride. I got home and, with it being so beautiful out, immediately got on my fixie. As I was getting on the greenway, who rolls by but Lynne, so we rode out past Hopkins together. Billions of people out with lots of good old Minnesota pasty white skin. 64/16.4 and another 20 on my fixie.

1st Hammer Report of the Season

Temp at Departure 40
Temp at Finish 52
Humidity 38%
Barometric Pressure 29.82 (steady)
Visibility Forever
Wind NNW 21mph with gusts up to 35mph
Riders including me 2 (Joel from the Hub showed. He's a friend of Matt.)

Fought the wind all the way up to Hanover, and even though there was some beautiful scenery all we got to see was the tire in front of us. The scenery definitely got better after Hanover (35 miles) as we turned south and got a well deserved tail wind. We were able to pick up the pace significantly. Got into Delano (50 miles) and stopped for the usual Gatorade, Rice Krispie Treat, and Baby Ruth Bar (king sized).
Didn't see a whole lot of Joel's wheel after Delano, but he hung on well.
We pulled into Mayer and picked up the best tail wind of the day, and were well into the 30 mph range all the way into Waconia. I saw 36 mph and my computer showed a max speed of 38.8 mph. That's Screamin'!
The old legs were feeling it as we had to head into the wind again to get to Victoria. Even the smallest hill got us down into the low teens for mph. Once in Excelsior we were heading east and maintained a nice pace back to PUNCH.
It was great to be out, especially when the weather had been predicted to be so shitty. Just beautiful, with delightful scenery. Many of the farm fields were plowed, and the trees are budding, so they had a mossy green look to them.
Just a great ride. 101/20.4

Geek

Took the day off the bike mostly because of the weather. It would've been nice to get out for a few easy miles. Went over to a bike shop to check out the Giant Bowery. It's not that bad looking, but pretty heavy for an aluminum frame. I started messing around with my 1980's Schwinn Traveller. I can't justify getting a 9th bike, so since I finished up my De Rosas, and have them available for some fun in the sun, I'm thinking I'm going to turn the Schwinn into a nice winter single speed or fixie. The frame, fork and stem are all original. If I'm going to have drops, I need to change the stem to one that's longer. Making that decision is the first step. I think I'll build up some nice wheels, with good rims and hubs. That will be a little spendy, so I'll save that for the last project and just keep using the cheapos that are on there now. I've also got to decide if I'm going to paint it, or keep the original paint job, with scratches and licenses.

Considering the crappy weather I had a pretty good week with 301 miles.

Cyclists Everywhere

Who didn't I see out there tonight? I guess everybody was getting some miles in before the rain.
I stayed close to home because of the threat of rain, but stayed dry. I'm feeling a little more pop in the old legs. 39/18.2