Friday Bike to Work Ride from West Duluth

If you are a local rider interested in riding into downtown with us on Friday from West Duluth, we will be meeting at Memorial Park at 7:00 am.

Memorial Park is at the corner of Grand and Central across from the Holiday Gas Station. Our destination will be the Bike to Work Day gathering at Minnesota Power Plaza in downtown.

Sunday Xtra(cycle)

The plan was to take one day off the bike this weekend and do a longer ride the other day. I haven't had a day off the bike since the day before the Ironman Century a few weeks ago. So much for plans though. Saturday became the day off because I got busy cleaning around the house and doing this and that. Since I was being productive at home, I just went with it. Plus we had a wedding to go to at 3:00.

Today I decided not to do a long ride. I ended up doing what I call productive miles. It was only 20 miles, but it was all on the Blue Truck (Xtracyle) doing errands. The first stop was at my LBS. He sold my road bike last week, it was there on consignment. I stopped in to chat and pick up a check. No time for chatting, the spring rush is on. From there I made a stop at the local big box home center and picked up two huge bags of wood mulch for Susan's yard work. The Xtracyle handled those without a problem. I took those home, had some lunch, made out a grocery list for the upcoming week and headed back out to do the grocery shopping. Only filled two grocery bags, so the load was light. All in all a very good day on a bicycle.

Ciro the cat getting high on Catnip.....still legal in all 50 states!!

May: 280 miles
2008: 2,685 miles

It's what I do.

Spring is almost here. This week we've got temps in the 30's/50's. Barely 50 today. It doesn't quite feel like May yet. But I know it is because we have daylight long before I leave for work in the morning and long after I get home. Today I rode the LHT to work. I felt fantastic on the ride in, despite feeling like I'm catching something. Lots of colds and various crud going around. I seem to feel like I'm getting a cold every other week this year. So far, nothing has knocked me down yet.
Beautiful day with calm winds. The sky was blue and the Big Lake was calm. I rode up and over Hawk Ridge and down seven bridges road (I counted 8 bridges...??). Had some great views of the lake, shoreline, Wisconsin, and a great lakes 1,000 footer heading out of port.

This year I'm enjoying my riding more than ever. I have a new attitude and a better understanding of what I like to get out of my bicycling. I have no mileage goals this year, yet I have my best start ever. I'm not training for anything, but I'm more motivated than ever to put in some miles. I'm not doing intervals, or speed workouts, or training rides. But I feel stronger than I've ever been and I'm climbing better than ever. I spot riders up ahead of me and for the first time in my life I have no desire to catch them. I'll even slow down If I think I might have to pass them and maintain a faster pace to save face if they try to pass me back up.

I smile more than ever while I'm riding. Biking is no longer a chore, or something I have to do, or another thing on the to-do-list. Biking is what I do because it's part of my lifestyle. Most Americans get up everyday, get in their cars and go to work without ever thinking about it. I get up, get on my bike everyday and go to work without ever thinking about it. It's become a part of who I am, and I really love that!

May: 226 miles
2008: 2,631 miles

Becoming better acquainted with my Xtracycle

Last years plan to have an Xtracycle put together by the end of spring got delayed. It didn't happen until the first week in July. The frame painting and the build went slower than I had originally thought it would. The finished product was worth the wait.

I also had planned to use it it much more that first year than I actually did. I thought it might become my default commuter. Alas, the fixed gear still got the nod when no errands were on the schedule. I ended up riding the Xtracycle once or twice a week until the snow started. Then I couldn't bear to take it out in the sloppy mess.

Fast forward to this spring. From the first ride on the Xtracycle it's been on my mind a lot. Last year it felt odd, and I felt odd on it. Not this year. It's been feeling really good. I can't even think back and figure out why it felt so awkward last year. I had some errands I wanted to do after work today. I was looking forward to the ride in to work this morning. I enjoyed my ride after work while errand running. Maybe last year I tried to ride it like my other bikes. Climbing fast and out of the saddle accelerations away from stops. The Xtracycle needs to be ridden with a different purpose and at a different pace. Today I settled into a relaxed pace. I geared way down on the hills and spun my way up so as to never get winded. And any accelerations were done slowly, in the saddle, while I worked my way into a comfortable cruising gear.

I think the Xtracycle is frustrating, or feels slow, when you get on it and expect it to ride like your other bicycles. But it's not your other bicycles. It is a bicycle used for hauling, for utility. Once you accept that and ride it like the bike it is, it can become one of the best bikes you've ever ridden.

My load was close to 40 lbs with the dog and cat food I bought at the Petco, plus my work related stuff I carry. It handled the weight beautifully. On one downhill I topped out at 35 mph. I never felt I was out of control. It was rock steady with plenty of stopping power when I needed it. It has got to be one of the most useful bikes ever dreamed up. If you are car-free, or would like to leave your car parked most of the time, you've got to get yourself one of these bikes.


I got a call from my LBS today. My Bianchi road bike has been on consignment there since last fall. Denis said it finally sold. Denis also asked me to co-lead a group for Bike to Work Day on May 16th. I'm looking forward to it. I've never participated in any Bike to Work events before. It's about time I do!

May: 193 miles
2008: 2,598 miles

Taking an Xtracycle to it's limit...and maybe beyond

200 lbs of sand

Susan announced this morning she had a job for me and the Blue Truck (Xtracycle). It's getting nice enough to finally start working in the yard and she needed sand and mulch from our local home store. I thought I'd tackle the sand today and the mulch another day. She requested 4-6 bags. I made two stops on the way to the home center. One at the pharmacy and one at the grocery store for a few items.

When I was loading up the bags on a cart I thought for sure they were maybe 25 lb bags. I decided to take four, but thought about taking all six and getting it over with. I glad I didn't take six. I weighed a bag when I got home. It was 50 lbs. So I hauled 200 lbs of sand, with another 10 lbs of odds and ends.

I have to say I definitely found the upper limit of what my Xtracycle can haul. With 200 plus pounds it was barely rideable. As I was loading up the sand I wasn't sure if the kickstand was going to survive the weight it was supporting. I dumped the bike over trying swing my leg over it. Once I got rolling it was difficult to control. With little weight on the front wheel and the bike flexing with every pedal stroke, it was hard to steer. Little corrections caused the load to shift.

I'm not sure I'd put that much weight on it again. It didn't feel save. Previously, I've had up to 100 lbs on it and felt fine riding with that much weight. There is an endless amount of things you could haul that weigh 100 lbs or less. The bike still amazes me at it's usefulness!

Later in the day it warmed up into the 60's. I couldn't pass up getting out for another ride on the LHT. I took a leisurely 52 mile ride.

April: 131 miles
2008: 2,536 miles

Enjoying the ride!

Selling my road bike this year has set me free. I always felt obligated to ride my road bike like a road bike was meant to be ridden. Fast and with a purpose. I was never satisfied with a solo ride on the road bike unless I averaged, at least, 16 or 17 mph. Now that there is no longer a pure road bike in my possession I feel a lot freer to ride at a more relaxed pace. I no longer feel I need to show up at the Monday night ride and hammer with the boys. And if I do show up now, I'll show up on the LHT. No one is going to expect me to keep pace with them on that bike. It's like I'm off the hook. I never wanted to go fast all that often anyway... ...and now my bike says loud and clear I have no intention of going fast. I like that!!

Today turned out much different than I expected. I thought it was going to rain most of the day. It ended up clearing off by 10:00 am. Temps creeped up into the low 50's. Warm for us. I was going to take today off the bike. I try to get one day a week away from it. It's hard, I'd ride everyday of the year if I didn't think a day off now and then does me good. But I couldn't resist getting out for a short ride. I got started late in the day. We've had a rainy week and water is running everywhere as it makes it way out of the watershed and into Lake Superior. I decided to follow the St Louis River and check out it's overflowing banks. We've had flood warnings off and on for a week now.
I headed out Grand Ave, across 210 through Jay Cooke State Park and back into town on the Munger Trail. The river was flowing full and with great violence. The roar of the river and it's rapids in the park are breath taking.
This loop has always been one of my favorite loops to do. It's got two decent climbs, which I like, some great river scenery and now new pavement on 210.
You might notice there is still no sign of leaves or spring. Spring comes very late in these parts. However, I discovered there are wood ticks out. After I got home I found one already attached to my stomach.
I'm lovin' my new Brooks B17. I should have went back to leather long time ago. I've got 380 miles on it and it's feeling good.
I stopped at the State Park Visitors Center and walked down to the cable suspended bridge over the river. The river narrows through some rocks under the bridge. The water was raging under the bridge.
And moving at great velocity. I got dizzy looking down and watching the water race by.
My ride ended up being 36 miles long and I only averaged 13.9 mph. That's a nice pace on a day like today. It was a very enjoyable ride.

Here's a new car around town. I've seen it a couple of times this week. Today I spotted it parked on a side street. I took a swing by to check it out. I've seen pictures of the European version, but had never seen one in person. It's a Smart Car made by Mercedes Benz.

Interesting!

May: 76 miles
2008: 2,481 miles

Whoa!!! SKUNK!!!

I narrowly escaped being sprayed by a skunk on my morning commute. I live in town, but for my commute I climb uphill 1 mile from my house to take Skyline Parkway across town. Much of Skyline is surrounded by wooded open space too rocky to build on. Hence there is an abundance of wildlife in town and along the route of my commute. I've seen everything from foxes, pine martens, porcupines, hordes of deer, and once a black bear. Today I had another encounter. It was raining horizontally with gusty winds off the lake. I was trying to keep my head down because I couldn't see looking into the rain. At one point I looked up to scan for the next group of potholes I would need to navigate and there it was....a skunk.....not more than three feet away. It had obviously spotted me before I had spotted it. It was standing alert with it's tail in the air. It was too late to swerve away. I came within one foot of it. It rotated as I passed it, holding it's tail high the whole time. Somehow it decided not to spray. It must have decided I wasn't a threat at some point. I'm a very lucky man!!

Now that it's May, we're finally getting early April weather. Windy, rainy with temps that never rose out of the 30's today. My morning commute was at 39 degrees in the rain. My evening commute was at 39 degrees in the rain. Makes it easy to dress for. No 25 degree change in temperature during the day. Tonight there's a chance it could change to snow.

Me, I don't mind. I don't care for hot weather, so the longer it stays cold the fewer number of hot days to come. I also like commuting in the rain. I'm not sure I'd want to spend all day in this kind of rain, but it's not bad for the short commute I have. It helps that I have a place to hang up my wet clothes at work in a back hallway that has good airflow. My clothes are almost always completely dry by quitting time.

I took a longer way home. I've been seeing signs that there may be a lot more bike commuters out on the roadways this year. On the warmer days lately (warmer means it actually gets up into the 40's) I've been seeing quite a few people on bikes that look like they are commuting. More than I've ever seen here. Today, it was just me and Tim Ek. I saw him coming and going today. I rode the length of the Lake Walk on the way home and did not see another soul on it. I love the solitude, but it'd be nice if people would learn that water doesn't hurt and they really won't melt.

Switching gears here......Vik is now the proud owner of a Surly Big Dummy. Welcome to the world of Xtracycling Vik! He's done a very tasteful build with some custom painting of the Xtracycle accessories and snapdeck. Plus he built it up with a Rohloff rear hub.....NICE! He kept it all a big secret until the unveiling. What a pleasant surprise!

April: 40 miles
2008: 2,445 miles

An April century ride, Minnesota style.

Jeff and I went down to the Twin Cities this past weekend for the Minnesota Ironman Bike Ride. This would be Jeff's first century, having never ridden further than 45 miles before. I've done numerous centuries and this would be my fourth year in a row for this ride. This is the only ride of this type I do. I enjoy this ride because it has a long history, and therefore well run, and draws as many as 5400 riders. It's a cool atmosphere with that many bicyclers all in one place. However, read my rant later in this post. I may or may not go back next year.

Saturday is wasn't looking like we'd have pleasant weather for the ride on Sunday. It was snowing. We got a couple inches of wet sloppy stuff. Of more concern was the winds gusting to 35 mph.

Jeff picked me up with his van Saturday afternoon for the ride down. At my request we made one stop in the cities, the Bloomington REI. I had a $116 member dividend burning a hole in my pocket. We then stopped and had a very good dinner at a Thai restaurant before heading to Lakeville. The ride starts at the High School. They allow people to camp on the school grounds. I pitched a tent and Jeff slept in his van. It was a cold night for this time of year with a low in the mid 20's. I brought my winter down sleeping bag that's rated down to 0 degrees. I sleep better in a tent than anywhere else in the world. So I had a great sleep.During the night the skies cleared off with just a few clouds in sight. Luckily I remembered to bring the sunblock. Not something I normally think about when it's cloudy and snowing. Jeff and I got up. I was up by 5:30. I'm not a get up and go kind of guy. So it took us until 7:30 to hit the road. It started off cool with a light headwind. The first of five rest stops is over 20 miles into the event. My legs were stiff and knotted the whole way. I could not get them to loosen up. I didn't ride on Saturday. I've finally decided I just need to stop taking days off the bike. I always feel worse the day after a day off.
This ride starts in an southern outer ring suburb of the Minneapolis/St Paul and goes out into the surrounding countryside. Much the land is still small farms. This is midwest prairie. It leaves the route exposed to wind. It passes through many small towns along the way. All the rest stops are at schools and a VFW post.
It has many, many small hills. None much bigger than what you see above.
Jeff making some clothing adjustments. It warmed up into the low to mid 50's. The forecast called for a 30% chance of afternoon showers. Sure enough dark clouds appeared to the west around mile 65. At mile 75 it started to rain lightly. While we where at the last rest stop at mile 83 we heard people talking about snow outside. Sure enough it was starting to snow mixed with rain. Many, many people were loading up their bikes into the trailers pulled by school buses for a ride back to Lakeville. Jeff and I headed out into the rain and snow. The temperature had dropped down to around freezing and the wind had switched around to out of the north. Giving us a headwind when we had expected a tailwind. The next 5 or 8 miles we rode into a headwind and were pelted with some of the biggest wettest snow flakes I have ever seen. I had caught a bit of a chill at the rest stop. I took the lead and was setting a pace that I hoped Jeff could keep up with. I needed to get warm and the only way to do that was push the pace. Jeff had been feeling good up until the last rest stop. Amazing for someone that had never ridden that far before. I had expected him to slow at the end. But now I had hopes he'd keep up the pace until the end.

Nothing doin'! At mile 88 Jeff ran out of gas. He called to me to slow the pace and announced his legs were gone. I was wet through and my left foot was going numb. We slowed to a 8-9 mph pace. It was a long last few miles. But Jeff made it and in fine fashion. We averaged 14.1 mph on the bike for the 100 miles. Fantastic pace for a first century. Jeff just started commuting full-time last summer. He rode all the way through his first Duluth winter and now he had ridden his first century. I'd say he is an Ironman!
Lots of different bikes on this ride. Here is one of the more unique rides. A front wheel drive recumbent with what looks like carbon fiber disc wheels. Lots of 'bents this year.

Now for my rant. Normally I am a very quiet, passive, introverted person that says little and never raises my voice. I don't think my wife has heard me raise my voice in the ten plus years she's known me. But something happened on this ride that had me yelling at people. It was those testosterone filled pacelines that had me pissed off. I don't care what people choose to ride (carbon fiber bikes) or what they wear (lycra) and all that. But if they ride in a reckless manner when there are less experienced riders around it starts to piss me off. Ride rules stated you should announce when you are passing people. At least a dozen times I had a group in a paceline brushing my shoulder before I even knew they were coming up behind me. The first few times I just tried to ignore it. But they all started to do the same thing. Brush by me within inches and then cut over in front of me as they pulled past my front wheel. Many times with only a few inches to spare. I don't know if that is some ego trip behavior or what, you know rub it into your face that they are going so much faster than you are. But it was completely unnecessary! About the tenth time one guy came so close to me his hand touched my handlebar. I reached out my arm, pushed against the side of his chest and physically moved him over. He didn't even look at me or acknowledge what I did. A few pacelines later and a guy in the middle of a paceline started to move over in front of me before he was even past my handlebars. By the time his back wheel cleared my handlebars his wheel was almost touching my front fork. That's when I yelled as loud as I could, "Hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He narrowly missed touching my front tire as he pulled in front of me. What an A**H***! He never looked back. I looked over at the guy that was now brushing my shoulder and said to him, " What the F*ck is wrong with that A**h***!" He never looked at me and pulled on through.

I was so flipping mad. Riding like that is fine if you are with other people doing the same thing and you're RACING! This was not a RACE!

I like this event, but I will have to give it some thought about whether or not I want to ride it again with ignorant people like that riding the same ride. It really ruined it for me. I have a lot of experience in pacelines. I've ridden in criteriums and club races and training rides with the likes of Davis Phinney and Andy Hampsten, back in the late 70's. I could ride in pacelines now if I decided that's what I wanted to do. But it's not the way I choose to ride. And if it's the way you choose to ride, don't be an idiot!

'Nuff said, thanks for letting me vent!

I rode my new Surly Long Haul Trucker. What a joy it was to spend 7 hours on a bike without even a hint of a sore neck, shoulders or back. I also had very little body fatigue as well. Vastly different from my road bike I used to use for long rides. The combination of a high handlebar, fat tires, and the relaxed geometry of a bike designed for touring provided for a comfy ride. I will admit it doesn't climb or accelerate like a road bike. But that's okay. I'm not into speed and I can climb with anybody on almost any bike. With only seven rides on the LHT I've put on 344 miles. That's a 49 mile per ride average on the new bike. Not bad! It's definitely already my ride of choice for the longer rides.

I started this entry a few days ago. It's now April 30th. I had an excellent month and I can't wait to ride some more.

April: 754 mi
2008: 2,405

"I'm going to get me one of those damn trophies!"

And I did!! It arrived in my mailbox yesterday.Back in February, when I finished the Arrowhead Ultra 135 on my second attempt, I used the above statement as my Mantra during the grueling final hours to help get me to the finish line. The only material recognition, or prize, for finishing the event is this trophy handmade for each finisher by the Race Director Pierre Ostor. At the finish line you are presented with bags full of arrowheads. You pick the one you want and Pierre uses it to create your unique, personalized trophy. Cool, huh?

One of those unexpected days.

Mondays. I don't dislike them. But they never really thrill me either. Mondays always seem to be the hardest day to get up and going. Today was no different. I spend my morning ride in trying to psych myself up to make it through another five days of work. . Ever since I experienced the freedom of backpacking for 6 months back in 2001, I find the daily grind and routine of "normal" life to be mind numbing. Even ridiculous in many ways. That hike changed the way I look at life in many different ways. But that's a whole different topic.

Yesterday the legs didn't have much life in them. Not sure why. This morning seemed to be more of the same. After work I planned to put in a few extra miles and head home. We had a nice sunny day with temps in the forties. It was a surprise because we were supposed to have clouds and evening rain showers. I headed out east of town. Just as I was reaching the edge of town, and about to turn around for home, I heard a voice next to me. It was my neighbor. He bicycle commutes and I was a few blocks from his workplace. He talked me into doing a few more extra miles. He wanted to go up over the hill. I wasn't interested at first. I was on the fixed gear and wasn't in any mood to grind out some hills. But I finally agreed to try the hill up Glenwood. I shocked myself at how easy I made it up. Perhaps it was the tailwind we had pushing us up, or else the legs decided to wake up. Whatever happened, the rest of the ride felt better after the hill. It turned into a 34 mile day for me, a very good day.

Mondays is Susan's knitting group. So it's just me, the cats and the dog hanging out Monday nights. I still had some energy so I decided to be productive. Unusual because I normally get nothing done on Monday evenings. I raked out the back yard and put down some grass seed. I never got around to doing it after last years backyard construction project. With the severe drought we had last summer it would have taken a lot of watering to get seed to grow.

After that was done, I still didn't want to go inside yet. So I took the dog for the walk.

Then I sat down to a Mexican feast. Leftovers from what we fixed Sunday night.
As you can see, ever since I stopped eating a Vegan diet I get a bit carried away with the cheese. Yummy.
April: 495 miles
2008: 2,146 miles

Blah. That best describes this weekend's weather.

We had such miserable weather this weekend, even I had a hard time getting motivated to get out for a ride. Remember, I'm the one that revels in any weather. In my defense, I've made it very clear in past entries that I feel the most miserable weather is wet, rainy weather when the temps are in the 30's. I'll add the low 40's to that. Yesterday it drizzled all day with temps in the low 40's. Today we had dense fog , some drizzle and temps that didn't climb out of the 30's.

I always have a loose plan bouncing around in my head for what I want to do on the weekends. This weekend I was thinking about taking one day completely off the bike. Initially it was to be Sunday. I then wanted to do maybe 50 miles on Saturday. Well, after procrastinating most of the day away, I decided Saturday would be the day off. Plus, Jeff had stopped by and invited me to join him on a ride over into Wisconsin on Sunday. Sunday was supposed to have some sunshine, so I thought it was a good Plan B.

Plan B got changed right away. I met Jeff at the appointed time and meeting place. He told me he had neglected to remember to put his shoe covers on. His feet were already wet and cold. No Wisconsin today. We headed in the general direction of his house. That way he could bail when his feet got too cold to go on. Heading towards his house we had a fairly strong headwind. My legs were knotted up from taking a day off and they just wouldn't loosen up. We made a stop at the Continental Ski and Bike Swap Meet that was taking place. The place was pretty well cleaned out. I did get to test ride a used Dahon folder. That was cool. After Jeff went home I did a short loop up Glenwood and back down to the Lake before heading home. Only 28 miles. Still, it was better than not riding at all. Once at home I ran back out for some groceries with the Blue Truck (Xtracycle).

I discovered this while out today. The new Stewart's location in West Duluth is getting closer to opening. They already have one store. I guess it's been around for decades. I think it was a Schwinn shop for a long time, and still is. I believe they cater to the family crowd, and not so much the racer wanna-be crowd. Still it's exciting to see this opening up in my end of town.

April: 461 miles
2008: 2,112 miles

A fine day to be a bicycle commuter.

Today was my first commute on my new Surly Long Haul Trucker. I didn't buy it to commute with. But I think, once I thought about it for awhile, it will see quite a bit of commuting duty. I love my fixed gear Cross Check. It's been my main commuter for almost 2.5 years. You know though, some days I feel like coasting down the big hills instead of spinning my legs off. I feel a little bit more free on the geared bike. I can take any route that tickles my fancy without being concerned about picking only the routes with the easiest hills. Another reason for taking the LHT today was to give my legs a break. I think riding geared bikes all winter made me soft. I switched the Cross Check back to a fixed gear this past weekend. I've ridden it everyday since, until today. My legs are sore from cranking that gear uphill the last several days.
After work today I coasted down to almost lake level and then climbed back up Seven Bridges Road to Hawk Ridge before coasting back down to the Lake on my way home. I don't normally pick that much elevation change when I'm on the fixed gear. It was a very enjoyable, relaxed ride. I put in a 30 mile day. A bit longer than what I've been averaging.
Seven Bridges Road is very scenic, yet rough. Gravel in several places. It winds gently uphill along a creek crossing 7 historic stone arch bridges. Our snow from last weeks blizzard is mostly gone except in some spots that are shaded from the sun.
The lighting wasn't right for the above picture. There is an arched bridge if you look closely.
The creeks and rivers, which are numerous in Duluth, are running full with the snow melt. The sounds of all the rushing water over the rocks is amazing.

I am looking forward to the Minnesota Ironman century in a few weeks. That was another reason to get out on the LHT. I want to make sure I've got the bike and the new Brooks saddle broken in before I do a 100 miler on it. So far it's feeling good!

While I was enjoying my leisurely rides today I was thinking about those who will be riding in the Trans Iowa IV ride the same weekend I'm doing an easy little century ride. The reason it was on my mind was because I saw two of the entrants while riding today. This morning I saw Tim Ek on my way to work. I see him several days a week as he is a year round bicycle commuter. This afternoon I was honked at by none other than Charlie Farrow. Good luck to all that attempt this race!!

April: 401 miles
2008: 2,052 miles