Red Ribbon Ride - Day 3

Route - Rochester to Northfield

Distance = 71.82 miles
Time = 5.07.53
Average speed = 14.0 mph
Maximum speed = 35.5 mph
Odometer = 3346.8 miles

Another bad night of sleep. Arrgh! This time is was my own fault though. I thought I was being smart just taking out my sleeping bag liner to sleep in so I wouldn’t get hot. I couldn’t shut down my brain for awhile after I got in and I had a quick conversation with Lorrie. She was at her friend Marv’s going away party. I fell asleep for about 30 minutes and then Lorrie texted me and woke me up. Ha! So then it took me awhile again and I was in and out of sleep. At about 2am I realized I was awake so much because I was cold. I know that should be an easy conclusion to come to but think about all I’ve done the last couple days on very little sleep. I was a little out of it. Then I had to pee but didn’t want to get up. So much thought. In my daze I was also thinking I didn’t want to pull my sleeping bag out. Though it takes about 30 seconds to pull out and a minute to put away in the morning. Eventually I went into the middle school where we were camping so I could pee (I know, TMI!). Then had a clear enough head to pull out my sleeping bag. And I slept awesome for those 2 hours from 3am to 5am! Got up and did the routine. Cycling clothes on, threw all my stuff in my bag, packed sleeping bag, and rolled up sleeping pad. Then inside for breakfast. Eggs and oatmeal, potatoes, a banana, and soy milk. Typical. Back outside to take my wet tent down. It wasn’t raining but it was very dewy and foggy.

I got over to the bike corral near 6:30am. Good job! Thomas, Kelli, and John were still standing there so we took off together. We stayed together for a little while then I had to stop for water with one of the support cars. I had forgotten that last night when we pulled in I had added Gatorade to my water. Disgusting! There was a ½ pit stop at one of the Rochester Chipotle restaurants. They had mini donuts, which killed me not to have. But with 70+ miles to go, donuts aren’t going to cut it. Didn’t stay there long. Kelli, Thomas, and John had taken off but John was stopped at a light so I caught up to him. He took off to catch up with them and I went my usual speed. I had a moment thinking how glad I was that I don’t have the mentality of having to “keep up” all the time, that I’m okay riding alone. A few moments later, I saw John flip on his bike and fall into the road. By the time I got up there, he was up and had checked his bike. He said he and the bike were both okay and that he just wanted to take a moment to compose himself. So I took off figuring he would pass me up soon. Got to the next pit stop and told Kelli and Thomas about John. They laughed and asked if he was okay. Such is the nature of our team. We all took off from there (Douglas) and headed to the next pit stop. I have to mention that this first pit stop was a “tribute” to Northfield and the Jesse James Gang. Cowboys, sheriff, a bank, etc. It was cute. (= John ended up missing the 2^nd Pit Stop and went directly to the 3^rd Pit Stop. Said he felt out of it.

At lunch, Eric’s Bike Shop showed up so I had to wait and see if this mechanic could fix what the one from last night messed up. Arrgh! Why did I let them touch my bike? I’ve never had a good experience at Eric’s so I thought I would give them another chance. Dumb! I don’t have access to several of my gears after I asked the mechanic last night to help me get access to the one I was having trouble with. The mechanic today didn’t make it better but made it different so I could at least do some creative shifting to get the access I needed on the few larger hills. Guess I’m going back to Milltown Cycles! And now I get why most of my team supported The Alt instead of Eric’s in the pre-ride preparation!

After that, I rode most of the route on my own. Between Pit Stop 4 and Pit Stop 5, I literally did not see another rider the entire time. Weird! I think I wrote this before but I often feel alone in this ride. I think because I was near the front today, I got less attention from the road crew as well. Didn’t see them on that particular stretch either. Thank God for the yellow arrows or I would feel like I was going the wrong direction! (=

Lorrie and Darshi were waiting for me at the 5^th (Nerstrand) Pit Stop. That was awesome! Tori and Emma Blue were with them too. (= Didn’t spend much time there since I was almost done for the day. But I got them and me some snacks before taking off. “The Last Big Hill” (for real) was coming up. Out of Nerstrand, the route took me down a road I had not ridden before, I think it was something Valley View Road. It felt strange to be “lost” in my own neighborhood. There were a bunch of big rolling hills before the last big one. It was pretty intimidating to look up at so I just had to keep telling myself I’ve done bigger. Another rider rode up with me, which I know was supposed to be encouraging. But it was actually more annoying. It’s great that some of the stronger riders stay back and help those who need the encouragement. I just wasn’t one of those people today. (= The people along the side of the road and the homemade rap were awesome. The cheering is a great part! It was also cool because Thomas, Kelli, and John were waiting for me at the top. That made me feel good! So, except for Jean, we all rode in together.

This day was also full of potholes. That was very hard on my arms, hands, butt, and lower back. For some of them, I was thinking it was good to be alone so I could see the holes clearly. I kept worrying about the groups of riders where the 3^rd or 4^th person wouldn’t hear the first person while the 2^nd person is trying to avoid and not pointing well. I’m sure a few people went over their handlebars on those. )=

Once at the Northfield Middle School, I just had to wait for my personal shuttle (Lorrie) to pick me up and take me home. To my own shower! Yay! Darshi and Bhanti were at the house and they all watched Kung Fu while I took a nap. After they left, I took a shower and got ready. Lorrie and I drove back out to The Last Big Hill and cheered for the last few people coming in. It’s amazing to see such determination.

Back to the school for dinner – pasta – and “Friends and Family Night.” Good pasta! Then Jeanie White was introduced by our pastor Paul and Jeanie spoke about her son Ryan White. That was pretty powerful! She was very “down home” except when talking about Elton John or Michael Jackson as close friends of the family. Toward the end, I was getting pretty fidgety and ready to sleep.

Afterwards, I asked Cheryl, the physical therapist who had worked on my Achilles, to take a look at Lorrie's ankle. She said it look like a packed sausage! lol She said we had been wrapping it wrong and making the swelling worse. Oops! So she put a funky tape job on it and then the Ace ("tenser" as Lorrie calls it) bandage on and explained how it should be done. It was VERY nice of her to do that! After we grabbed our Tiramisu and some fruit, we headed home. I am REALLY hoping for a good night sleep!

Red Ribbon Ride - Day 2

Route - Lake City to Rochester

Distance = 71.61 miles
Time = 5.46.00
Average speed = 12.4 mph
Maximum speed = 36.0 mph
Odometer = 3274.9 miles

My neighbor snored all night. I slept horribly! Not a good thing with another long day coming up.After breakfast, as I was taking my tent down and getting things ready to go, I spoke with the snorers other neighbor. He said he hadn't gotten much sleep either. At least I wasn't alone in my agony! (=

I got started later than my whole team. They left around 6:30am and I wasn’t out of camp until just after 7:00am. I ended up taking my time and stopping for photos, especially around Lake City. It’s beautiful there! Ran into Jean Z., a teammate, at Pit Stop 1 then rode with her to the next pit stop. That was nice! We took it slow and chatted a lot of the way. The rest of the day is a blur of rolling hills and a couple doozies. Interesting pit stops were The State Fair complete with Princess, Bearded Lady, and a Bozo the Clown cut out. And they served cotton candy! Gross! lol I didn’t have any but from the look of the garbage, lots of people had. (= Another was the theme of the musical Wicked. Lots of support from the car and motorcycle crew, the motorcycle crew especially on the hills. That was great! We also experienced the “Last Big Hill” complete with rap that was developed for just that purpose. (= At lunch, Rand, a former teammate I guess, asked if I wanted to join him and a couple other people, Adam and Kelly, he’d been riding with. They waited for me, so I did. That was nice. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of this ride alone, including the training so it’s gotten a little lonely. Mostly, that’s fine. But sometimes I wish I was the same pace as others or part of a team that rides together. So anyway, we jokingly raced up the hills. Not downhill because my bike is so much faster than theirs (hybrids and mountain bike) regardless of the rider. We completed the “Last Big Hill” together too. That was fun. Not much cheering after that point. We just had to make our way through Rochester, which turned out to be an interesting adventure with the strange stoplights.

Back at “home,” same routine… turn in bike, get gear, tent up, shower, chill, dinner (Chipotle burritos) and then the program. Showering was an interesting experience reliving middle school memories of not wanting to shower with a group. Thankfully I’m more comfortable now than I was back then. I also had to remember how to use those, too short, sinks where you put your foot on the bar below for the streams of water to come out. Weird! Haven’t seen one of those in a very long time! During the program, Thomas, a teammate, got “caught” doing something nice for someone. I think they said he helped change a flat in a mosquito-infested area. Food is inside the school, Willow Creek Middle School and it is air conditioned. So that’s where I am now. I’ve set up my tent away from everyone else… so far… and I am really hoping for no snorers nearby. We’re on the infield of a middle school running track and I set up my tent on the outside of the track while everyone else is on the inside. (= I definitely need a good night sleep!

I was proud of myself today. My ego brewed a little at first with the hills and thinking about how I had been in California. Then I let it go and had a pretty good time. And really, I did quite well. (=

We ride home to Northfield tomorrow! Sleeping in my own bed and I get to see Lorrie! (=

Red Ribbon Ride - Day 1

Route - Mall of America in Minneapolis to Lake City

Distance = 76.78 miles
Time = 5.35.11 ride time (about 8 hours total)
Average speed = 13.7 mph
Max speed = 29.0 mph
Odometer = 3203.3 miles

We got about 4 hours of sleep last night. Yikes! Took me awhile to get packed. But I finally did. It was hot as hell in the house so it took me awhile to get to sleep. But when I woke up, I was pretty awake. Lorrie woke me before the alarm so that was a nicer way to wake up. Took Cedar all the way from home to the mall. (This is only significant to those who live in the area and know what a mess I-35 has been lately.) On time! Most of my team was already there so it was just a matter of waiting for the Opening Ceremony and for the ride to get going. Jean and her partner Rose put airplanes on top of our helmets for the theme, "I believe I can fly." Cute! Opening Ceremony was nice. Andy Ansell, from our church, spoke and Reverend Robyn Provis, also from our church, blessed us on our journey. After about an hour or so, we were off. About 8am. I felt tight. But that's expected. Rode with my team awhile and then I made a light that they didn't so I went ahead for a little while, knowing they would catch up. They did eventually and passed me up. I think they are generally about 2 or 3 mph faster than me at most times. Pretty basic ride most of the way.

Rain was in the forecast so I had my jacket with just in case. Good thing! It started sprinkling about 30 or so miles in. Then it became a downpour. No big deal. Except there was lightening, both horizontal and vertical. Scary! I passed up the Burritobago (Chipotle's suppoprt RV) thinking I should just make it to lunch. The next pit was a church in a little town. By the time I got there, it was pretty bad. They ended up closing the road to us so we had to stay at the church. We only had access to the parking lot originally. But the custodian at the church called "The Boss" and asked if he could let us inside. We ended up staying there a couple hours. It was pretty cold since we'd all come in wet. First aid offered milar blankets for us to share. Those things TOTALLY work! I'm getting one for our camping gear!

The first plan was to start sweeping us (putting us in and our bikes on cars) to get us to the lunch stop. Most of us suggested they go pick up the food and bring it back to the church. That seemed the most reasonable to me since we had such good shelter. It also meant we wouldn't lose out on any mileage! (= So they did bring us lunch, chicken caesar wraps and pasta salad. Yum! They also made a ton of coffee for those who wanted it. That is the spirit of a ride like this! I'm sure they did not want to clean up after a hundren wet smelly cyclists. But they did and they were smiling and having a good time with us!

It seemed like a whole new ride once we got started again. Though my socks, shoes, and chamois (the big pad in the crotch of the shorts) were still wet when we were released! The next pit stop was on the Cannon Valley Trail, which was supposed to be lunch. This is about 10 miles from my home! The theme was the Flintstones and it was VERY cute! Then several miles down the Cannon Valley Trail to Red Wing, which was an awesome part of the ride. Smooth trail, slightly downhill. I was also excited because Lorrie was supposed to be waiting for me at the pit stop in Red Wing! And she was! It was very good to see her though it didn't last long. Twenty miles to camp from there. She stopped along the way to cheer with her cowbell along with some other people. That was great! The last 20 were hard! Headwinds made even going downhill difficult. I hate that! I rode with a woman named Jody for a lot of it but then couldn't keep up after about 15 miles. Then she stopped so I rode the rest alone. Seeing Lake Pepin was SUCH a relief! It still took a little while to get to Hok-Si-La campground. Definitely a welcome sight! Lorrie was there cheering again with my teammate Rand.

That was a hard day for me. It's good to be "home!" Typical routine follow: grab gear, set up tent, shower, eat. It's a beautiful campground with a wonderful view of Lake Pepin, which is really just a part of the Mississippi River. Dinner was grilled meats. Lorrie stayed until about 8:50pm and took off after giving me a massage. Hopefully I will sleep tonight! Though at the moment my neighbor is snoring very loudly. Argh!!

Canoeing the Blue Earth

Got up early to get prepared for our canoe trip down the Blue Earth River in Mankato. Lorrie's friend Daryl rented a canoe for us from MSU Mankato so we didn't have to worry about that. Got into town around 10:00am as scheduled to pick up the canoe. Lorrie and I ran a couple errands while Daryl took care of some business and because we had to wait for Jeanie to finish her chiropractic appointments. We ended up waiting until about 12:30pm before getting on the water. Not a big deal except that I was hungry. Aww! Poor me! Daryl and we drove our cars to the put in while Jeanie left hers where we would take out. She didn't have a canoe on her vehicle so that makes sense eh?!

Lorrie and I had decided that I would steer as I seem to do a little better in that area. She had told me beforehand that there were 3 or 4 small rapids to go through. She had to tell me this because I was scared! I've never canoed on a river before and it seemed a little daunting to me. Everyone else seemed so nonchalant about it. That never caught on with me! There were rapids almost immediately and regularly thereafter. Many more than 3 or 4 so Lorrie was apologizing for misinforming me. Too late! Already there! lol But they were small... level 1 or maybe even 0 on whatever that scale of rapids is. But for me, rocks are rocks and I know how rapids are formed. So it was scary. We did pretty well with Lorrie calling out the direction I needed to steer and where the rocks were and where the "V" that I needed to head toward was. It was good!

We stopped after awhile in a gorge for lunch. I don't really consider myself a wuss. Usually. But a river. Rapids. And now a slit in the rocks where water goes when it overflows. I didn't like that and it made me nervous. Even though I knew it was unlikely that the gorge would ever fill up *that* quickly. I spent a little time figuring out my escape route if something were to happen. There were some good roots and rocks that I could have climbed. Sounds like a panic attack, which it wasn't. I was just preparing. (= There was no increased heart rate or breathing. Awareness. That's what it was. But I was able to eat lunch and enjoy most of the time in there. Lots of cairns, which I love! Jeanie and Daryl had brought 3 bottles of wine so they all got started on that at lunch. One bottle down. I'm not a teatottler (is that right?) but alcohol with a river, rapids, and an inexperienced canoeist don't seem like a great combination. That just made me more aware of what I was doing since I felt like I was the clearest in head.

Next stop was Triple Falls, which is now just a trickle. Lorrie and Daryl talked a lot about how beautiful it is when it's actually falling. It was beautiful as a trickle so I imagine it's incredible when it's really going! And it was so cool in there... the trickle was freezing! Nice! Another bottle of wine down there. So things got a little more goofy after that. And I got a little more alert. Despite my fears, I was having a pretty good time and the scenery was beautiful! It's just one of those things that when I'm not used to it, I'm more alert to the rapids and such than the beauty around me. I have to say I got a little more comfortable with each rapid that we did. Lorrie was doing such a good job getting me to the right spot that I started trusting her ability more. Not a reflection of her that I didn't trust her at first. Totally about my fear of water! We bottomed out on one rock and went sideways over one rock. That was it. Pretty good!

Third stop, "the rock." It's in the middle of another rapid. So we had to pass the rock with the flow of the water and then turn around quickly to go against the flow on the other side of the rock to park. Daryl walked out and climbed up on the huge rock with the third bottle of wine. Jeanie has a back problem and pulled her hamstring and Lorrie has a sore knee from the Boundary Waters. They couldn't get up on the big rock. I have no soreness and I couldn't get up on the rock either. They all ended up drinking the third bottle between the big rock and another rock where the water seemed pretty calm. I stayed on the other side to take photos and play in the water. I liked it there. I could float in my life jacket to cool off. (= We stayed there for quite awhile until Daryl realized how late it was and that people were meeting us at The Wine Cafe at a certain time, including his wife. So after dumping all the water from our canoes from the water fight, we took off again. There were a couple more rapids before the end. Jeanie turned around backwards in their canoe at one point. Apparently Daryl does all the paddling when he takes these women out! lol Lorrie said she rarely paddles with him either. Sounds like a good guy to do Boundary Waters with! (=

We made it safe and sound to the exit point, which was under a bridge and a sharp left turn fighting the current. I think we did alright with that one too. (= Carrying the canoe up to the parking area Lorrie stepped into a hole and twisted (broke?) her ankle pretty severely. She said she almost passed out from the pain. So we got her into the shade and let her rest with her ankle up and her head down while we got everything up top. Then we *hopped* her up to the top to wait while we got the cars to bring back. I think the weight of the canoe contributed to how hard she went down. This one was much heavier than the Kevlar we used in the Boundary Waters. Egads!

It took a little while for us to get the canoes all settled. Well, the one on D'Azul anyway. I didn't really know how Daryl had gotten it up there so he did it pretty quickly for us. We had passed the time limit so we couldn't drop it off at the school and had to leave it at Daryl's. It was crooked on the roof, which made me pretty nervous. It also moved around a little. I couldn't see how it would fall off. But I didn't want to risk it so I took my time driving. Lorrie was in the passenger seat with an ice pack from the cooler on her foot. In pain.

In the Wine Cafe she put her foot up and a new bartender got her some ice in a ziploc. Perfect! She was a good sport! I know she was in great pain but also wanted to spend some time with her friends.

Despite how it ended, it was a good day! Beautiful scenery that I need to go back and see more of! And we, for the most part, made it back safely. (=

BWCA II - Epilogue

We are four tough women 40-years and older! We worked awesome as a team and as individuals! I think each of us challenged ourselves and exceeded those challenges with flying colors! I was thinking that I'm relatively confident in my physical abilities and I've usually been able to accomplish what I set my mind to. But some of those portages, especially carrying the food pack and mosquitoes, tested my stamina. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but on the hardest day on the 2nd portage (Day 4, 220r) I chose to pick up a day pack to carry on my front while carrying the food pack. There was logic behind it too, regarding the number of trips we'd have to take. But it was still a lot. I closed my mind to everything but an occasional prayer and "1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4" steps. I was proud of us that day!

Another thing... lessons. My lesson for that day was not to do two long portages like that in 1 day. But if I have to, I can! (= I was a little surprised that we didn't bond more as a group. I thought part of that could be that we couldn't spend much time around the fire or together at night because of the bugs. But usually intense experiences like these bond people more. The other thing I thought was that Sue and Terry have been friends for 22 years and Lorrie and I are a couple. So pairing off made sense or was just easier. Not a big deal, just an observation.

I liked doing a week out there. Two night and 3 days isn't enough time to shut out the world. Six nights and seven days gave me time to shut down from electronics and really commune with nature... especially those mosquitoes! We definitely became one! That part I could have done without! I need the strongest repellent known to man!

Another thing I recognized was my irritability with Lorrie early on. I think it was my nervousness about what we were doing. It's something I need to be aware of at times when I'm doing something new. Neither of us liked how we talked to each other for short periods of time during the first couple days. But we talked about it and took care of it right away. A good learning experience!

I can't wait for next time! (=


Gadgets we Need

• Orange emergency flag
• Hammock (A must have!!)
• Tree hugger gadget holder
• Bag for pots and pans
• Two-burner stove
• Triangle stools ($10 each)
• Canoe chairs
• Deet spray (or nuclear bug spray if available!)
• Water filter bag (Ketadyne)
• Nu-skin for my scar (Hey! It's my list! I can be gross if I want! heheh)
• Ibuprofin
• Tea kettle
• Head lamp (for Lorrie)
• A new camping hat for Lorrie )=
  

BWCA II - Day 6

Travel - Heritage Lake > 40r portage > Shell Lake > 216r portage > Little Pauness Lake > 40r portage > Upper Pauness Lake > Little Indian Sioux River > waterfall portage > Little Indian Sioux River

Exit day. We were all awake by about 5:30am and couldn't sleep anymore. Terry got up to use the privy and saw a moose across the cove from us. So we all got up to see that and take photos. At some point Sue or Terry saw the snapping turtle sitting toward the edge of our site. S/He just sat there and watched us get packed up. Just as we started working on our tent, it started to sprinkle, which it continued to do most of the time we packed. The turtle was still there when we pushed off. We had just been stepping around him/her the entire time but s/he kept a close eye on us without moving at all. A blink every once in awhile let us know it was still alive! (=

Once we were all on the water, it started raining. It felt refreshing at first. And usually it would stop after a short time. But this time it didn't. It just kept coming and coming. We made it across Heritage Lake with no problems and got to our first portage, 40r to Shell Lake. We saw a few more people there. Campsites with people hunkered down in the rain. And there we were on the water in the rain with mosquito nets over our faces. I'm sure we looked silly! But I was definitely beyond caring about that! Eventually we got to our long portage, 216r. Thankfully it was rather flat. There were some muddy sections, of course, and a section where we crossed a pond on little half tree bridges. At first one 1/2 log and then two 1/2 logs (not 2 and a half, 2 half) so that we could put a foot on each. No incidents there. Lorrie took the canoe and I carried the still very heavy food pack. That took us into Lower Pauness Lake, where we began to see still more people. These lower lakes also seem to have more campsites on them. So it makes sense. Still raining. Still buggy. We paddled a short distance to the next portage, a 40r into Upper Pauness Lake. We started crossing several people at this portage. Not something we'd experienced much of previously. But most people are kind and courteous so it wasn't a big deal. There were 2 young men portaging the same direction we were who looked SO clean. One was wearing Tevas and shorts. I was very curious about where they'd been. It was starting to rain a bit harder. But it seemed pointless to put on our rain gear at this point. So we just kept trudging.

What I noticed was that we started becoming more mechanical the closer we got to the end. We didn't canoe as close together as before and we talked less. It probably gets that way toward the end anyway. But with the rain and bugs, it seems totally natural. The Upper Pauness flowed into the Little Indian Sioux River, which after a portage past the falls would take us to the entry point portage. The river has a "roadway" of clear water between the reeds on each side. A little difficult to navigate but I have gotten much better at keeping us on track. We saw lots of people on the portage past the falls. Several were in shorts and sandals. One woman looked rady for a nice stroll in the park! I can't imagine what they thought of us in our "hair nets," dirty pants, wet clothes, and tired faces. Ha! Terry said later that she had suggested pants and shoes to some of them. (= We ran into the clean young guys again who were behind us. And we caught up with 3 fishermen who were also heading out. Seemed to go okay with all of us on the portage though. This one we had done at the beginning as well. The falls were very pretty! Honestly I didn't stand and look for very long because of the bugs. Poor me! )= As we canoed the last leg, we met several groups just coming in to the Boundary Waters. I must say that with the rainy weather, I'm glad we were leaving and not entering today! After one group passed us, Lorrie and I heard a man say with concern,"They have mosquito nets," which sounded to us like maybe they hadn't brought them. It was SUCH a relief when we saw that final portage. However, the fishermen that were in front of us had left their canoes and blocked the entrance. Rude! Lorrie and I squeezed in next to them. I got out in the water up to my thighs so that we could get in. Not a big deal at this point to get that wet. But it was rather rude of those guys when they knew we had been on their tails the whole last 2 legs. Lorrie got the canoe up and out. Actually that was the first time we lifted it up and over us the way we had learned last summer. Ha! Took us awhile but we finally figured it out! (= I stayed back for a bit and tried to get Terry and Sue into the same spot. But I don't even know how we did it. So I wasn't much help. They got in far enough for Terry to get out but there were too many rocks and it was very deep where Sue was so they had to wait for the rude fishermen to get back to their canoes. I took one of our packs up and Lorrie was already coming down. Wow! There were a lot, actually one huge, slippery rock to contend with here. I didn't remember that part. Actually, I didn't remember much! (= Our stuff was finally all up at the parking area, including the food pack, which Lorrie carried against MY better judgment. I went to get D'Azul, who I was very happy to see intact where I left her. I had to change from my very wet pants into pj bottoms so I wouldn't soak the seats. The mosquitoes there were awful still! I'm sure my bare butt was a happy sight for them! We left our mosquito nets on even while packing up the car and putting the canoe on the roof. Took us awhile to figure out how they had attached it at the outfitters. But eventually, with all four of us fiddling with it, we figured it out... or... we got something to work even if it wasn't how they had done it. So at this point it had been 6 hours of continuous exercise. We'd had breakfast bars before leaving camp and each had another bar at around noon. So we were HUNGRY! It was 2pm when we got to the car... and it finally stopped raining! lol

The drive back to Ely was a gravel windy road. Same one we'd taken out. I was tired and hungry so I needed to be careful. But we made it safe and sound within an hour. AND the canoe stayed attached! A very good thing! At Voyageur North Outfitters, they took the canoe, life jackets, and paddles right away. They were also ready to check us out right away and I got $39 back for bringing the canoe back a day earlier than my original reservation. So we picked out a "tree hugger" and some gifts for my parents and Darshi for taking care of the pups.

Then it was SHOWER time! The outfitter has 3 shower rooms available for people who rent from them. Not the nicest bathroom but the hot water certainly felt wonderful! We had left some clean outfits behind to change into. That felt great! And clean hair! Wow! Though I must say that the lake water and rain made my hair very soft! After showering we met Sue and Terry at The Ely Steakhouse where we ate huge meals of red meat. No names! They all had ice cold beer, which they'd been talking about for days! (= At the outfitters, they give renters a free beer or soda when they return. So Lorrie had a can of Hamms in the car waiting for the right moment. She didn't want to ruin her craving for a good beer with that! ha! I had an ice cold Pepsi there. So my craving was taken care of already. When the bill came, I had to run out to D'Azul for my credit card... and it was raining again! I said out loud to myself, "Holy shit!" Funny how resistant I was to getting wet again after I'd been wet all week and thought nothing of it. Got to the car where I had left the windows partially open to let the smell of Lilacs in. Oops!

After dinner we parted ways. Lorrie and I headed back to Northfield while Sue and Terry got a room for the night with intentions of checking out Ely tomorrow morning. It took us about 5 hours to get home with the rain and all. Home at about 10:30pm, which is about 1-1/2 hours past our bedtime of the past week! Ha!

BWCA II - Day 5

Travel - None. Stayed on Heritage Lake.

Lorrie woke up in the middle of the night and saw the North Star. Then she woke up again to a very bright moon that lit up our whole tent. I wish she had woken me up to see them. But I'd had a difficult time falling asleep so I understand. Before that, we'd heard the most incredible 2 loon calls. I'm going to try and video tape those tomorrow night!

We got up pretty leisurely. Sue and Terry went fishing while we made breakfast - egg and hash brown scramble. Sue and Terry caught "Freddie," who we decided to eat for dinner. Yes, I'm a little uncomfortable naming my food. But that wasn't my choice! lol Anyway, breakfast was great!

Lorrie and I then decided to go explore the lake a little. We saw 2 deer pretty close up, checked out the other campsite on the lake, saw a loon, and basically just glided around. Nice pace. We wet our shirts to stay cool in the breeze. It was nice. "Nice" seems to be the key word. Terry and Sue went out exploring more so when we got back, we had camp to ourselves. Lunch was summer sausage wraps with cheese. Terry and Sue came back and we lounged around for the afternoon. Eventually Terry and Lorrie were in their tents, Sue was in her hammock, and I kept shifting around trying to get comfortable. I never really did. Too hot! I read some while sitting by the water. Then finally decided to go to the tent with Lorrie to get away from the bugs. She was reading and said it was comfortable (Mediterranean women!) I was burning up! I complained that I would never be able to sleep. Eventually she opened the bottom of the door a bit to let more breeze in and she laughs that I immediately fell asleep. For about an hour. lol Then it was "cocktail hour." Terry and Sue had a head start. Ha! So I mixed some propel and vodka into my water. Not bad! Lorrie and I made mac and cheese while Sue took Terry across the lake to clean Freddie for dinner. He tasted very good! We all said a blessing on him for being our sustenance for the evening. Still wasn't really comfortable with that. But really, he did taste good.

We have gotten along very well as a foursome. I can see why Sue limits her trips to 4 as I could see 6 potentially being a problem. Ya never know! Terry is hilarious with her little quips! She works as "the lunch lady" for an elementary school in Wisconsin. Sue has funny sarcasm that I can appreciate! She's done a great job organizing this trip. And I've definitely learned from her about some gadgets that we need to get (hammock from Sportsmans' Warehouse). No conflicts among us. That I know of anyway! Maybe *I'm* the problem! lol Just easy going and hard working! I would definitely do another trip as this foursome again. Preferably later in the summer and without the amount of portaging we did in one day yesterday! Just a preference! (=

So now the dishes are done, Terry and Sue are fishing some more, and we are watching the sunset on our last night deep within the Boundary Waters. Still beautiful! Even after all these hard days and millions of mosquitoes, gnats, and ticks. And even wearing a damn babushka. Ha! Tomorrow will be a hard day... 5 portages, 2 times each. But on the other end are hot or cold showers, cold beers for them and a cold coke for me. I am ready!

Fish caught and eaten - Freddie (RIP)
Fish caught and released - Helga, Gunther, and Isis

BWCA II - Day 4

Travel - Slim Lake > 173r portage > Little Loon Lake > East Loon Lake > 220r portage > Heritage Creek > Heritage Lake

Woke up a little chilly at sunrise to see an incredible pink/orange (Tequila) sky and it's reflection in the still water. Wow! I only vaguely remember it. (= Back to sleep until about 8am. We all started stirring and then a mini-thunderstorm rolled through. That was nice! After the short storm, it was time to move. I like this pace. We have a mission. We all know we have a mission. And we're all working toward that mission. But there is not a rush or any pressure. We leave when we're all ready. Breakfast was bagels with peanut butter and we took oatmeal bars for a snack later. We had packed our boats at different sides of the point so Sue and Terry went and got theirs. They came around the bend just as Lorrie and I were pushing off. But I got us hung up on a rock and SPLASH! - in the water we went! We only tipped so our bags didn't really go in. But we had to pull everything out, including the canoe, and start over. Damn! Good thing we can laugh at ourselves! I slammed my hand on a rock so I have a pretty good bruise and some swelling. Otherwise all was well. We got going again after a lesson learned about not trying to get in a canoe when the tip is still on the rocks! That was just the beginning of our adventure. We went back on Slim Lake the way we had come on Day 2. We did the 173 rod portage back to Little Loon Lake. It was still long, hot, mucky, rocky, and buggy. Lorrie and I dressed in pants today, which made the spill even more entertaining. They certainly helped on this portage though! I wore a tank top and a long-sleeved shirt also with my mosquito head net. Two trips and my shoulders were eaten up. Those mosquitoes will work twice as hard to get my blood rather than moving on to easier skin to find. I don't know what it is about my blood that they love so much! Sue has gotten only a couple bits still! At least one of those is on her ass from the privy! heheh Paddled Little Loon Lake back to East Loon Bay where we camped the first night. Motorized boats are allowed on this lake. We passed up our site and landed on a beautiful beach across the cove from it. There was a group of 16 from Chicago finishing up there. They were swimming and having fun. Looked like 2 adults, 3 girls, and 13 boys. Huge!

We ate our lunch and prepared for the 220r portage we were about to do. The kids had described it as "beastly." Sue had done it before and said it was difficult but not *that* bad. Well, it was worse! I added a loose layer over my other 2 layers to keep the bugs away. But that was SO hot! Better than the bits though! We started out Sue with canoe, Terry with pack, Lorrie with canoe, and me with a pack. Seemed nice at first with grass on each side. But it turned brutal quickly. About 1/4 of the way, Sue put down her canoe and was going to go back and bring packs up to give her shoulders a rest. Lorrie did the same. Terry and I continued on with our packs. We helped each other over and under 4 fallen trees. Clamored over pretty big rocks, navigated rocks among the muck, and very eventually made it to a tiny pond at the end. I was worried about Lorrie and Sue trying to crawl over those trees with canoes so I headed back right away. We also had 3 more packs to bring through. I got to Sue who had one pack and she said Lorrie was still bringing packs to the canoe. I was glad about that since we were on a motorized lake. Someone could easily come along and take the stuff and motor away. When I got to Lorrie, she had a pack on her back and a day pack on her front. I gave her some water and she asked me to take the day pack. So off we went with those. We eventually ran into Terry. We left my orange pack and gave the day pack to Terry to keep walking back. Lorrie and I went back to get a canoe and the couch food pack. That thing is SO HEAVY! So over and under the trees I went, helping Lorrie with a couple of the higher ones getting the canoe over. Wow! Ran into Sue and Terry who were returning for the other canoe. We were all so hot and sweating buckets! Water was getting short and my body was SO tired!

I can't really describe the feelings, physical and emotional. On the first run I was getting pinch hickeys from the pack and my waist pack moving together. The fatigue was incredible! At some point I'm sure I was pissed. lol I know I experienced relief numerous times. And through it all, I had to pee! When we got to where we'd left our orange pack, I grabbed the day pack to save on a trip. Holy crap! I got all that stuff to the end then went back to help Lorrie get down one of the rocky areas with the canoe. We carried it together a few steps then she brought it in with it on her shoulders. Terry showed up a moment before with the orange pack we'd left. And we were done with that portage! What an incredible accomplishment!

No time for pats on the back. Time for a couple photos and then we were off again. We took Heritage Creek to Heritage Lake where we nabbed the first campsite. Everything on shore, we all jumped in the water for a much deserved swim. Tents up... nap time! Nice breeze but lots of gnats, mosquitoes, and ticks! Lorrie is ANAL about the bugs, especially the ticks. I basically have to undress before getting into the tent. And anything that is passed to the inside must be thoroughly checked several times. I have never ever seen her so aware of and attentive to one thing! Finally! (-; Because of the bugs, it is clear that June is probably not the best month for me to be in the Boundary Waters. They just love me too much! It's like paparazzi or something! They follow me everywhere! My adoring bloodsucking fans!

Dinner at 7pm. Chicken and wild rice soup. Yum! We sat together and ate and chatted. Another turtle was eyeing the site and we wondered if she had heard about our midwife services from the turtle on the other site. (= Things put away. Dishes washed. Time for bed... 8:30pm. Still light. Not it's getting dark and there are many more "nature sounds" than we've heard before. Should be nice to sleep to. Though I think we are all so exhausted that it just doesn't matter.

BWCA II - Day 3

Travel - None. Stayed at the Campsite on Slim Lake

The ultimate in relaxation! Lorrie and I lounged around the camp most of the day. Sue and Terry went out fishing and exploring for most of the morning. We all got up and had breakfast together then they left and we commenced our lounging. Lorrie made a nude beach of our rock and I laid in the hammock most of the day. I read, slept, and tried to stay in the breeze and out of the sun. Lorrie meditated, read, and sunned herself. At some point we noticed Terry and Sue's canoe was parked across the lake (Slim Lake) where there is an unused and somewhat hidden portage. We figured they were exploring the portage. We ate lunch on our "food rock." Summer sausage on tortillas, pringles, cheese and some trail mix. Pretty good! Terry and Sue made it back around 2pm or so. They said the unused portage was beautiful... though long. They suggested we go check it out. But we felt lazy. We all took naps after their return. lol All that lounging made us tired! We started with a cool tent and a nice breeze. Then it rained a little so we had to put the fly down, which made it a tad warm. Eventually we were all up and ready for dinner. Sweet and sour chicken stir fry. We are definitely eating well! It tasted good but my stomach was starting to react to some of the food. Just because it was all mixed up. Sometimes I do better with meat here and the rest there. Nothing major. Just don't like going back to the privy! (= I am SO bit up already! It's not even funny! My recovery from all those bits and a little sunburn was partially the reason we stayed at camp today. Yeah, it's all my fault! (=

After dinner we all loaded into canoes to explore the other campsite on the lake. From our site, it looked so much nicer because it was high on a rock and we assumed had nice breezes. But really it was not nearly as nice and the tent sites were out of the breeze area. So we were happy with ours. Sue and Terry did more fishing and we cruised around the lake while I practiced my steering, which seems to be getting better by the way. Back at camp I started an awesome fire! Lorrie organized the test. We all just did our own thing until we ended up by the fire. At some point we all joked that we weren't as tired and could make it past 9pm tonight! Sue said it was already 9:30pm! Wow! We eventually petered out and got sick of the bugs. So to our tents we went. We chatted and joked some back and forth and were waiting for A STAR! (= I finally saw the first star of the week. Once everyone saw it, we could go to sleep. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to since I had slept and relaxed so much. That ended up not being a problem! We started again with the rain fly open to get the breeze. That lasted all night this time!

BWCA II - Day 2

Travel - East Loon Bay through a very tiny opening > Little Loon Lake (no more motors!) > portage 173r > Slim Lake

Awake pretty early, around 6am. But went back to sleep until about 8am. I had woken up once in the middle of night because my hands were swollen and asleep. I hate that! But they have lots of mosquito bits and a bit of sunburn on them. Ouch! I had oatmeal for breakfast and the others had oatmeal bars and coffee. We got packed up pretty quickly and were off heading away from the motors and toward Little Loon Lake. Which actually was quite little. Paddling was SO much easier with less wind. Steering seemed a little easier for Lorrie too! We made it to our first and only portage in no time. The portage was FROM HELL! 173 rods into Slim Lake. Tons of muck and mosquitoes. A lot of uphill with rocks and logs to balance on. It was my turn to take the food pack, so I did that one first. I was pretty sure I would just fall over and die with that thing on my back. It is SO freaking heavy! Lorrie did great with the canoe!! We all stopped at one point because there was too much muck to balance the canoes through. So Sue and Terry took their and we took ours about 3 rods holding them by the handles on the ends. I'm sure there's a name for them. I don't know it! Then we resumed our positions. I hated putting that pack on my back again! lol We ended up having to straddle and climb over two downed trees. Lorrie got a little gash on her leg from one that had little branches poking out. Then we got to go back and do it again! We still had our two packs and 1 of Terry and Sue's plus some paddles and misc. stuff. I cannot describe well enough in words how the mosquitoes were for me. I seem to be their main dish while everyone else is just hors d'oeuvres. I hate that! I need better bug spray! Or, I heard before we left that taking a B Complex regularly repels them. That would be good! As soon as we got to the end, Lorrie and I put the canoe in the water so we could get away from the swamp asap. Turns out the campsite we were aiming for is right around the corner on Slim Lake so we didn't go very far. The only other site on the lake was taken. The other looked like it might have more of a breeze but ours seemed okay too. Right on a point with views all around. There were a few good spots for our tents. So we are set!

We got settled in and it was time for lunch. Bagels with peanut butter and/or cream cheese, chips, trail mix, some kind of nuts, and candy for dessert. By this time a nice breeze kicked up and it felt really good! We all decided to take a swim to cool down and clean off some of the muck. Then Lorrie and I decided to go exploring. We took the canoe and headed toward the other portage on this lake. We did the 52r portage with the canoe and day pack. It too was quite swampy and buggy. At the other side was Section 3 Pond. At first it was like a very small river with reeds along both sides. Very pretty! I was steering at this point and it had to be pretty precise with the small width. I think I did okay. And, for some reason, we bickered less with me steering. Hmm! We came out onto this very tiny pond. It feels so secluded! We started working on a Horror screenplay. (= There was one campsite there that we stopped to check out. It was tiny, just like the pond. Our little tent would have fit, but that's about it. I imagine it being pretty buggy right now. It was also a pretty sketchy climb up to the site. At the end of the pond was another little portage to South Lake. We parked the canoe out of the way and did the 52r portage carrying nothing. That was nice! But it was still buggy. Lorrie twisted her ankle looking around at scenery. We usually don't get to do that with all our stuff on our backs. We usually have to be aware of every step. I guess we should be anyway! (= At the end it was very mucky and, YES!, buggy! So we turned around quickly. But we did notice that it looked like it had been flooded. I'm not sure how far we'd have to walk in to get going with a canoe. The walk back was uneventful. Back in the canoe with Lorrie steering. She wanted to do a quick video for her family. Cute!

Everything was going great until we got back to the portage. We'd put on our mosquito nets in preparation. I planned on carrying the canoe this time. We had some trouble getting it up on my shoulders. We'd also left our Nalgene bottles dangling, which posed some problems in my balance. Also, my hands were exposed and were on the canoe so I was really being bitten. I would look up and there would be 4 or 5 mosquitoes on each hand. I need to do something to prevent that next time! Then the water bag came lose and was going to drag (sorry Sue!) but Lorrie went to take it off the canoe. In the process she accidentally pushed the canoe forward and down, which rammed my neck with the yoke. Ouch! So then I just wanted to get out of there quickly. Which I did, though not very gracefully. We snapped at each other a few times and then, once in the canoe, away from the bugs, talked about it. No one's fault, we just wanted to get out of there fast and weren't working very well together at the moment. We got the video made and headed the short way back. We had to stop in the middle of the lake to fill up with water. Then came in to a PAR-TAY! The girls had brought out the hooch and were a little tipsy. Vodka and raspberry schnapps. Guess that's what they went to when the water ran out! (= We drank a little and then had some dinner. Pork and noodles. Yum! Can you tell I get very excited about the food!? lol

After dinner, we went swimming again to cool off. I, so far, am always the last person in the water. They all step out onto a rock and then basically sit back into the water and float with their life jackets. I don't like the idea of going backwards into the water... partly because it's water and partly because I don't want to ram my ass into a rock. lol Where that fear came from I have no idea. So I stand there, then squat down, whine a little, then finally glide into the water... screaming the whole way. It's very relaxing! lol After swimming it's time for our evening-wear. Pants! (= Sue started a fire, Terry did some fishing, and we just hung out. At some point, Lorrie, I think it was Lorrie, discovered a turtle digging a very deep hole with both of her back feet. Seems like she dug for almost an hour. Lorrie watched her most of the time and yelled when she started dropping eggs. Five total! Amazing! Then she had to cover them up again. Imagine if we had to do all that work while in labor! We were all fascinated. It is still not dark and we are all ready for bed. Lorrie and I decided to leave the rainfly pulled back to get some air. We'll see how that works!

BWCA II - Day 1

Travel - Entry Point 14 > Little Indian Sioux River > portage *60r past rapids > portage 40r > Upper Pauness Lake > portage 40r > Lower Pauness Lake > portage 160r > Little Indian Sioux River > East Loon Bay.

Sometimes I get lazy and just make a list for the day. This is one of those days...

• Got up to wet
• Sue was packing the food into her new toy food barrels
• We took awhile to get organized
• Me = irritable
• Lorrie = Angry face at me that I did not like at all!
• Lots of mosquitoes at entry and during portages
• Lots of zig zagging in the canoe while Lorrie learns to steer we get used to paddling
• Lorrie lost her had in the first river )=
• Lorrie slipped while walking to the waterfall
• Some guys from Youth for Christ helped haul our stuff on the long (160r) portage
• Lunch on some rocks - salami & cheese on tortillas (yum!)
• 4 portages total, 5 if you include the entry. Which I should. 5 portages total
• Got the campsite that Sue wanted, overlooking the river
• Hamburger with green peppers, potatoes, carrots, and onions over the fire for dinner.
• Tired!
• We all sat in front of the fire waiting to go to sleep... at 9pm.
• It's still bright out
• Spotted 3 deer
• No moose yet
• Lorrie and I did lots of bickering this morning (nerves?) but we got much better in the afternoon.
• We swam after we got to our campsite, which was COLD! But felt great!
  

r = rod, which is basically the length of a canoe (e.g. 40 rods = 40 canoe lengths)

BWCA II - Day 0

Happy Summer Solstice!

We did well getting everything prepared. Yesterday we drove all over Southern Minnesota dropping Tori off in Mankato and Emma with my parents in Geneva. Darshi fed us lunch and my parents fed us dinner. That was nice! But we got home a little late and still had to pack and shave. Got to bed around midnight. We were up by 8am and on the move. But with all the stops we had to make, it was a long day! Grocery store for hard candy (necessary when paddling near lunchtime!), gas station, The Tavern for breakfast. Then on the road we had a major detour to deal with. That was after stopping at REI to return my aluminum Sigg bottle and picking up mosquito head covers. Once on the interstate, after the detour, I decided I wanted an iced coffee and Lorrie needed a computer to use so we stopped at a Dunn Bros. That taken care of, we went into the grocery store to get some lunch. But it was stacked with samples! So we filled up on those! lol That was a fun meal! Back on the road. Again. Finally off the interstate and more on the back roads or county highways. We stopped in Virginia for gas then got into an argument about where to eat. That sucked! We got that cleared up pretty quickly then found a Mom & Pop place to eat. A couple burgers in us and we felt great! A little while later, we were in Ely, MN. We had a canoe on the roof of my SUV in no time. The magic of Ely I suppose! You pull into town and a canoe appears on your roof. (= We got our paddles, life preservers, permit, and Sue's food barrels. Ready to rock and roll! Another hour down Echo Trail, which is mainly gravel, and we are at Jeanette Lake Campground for the night. Lorrie and I did okay building a fire with lots of wet wood. Actually, the credit goes to Lorrie! Sue and Terry, our travel companions for the week, showed up a couple hours later. Terry'd had a wedding to attend so they got a later start than we did. Now everyone has gone to bed. Sue is in the back seat of my car collecting "hair of Emma Blue" for the trip and Terry is in Sue's pick up. They didn't want to set up their tent for a such a short period of time. Early morning tomorrow! "Hey Lorrie! We're in the Boundary Waters again!!"

Woodley out... Getting my legs loosened up

Distance = 11.26
Time = 47.19
Avg speed = 14.2 mph
Max speed = 24 mph
Odometer = 2993.6 miles

Back on the bike after a day off. I wasn't sure how I would feel but I'm glad that I did it! Lorrie has pulled or overextended something, possibly a ligament in her knee, so she didn't ride today. I did our quick and dirty Woodley loop. Out to CR 42, left turn, left again toward Northfield. I tried to work hard on the hills so that I could start getting more used to them. Still so much work to do before I'm ready for the RRR or TRAM. Yikes!

On Woodley, after it isn't Woodley anymore but is a County Road, a big dump truck honked at me. Scared the crap out of me! Not sure why he did that. There was no one else on the road and he certainly had enough room to get around me. I don't understand that. Wish I'd been close enough to catch him at the stop sign. Though he couldn't have seen me anyway! lol

Red Ribbon Day on the Ride

Distance = 56.76
Time = 4.38.45
Avg speed = 12.2 mph
Max speed = 29.5 mph
Odometer = 2982.3 mph

Well, we jumped from 20-mile rides to a 60-mile ride. Wow! It was pretty warm and I had forgotten my sleeveless jersey. I knew exactly where it was! lol Hanging in the bathroom to dry. Ah well. I should start from the beginning. We got most of our stuff ready last night. So that was good! The alarm was set for 5:45am. That was not good! We got up around 6am and were off in pretty good time. We were on time for the required safety speech and to start with everyone. I got a little nervous at the beginning because they made it sound like we were all expected to stay together. Yikes! That could be painful! But that wasn't the case. They just preferred that we stay together... and, I think, realized that it wouldn't happen. Anyway, we rolled out in a group of about 71 from the St. Joan of Arc church where the RRR office is housed. We made our way through Minneapolis along well trafficed roads. I got a little concerned that we would spend the entire time in the city. Now I sortof wish we had! lol

We road around near the airport and the group had started to spread out a little because of traffic lights. I rode behind a guy, who I think is on my team, that kept lurching and hitting his breaks. So I'd ride up on his ass even though I was trying to be careful. Because of the traffic, it wouldn't have been safe for us to pass him. So I just slowed a little more and stayed where I was. Lorrie was behind me. We got to a major overpass intersection near the airport and I think I-494. Everyone in front of us was "rolling" through a green then yellow light. So all I heard was "rolling." Well, the man I was talking about before decided to stop suddenly without saying anything. So the guy behind him stopped suddenly. I swerved to barely miss them and crossed on the yellow. As I was in the middle of the intersection, I heard Lorrie yell, "JESUS!" She had run into the two guys. The exact reason why expressing one's intentions is imperative when riding in a group. By the time I got across and was able to safely stop and turn around, she was already up. I went back over and besides a scrape on her leg and being shaken up, she was fine. Her first accident out of the way. I said to the guys standing there, "You have got to tell people when you're stopping!" I could easily have gone off on them because Lorrie was hurt. But I controlled myself. It would have mainly been my fear of her getting hurt being expressed. So I just focused on her. We started out again slowly, making sure her bike and body were okay. They seemed to be. I was surprised at how little concern anyone showed. Maybe no one saw what happened. Though I know the two guys saw it. But they took off as soon as the light was green. Not exactly the "community" I would expect of an AIDS ride in general and especially after what I'd been told. I will keep an open mind though. For now. I've seen the other side of the community as well, when Joe was hurt, so I'll just assume that this was "individual" and not group. Okay, done being a psychologist for now.

The rest of the ride was a mixture of fun and pain. We had some rolling hills before the first rest stop and it was a little difficult for both of us to get our legs into it. But we are both "late starters," so we don't do great the first 10 or so miles and then kick it better toward the end. We stopped for a little while at the first rest stop. Got some salty snacks and used the rest room. Lorrie had thought about sagging after the first or second leg. She decided to head out and see what the next leg would bring. More of the same. It was getting a little more windy at this point too. And obviously hotter with the afternoon approaching. The next rest stop was interesting. No food except these little "coin candies." I'm not sure what to think about that. Even some little snack packs of peanuts would have been better. But if people aren't cyclists or athletic at all, how would they know? It was "manned" by a major sponsor of the ride, Wells Fargo. So I guess I can't complain too much. But how about some oranges or bananas? PB&J?

The next leg would be one of the more difficult. Although, at this point, we were getting beyond our longest past ride this year so all segments were difficult! lol But this one was long, flat, straight, and windy. My least favorite! As you may remember, I made peace with the wind in California. But it's different to make peace with views of the ocean to distract me. It's another to be peaceful when the scenery is lacking. Lots of green. I was also getting hungry. Those coin candies didn't quite cut it! lol So we just kept pushing and pushing. By this time, Lorrie and I were basically alone. Couldn't see anyone in front and no one behind. Thankfully the signs were well-placed and often enough! They definitely had that under control! The lunch stop was great! Hamburgers and chips. Just what we needed. But... I ate too much! lol I should have just had 1/2 a hamburger. But, like I said, hungry! By this time we only had about 18 miles left. That's nothing! We were nearly done. Ahh the mind! (=

The next 18 miles were very hard. Remember, we have only ridden about 20-miles at a time by this point. So we'd already doubled our trip mileage in one shot! It was so friggin hilly the next section. Wow! No wonder it was short in distance... 10 miles. So we just chugged. Can't say much more than that! Well, except that we did catch up with the guy who stopped short and I made sure to pass him right away. He passed us again later and got pretty far ahead. Worked for me! At one point we were on a bit of a flat area and some guy in a huge car honked at us. Presumably to get out of the way... there were no encouraging waves or anything like that. Then he had to stop at the light ahead. I was feeling a little feisty by this point. Anything to get some energy. So I peddled hard to catch up to him at the light. Once I caught up to him, I just waved and smiled at him. I know it made no difference to him and he will likely continue to honk at cyclists who impede his progress in any way. But it gave me a little boost and that's what matters! Off again to conquer more hills. I honestly lost count of how many hills there were. AND THEN, the bridge. HOLY CRAP! After the hills we turned onto a paved trail. That was fine and dandy. Until we started riding next to what I think was I-494. There was a major headwind anyway. And then the traffic added to that wind. It was painful. SO painful! I started getting pre-cramps in my legs. You know, those little spasms that tell you any one of the next five exertions will lead to a mind-numbing cramp. We stopped on the bridge for about a minute so that I could settle my legs down. Drank some Accelerade. And off again. Once across, we had just a little jag to get to the final rest area. They just smiled and nodded knowingly at us. Apparently everyone had been telling them how painful the bridge was. We stayed there for about 5 minutes recovering. Well, not really recovering so much as trying to keep from turning into one big cramp. Then off we went for the final 8 miles.

The last leg was not so much difficult as we were just ready to be done. The route took us back into a neighborhood. So we had some stop lights and such. Not a big deal. At one point, one of my teammates passed us in her truck. Why couldn't we be done too!?? lol It felt great to be back... and done! There was a filmographer there asking us to say things into the camera like, "I'm a daughter." For some kind of RRR promo I guess. One we got our stuff put away, we decided to wait until Jean, another team member, made it in. So we waited about 20 minutes and cheered her in. Then left!

At home, we showered and took a nap! lol It was a lazy lazy night after that day! But I'm proud of us for making it with so little training under our belts! And I'm SOOO thankful that Lorrie didn't get hurt!

I didn't take my camera because I thought there was too much chance of rain. That would have been a relief! I'll start carrying it more often. (=

Red Ribbon Team Ride - AGCMCC

Distance = 20.7 miles
Time = 1.44.57
Avg speed = 11.8 mph
Max speed = 22.5 mph
Odometer = 2925.5 miles

At church today my team was rolled our bikes up to the front before the offering was given. We are the recipients of 2 months worth of DUO (do unto others) fund offerings. This should help complete my fundraising! As we stood up there with our bikes, one of the board members who is also doing the ride said a few words about us and the ride. The congregation gave us a standing ovation. It was much more emotional than I expected. We all stood up there, our eyes tearing, just looking at each other like, "What do we do now." So we just stood and took in the energy. It was awesome!

After the service, we hosted an official training ride. The plan was 30 miles. We started with 17 riders. We rolled through Minneapolis, down the same trail we rode several weeks ago that I can't remember the name of, into St. Paul and around the state capitol. Somewhere toward the beginning we lost a couple riders. One was a ride leader who was the caboose as no rider gets left behind. The other was a woman who I don't think had ridden yet this year and was having some bike trouble and riding trouble. So we were at 15 riders. In St. Paul around the capitol, there was a short steep hill near the capitol. My favorite kind! One of the guys got a flat at the bottom so we had to wait at the top for them. I turned around and went about halfway back down and rode it up again. Really. I love those kind of hills! And I definitely need the work! Took awhile but they finally got things under control. Something is going on with his spokes because that was his second flat during that ride. Once we were reunited, we all headed off again.

We got into a neighborhood around the capitol and, from the front of the pack, we heard, "Biker down!" Not what any of us ever want to hear. Our other ride leader had fallen at the bottom of a short hill when he was trying to turn. I was sure he had broken his collarbone. He was in shock and had possibly lost consciousness for a very short time. We called an ambulance. The incredible thing was the people in the neighborhood. SO many of them came out and asked if we needed help. It was really incredible! We happened to have 2, maybe 3, nurses riding with us. So they basically took over until the ambulance got there. The rest of us stayed out of the way, directed traffic, accepted wet cloths from neighbors and checked on each other. Joe was laying in the middle of the road so we were definitely in the way of traffic and very visible. Ambulance didn't take long getting there. They assessed him and decided he should get to the hospital. He was out later that night and went to one of the other rider's home to recuperate. Very scary! And definitely a reminder that anything can happen. He wasn't goofing around or being careless. His tires just slipped out from under him on a turn. It happens. Lorrie was a little freaked out. She's never seen a cycling accident before. There was no blood or anything like that. And he'll be fine. But she was still shaken. Side note... Joe, miraculously, did not break any bones!

We decided as a group, 14 now, that we should turn around and go back. People were shaken up and our minds weren't on the ride. So it was best to get home. No further issues after that point.

Dundas - Natalee Loop

Distance = 19.12 miles
Time = 1.27.06
Avg speed = 13.1 mph
Max speed = 14.5 mph
Odometer = 2904.8

Perfect day for cycling. Not much wind. Not too hot. Nice! Only thing wrong with this ride was the first stretch out of Dundas on Hwy 1. Too much traffic. One of the main back roads here (Hwy. 3) is closed so it's being detoured to this road. Not great for cyclists. We won't ride it again until 3 opens back up. We made it to the stop sign over I-35. I don't know the name of the road but it goes past Natalee's (my co-worker) house. So it's Natalee's road. (= Not much traffic there, which was a relief. After looping back around under I-35 we got onto Old Dutch Road, which is usually pretty good. We usually are on this road going the opposite direction. Today it seemed VERY long! Sometimes those flat stretches get a little difficult. I start feeling it in my butt mostly. So I stand up and peddle awhile. Shake my legs out. Get the blood flowing. An uneventful ride is usually the best kind!! Glad to have one!

Morning Ride

Early morning ride. Trying to figure out how I can get some miles in with as busy as I am at work and the need to study for licensure. This was one possibility. Though anyone who knows me knows that I am so NOT a morning person. I gave it a good effort. But I was a little grumpy. Couldn't find my computer... which was part of the grumpiness. But that also means that I don't know exactly how far we went or how long it took us. I do know that it was very cold and very windy. We really just went out Woodley to the stop sign at CR 42. Then turned around and headed back. Definitely woke us up!!

Distance = approx 8 miles
Time = approx 1 hour

Red Jacket Trail

Distance = 16.56
Time = 1.30.38
Avg Speed = 10.9 mph
Max Speed = 29.5 mph (=
Odometer = 2885.7 miles


Lorrie and I headed out to Mankato to check out what might become our new Nimrod Camper. Mainly because I love the name of it! lol It is actually quite cute. We're debating. It belongs to her friends Helen and Nick. They want to give it to us. The only catch... we can't take it back if we don't want it anymore. lol We hung out at their house for a few hours and played with the kids. They all had to go to a birthday party so we went off for our bike ride. We took the Red Jacket Trail, which was conveniently located right by their home. We rode to the Rapidan Dam, which was pretty incredible. We stopped at the Rapidan Dam Cafe to share a burger that we needed to go back up the hill we'd just flown down. And we were going to be riding against the wind for a lot of the first part of the return. VERY cute little cafe. Family owned. They also have a campground attached. We'll have to check that out sometime. Lorrie said she would put in her canoe by the dam when she would go with Daryl. We'll have to try that too. The ride back was uneventful after we made it up the hill and out of the wind. The trail was well covered so we didn't have to deal so much with the wind. Some beautiful views, which I will add pictures of. And a couple of very cute goats along the trail. lol Afterwards we headed to Chipotle! YEAH! Then Cold Stone. lol Then the Liquor Store. lol The liquor was for friends coming in for the weekend. Not for after the ride. I need to start getting in some more miles if I'm going to be successful on the Red Ribbon Ride and possible the MS TRAM.

Wild River - Day 3 (Happy Bday Lorrie!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORRIE!

Got up leisurely. Lorrie made breakfast. Before anyone gets out of hand, she wanted to make it! Eggs and bacon. Then she made the blueberry scones we got at the Midwest Mountaineering Expo. They were okay but not blueberry enough. Had a good fire going. Thanks to me! (= Fire bug! We putzed around and got ready to leave. Packed up the car and were on the road by about noon.

We headed to Wild River Amusement Park/Ski Area. Because it's her birthday, Lorrie got a free day pass to the park! We did the Alpine slide twice and raced the go-karts once. I'd never done an alpine slide before so that was fun! A little scary at some points. The go-karts were fun. I tormented some guy the entire time. But I opted for safety and didn't pass... even though he would have gotten in trouble for ramming into me. Oh well!

Then off to Taylor Fall and the Glacial Pothole park within Interstate State Park. That was very cool looking! Lots of rock climbers of all levels were everywhere. It also bordered the St. Croix river so some nice views. We took Emma in with us but left Tori in the car. I don't think her hip would handle all the climbing. I got a lot of great photos in there.

After that, hungry, we head the 100 feet into Taylor Falls to eat at their little drive-in diner. We sat outside to eat our burger and hot dog... with root beer of course. Frost Top. Then on to this little coffeehouse that Lorrie's been raving about. With reason! It was very good and very cute!

Then home. Pretty easy drive. A little traffic hung us up in St. Paul but nothing major. Once home, we headed directly to a gospel concert on the Carleton Campus. We smelled like campfire! ha! The group was "Essence of Joy" from Penn State University. I am SO glad we went even though we are tired and smelly! (=

Hopefully I can come up with another nice weekend for Lorrie next year! I'm doing well so far!

HAPPY 43rd! <3

Wild River State Park - Day 2

Today is in list form:

• Bozo up at 6:15am. Looks at phone to check time. "F*ck this! I'm going back to sleep!"
• Slept until about 8am
• Breakfast... eggs and bacon
• Windy, sprinkling, 10 mile ride with a couple big hills.
• Ahhh shower!
• Back to Poppie's for internet and coffee... oh, and mom's birthday present
• Lunch at a dive bar
• VERY windy out!
• Back to Poppies so that I could study EPPP )=
  
• Stop for wood
• Back to campsite
• Threat of rain
• "The Invisible" in the tent

• Awesome! fire
• In bed around 11pm
• VERY bright moon again!
  

Wild River Cycling

Distance = 9.57
Time = 53.05
Avg speed = 10.7 mph
Max speed = 26 mph

We're camping at Wild River State Park and brought the bikes to ride around the area. They have some paved trails within the park but they are covered with Scouts. Boy and Girl. Funny how they jump out in front of us when we tell them that we're coming. Often, if we just keep out mouths shut, they don't know and we can whiz past. But that's dangerous and it would be our fault if they stepped out. So we say, "On your left." To which they step left. I'm sure it's confusing. We rode as much as we could in the park and then headed out onto the road toward Almalind, the little town outside the park. The roads within the park were AWESOME! Seriously! Black tar. Smooth. I would have been happy just riding that road back and forth for 100 miles. Or maybe 20. Anyway, we conquered a couple of pretty big hills. Lorrie was funny. She looked up at the first one and said that she wouldn't do it. Then she did. Said that was the last one for her today. Then she did the second one. And she said, FOR REAL, that was the last one. She ended up doing another tiny one but there weren't really any more bigger ones to do. So I guess she was right that time! Then we got to go downhill. Always fun for me. Always scary for Lorrie. Stopped inside the park for a couple photos.

















Not long after the photo shoot, the sky started getting a little dark and the wind picked up. So we cruised through the park on the perfect roads toward our campsite. I admit that I did exceed the speed limit a few times. It sprinkled on us a little but never quite rained until later. Good early hills!

Wild River State Park - Day 1

First camping trip of the year! We had a late start after a late night. We ended up doing most of the packing in the morning. We are totally disorganized! And we are both PMSing! Bad combo! I was the worst though! I kept thinking of more things we needed that weren't already packed, which was frustrating.

The drive was easy. Some construction issues in St. Paul but nothing major. Stopped before our exit to get Jimmie Johns and some ice from Cub. Then on to Interstate State Park. It was about 2pm when we got there and all the reservable sites were taken. We went around to see what was left and it was mainly electric sites, which had no grass for a tent. There was one we thought was good and decided to take it. By the time we got back to the park office, that site was taken. Not great for our PMS and my bad attitude. We got directions to Wild River State Park and headed there.

They have more sites in general and more non-reservable sites specifically. We got here and talked with one of the clerks. We were going to drive around and find a site but then I asked at the last second about one that looked similar to a really good one at Interstate. She suggested that with dogs we take that site and if we didn't like it, we could come back and change it. I could just see us choosing one and then have it be gone by the time we got back. Good decision! The site is great!! Back in the corner with woods behind us. There would be more privacy if the trees had their full leaves. But it's still pretty private.

First thing we did was set up the tent. A string at the top had come detached so Bozo had to do a little sewing at first. She got it done in no time and we were back on track. Got everything unpacked then headed into town for some wood and to charge the computer. In case it rains, we might want to watch a movie. We ended up at a little place called Poppy's in Almalund. They were about to close but Susie said to come in anyway since she wasn't leaving any time soon. We plugged in the computer, had coffee, a donut, and some free mint chocolate chip ice cream that she was trying to get rid of. We were there for about an hour while other people came in and out. It's also a consignment shop so there were some interesting wares. She had some old Smurf glasses from McDonald's that I may have to buy for my mother! (= As we walked out, it started to rain a little. The dogs were getting wet from the windows being open. lol

On our way back, we stopped for roadside wood that Susie recommended. It rained off and on all the way in and once we got back to the site. We put on our rain jackets and stayed outside. It never really downpoured. I got to wear my new Marmot hat too! (= We had only gotten one bundle of wood so I went back to the office and got a couple more. Stuff from the office was more like kindling where the stuff from town was more like wood. It rained a lot of the time I was driving but then stopped for the most part once I got back. Bozo made us some great hamburgers and asparagus! She did lose one burger to the fire before I got back with the wood! lol She was so cute and sad about that!

After dinner, we cleaned up then enjoyed the fire and talked. A nice way to end the day! The moon was SO bright! We definitely didn't need flashlights. Off to bed around 11pm. We'll watch some of Oprah's classroom series with Eckhart Tolle. Good end to a moody day! (=

Woodley and Around

Distance = 11.62 miles
Time = 1.03.08
Avg. Speed = 11.0 mph
Max Speed = 22.5

Lorrie and I went for a quick ride today. Just to get on the bikes. We headed out of Northfield on Woodley. When we got to CR 42 where we usually would turn right toward Dennison, we decided to see where left too us. At first it took us down this nice hill. I liked that part. Then we got to a T and turned left again back toward Northfield past the golf course, which then got us into the neighborhood near Carleton. There were a couple of bigger hills there that were good for training. In other words, they hurt this time. That's a good thing. Then we know what we need to work on. A good, quick ride. (=

Sakatah Trail - Mankato

Distance = 10.18
Time = 56.18
Avg speed = 10.7 mph
Max speed = 18 mph

Happy Vesak! Though I'm not sure that is an appropriate salutation. Today is the day people, mainly Buddhists I suppose, celebrate the birth, enlightenment, and and passing of Buddha. Lorrie and I went to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN for a Vesak celebration. Her friend Darshi was part of the celebration so we wanted to support them. Our plan afterwards was to do a bike ride on the Sakatah from the end opposite to where we usually ride. I don't know what I was thinking this morning when I got dressed. I wore a short-sleeved shirt. Thank goodness I brought a jacket "just in case." When I packed up my cycling clothes, I didn't include long pants. I'm not sure where I got the impression that it would be warm. It wasn't! And it rained the entire day.

After the Vesak celebration, we headed toward the trailhead. The rain seemed to be coming harder and harder. But still we went. The whole time we were both waiting for the other to say that maybe it wasn't such a great idea to go. But neither of us said anything. So we went! lol Got changed in the car and off we went. I happened to have a pair of nylon sweatpants in my bag so I rolled those up and wore them. They didn't keep me particularly dry but it took longer for my legs to get wet and they did shield me from the wind. Lorrie had brought all the right gear! What is wrong with this picture!?? lol I'm usually giving her some of my things to wear. What I was thankful I'd brought was a plastic-like totally waterproof jacket. It was an accident that I brought it though. It was already in my bag. lol I was very thankful!

The ride was good. We decided with the weather and my cold we should only go about 10 miles. We ran into two other women who were cycling. Ha! Tell me women aren't tougher than men! (= We had to cross a set of railroad tracks, which was interesting with the water mixed with oil. No incidents though. At five miles we got to the lake where Lorrie and Darshi go for birdwatching. It was nice to see the place they talk about. We stood there for about 15 seconds admiring the view before turning around and heading back to the car.

Getting changed in this kind of situation is always an adventure. I backed the SUV up to a tree so that we'd have a little cover from the water. But then it was too muddy. So we took off our wet layers outside then slid into the front seats to change the rest. We used my sweatshirt as a towel... since I didn't think to bring one of those! lol And we got into our street clothes without being arrested! Good job!

I had a $30 gift card for Whiskey River so we went for steak after our short wet ride. That was a nice finish! A quick stop at Cherish's house on the way home and we could call it a full day!

My training for the Red Ribbon Ride and MS TRAM are VERY lacking! I am trying to get my brain wrapped around two things. That's it! Cycling and studying for licensure. Somehow those two things together seem like a LOT! But I'm working on it.

Freezing Wind and Outdoor Expo

Woke up Saturday to... snow. SNOW! It's the end of April. Snow!!?? Actually I didn't mind. Except that it meant we couldn't ride. Or... wouldn't. I'm sure there was no accumulation on the roads. But I wasn't taking the chance. And, to show our total lack of commitment, we just took the bike rack off my SUV so we didn't want to put it on to take a ride in Cannon Falls. lol But we did run. And it was the windiest run I've taken in ages! Seriously. A couple times I found myself leaning so far forward I definitely would have fallen over if not for the wind. Thank goodness God didn't decide to have a laugh.... let up on the wind... and watch me fall face first. Ha ha very funny! lol We were warm enough because we'd dressed appropriately. Though my face was slightly numb when I returned. lol There were little ice pellets hitting me the entire time. Point is. No cycling this weekend. )= And I can't take my bike with me to Vegas on Wednesday so I need to get a ride in today or tomorrow. Arrgh!

Good stuff. Sunday Lorrie and I headed out to the Midwest Mountaineering outdoor expo. We got some great deals and some good information. I bought a very large waterproof canoe pack (Duluth pack-like) to carry all our gear. Then I got a couple large dry bags for our sleeping bags. SO FUN! I know. Geek! I don't care. When we got home, I put up the tent downstairs. Yeah. In front of the fireplace. lol BUT, we did not turn the fireplace on. Gas. *That* would have been too much! heheh I just need the sleep pads on my wishlist and a couple more dry bags. Oh... and eventually our own lightweight canoe paddles. Those would definitely come in handy! We'll keep renting Kevlar canoes. I don't want the responsibility!!

Hills and Wind

Commute:

Distance = 3.74 miles
Time = 12 minutes

The Actual Ride:

Distance = 14.62
Time = 1.15.35
Avg speed = 11.6 mph
Max speed = 24.5 mph

So I'm at least approaching the 12 mph average speed! That's a good thing! Especially since this was my first hilly ride this season. We decided to head out toward Dennison on Woodley. The wind was blowing South to North so we had a pretty good side wind most of the way out. We saw a group of guys racing up one of the hills working hard against the wind. I admit I wondered what it would feel like to be that strong and fast. I've probably been that strong in the past so I can guess that one. But fast, not compared to those kind of riders. A goal in the making eh? Lorrie stopped at about the 4 mile point and I went on. So I got to turn onto Hwy 42 into a major headwind. I love working hard to go downhill. That's *so* fun! But, it's always in the back of my mind that coming back up will be that much easier. So I went out to just over 7 miles. At that point my brain starting pumping. It's getting late, I can see the sun dropping a little, what if the wind does as it sometimes does and hits me head on both ways, I'm hungry, is that the beginning twinge of a cramp in my underused leg, etc. So I turned around. Honestly, the major factor was wind. I honestly have had too many experiences where it's a headwind every direction. Seems to be mainly a Midwest thing as it happened more in Michigan and here than it did in California. Maybe it's the corn! Anyway, point is, I turned around. Problem was, I wanted to go even slightly further than I had before. That didn't happen. But my original thoughts about the wind were correct. I had an awesome tailwind coming up the first bigger climbs. That was nice. Then the side wind hit and going downhill wasn't quite so fast. I was climbing the 2nd to last hill and, really, the sun was in my eyes. There was Lorrie. But I didn't see her right away. She was right next to the road. lol That's how low and bright the sun was. When I got right up to her I realized it was her and stopped for a moment. She had just been chilling out enjoying the breeze and being outside. This is the epitome of Lorrie if there ever is one! So she jumped on my tail and we made our way home. It's always good to get the first hills and the first wind out of the way.

Interestingly, I was not winded the entire time. I know I'm not in great shape cardiovascularly. So what that tells me is my legs are even worse!! lol Won't take long to catch them up to my underdeveloped cardiovascular shape... got the legs from both my parents. But once they catch up, I've got some major work to do before July!! Nine days of riding seems impossible at this moment! Well, not really. I wouldn't have signed up if I thought that. But I do have my work cut out.

Half Commute & Lorries' First Solo

My Half Commute:

Did a half commute today. Lorrie drove me and Hi Ho to work and then I rode her (Hi Ho not Lorrie) home. Though it's not an outdoor thing, after I got home, we went to a Bible Study on LGBT issues. Very interesting!

Distance = 2 miles
Time = 10 minutes

I didn't mark down the other measures. But it was short and sweet!

Lorrie's Ride:

Distance - 12 miles

That's all I know. lol But it was her first time out on the road alone since we started riding together. She is totally getting into this biking thing! I have to admit that I was a little worried about her being out there with traffic and such. She rarely gets to look at anything but my ass! lol Hopefully she enjoyed the view a little more today! (= She rode out toward Dennison on Woodley and Hwy. 42 and turned around "at the white daycare center." I was very impressed!

Work Commute

Distance = 3.74 (Lorrie's distance = 7.48 miles)
Time = 0.23.36
Average speed = 9.4 mph
Max speed = 16.9 mph

Decided to bike commute today. Note that the distance is round trip! lol Gotta love a small town eh? Weather was perfect and I got there earlier than usual. That's a good thing! I just wore my work clothes, which was jeans today. I rolled up my pants and wore my cycling shoes. My regular shoes were in my messenger bag. I also wore a water resistant windbreaker, just in case of rain. No issues with traffic at all. Northfield is pretty biker friendly and people are used to seeing us tool around. I'm generally a traffic rule follower... except rolling through stop signs when no one is around. So I don't cause much trouble. Lorrie rode with me to work then rode back home. She came back later in the day to pick me up and ride home with me. The sky was very dark gray and threatening to rain at any moment. We took a detour to check out an Argosy RV that is for sale. It's like a silver bullet. Nothing on the walls so it's like a blank slate. A little exciting to think about having that. We are definitely a retro/vintage couple! Anyway, back roads home. A couple sprinkles on my jacket as we pulled in. But no rain until later in the evening. Darn! I thought it would be fun to pull in and then have a downpour! (=

Red Ribbon Kick-off Training Ride

Distance = 14.41
Time = 1.22.58
Avg. Speed = 10.4
Max Speed = 15.2

Red Ribbon Ride Kick-off Training Ride. About 15 people showed for the this first ride of the training season. That was a pretty good number of people I thought. There were a few that are on the All God's Children MCC team, which was cool. I had checked out the names on the team but don't really know anyone at church so it was good to put names to faces. There were two other women, Kelli and Jean, that I recognized from church. Funny thing was that both names are relatively gender neutral. So according to the team list, it was possible that I was the only woman. Glad there are others! I feel better about being part of a team now that I've actually met some of the others. I had a vision of camping alone and spending the entire 300 miles on my own. Which, while riding, I might. For an introvert like me, a few connections here and there can do wonders!

Anyway, on with the training ride. We started out in the parking lot of All God's Children. They did a safety speech before heading out. Taught us the hand signals. Told us to hydrate and not to pass each other. lol Being the opening ride, the point was just to spend some time in the saddle and enjoy each others' company. That works. We rode out to Park Ave. where we went North and did a little jag down to the entrance of the trail about 2 blocks away. Not bad! Then we headed west on the Greenway Trail, which seems like it spans most of Minneapolis. Great for commuters! Made me miss living in the city a little. Not Minneapolis though! heheh We rode in line for about 7.5 miles until we got to The Depot Coffeehouse in Hopkins, MN. Cute little place next to what used to be railroad tracks. Stopped there for a few minutes so people could get coffee and use the bathroom. I still don't understand drinking coffee in the middle of a ride. People do it all the time. But it's a diuretic (makes you have to use the bathroom a lot) and seems like it would cause dehydration. Neither of those things seem good to me on a bike ride. But lots and lots of people do so it must be something good... or addicting! lol After the break we were standing outside waiting for the last few people to come out. Lorrie and I both started getting cold just standing there. It wasn't really cold out. But we were sweaty and it definitely wasn't warm. Low 50s maybe and cloudy. So we went back to the foyer until the others started coming out. Wusses! (= Back on the bikes for the trip home. I don't know where but at some point people started telling us about glass on the trail ahead. Apparently someone had dropped some bottles from a street bridge above the trail that landed right in the middle of the trail and covered most of the width. Rude people! We passed one man who was changing a flat. Presumably from the glass. Poor guy. A couple of the people in front asked if he was okay or needed help. I thought that was nice. I always offer but have some trouble changing road tires so my help would often be useless. But in a pinch (heheh) I can get the job done. We also passed under another bridge where an elderly man was shaking his cane at us and yelling. Nice! Finally, there was a man running on the "wrong" side of the trail. Lesson... on trails you walk, ride, and run on the right side. On roads you bike with traffic on the right side but ride and run on the left facing traffic. He was doing the opposite. Not a big deal unless there's a lot of traffic. Apparently one of the guys in the front of our group pointed out the error of his ways because what I heard from the runner was, "BITE ME!" lol Ahh recreationalists! Gotta love us! I think those were the negative interactions. Everyone else was cool and we had a great time.

What I noticed. I got a little impatient with the slow pace. I busied myself making jokes to myself. I kept my place. Didn't pass. In other words, I behaved. I'm sure my friends on the AIDS/Life Cycle ride would be impressed. Okay, but here was another interesting observation. Remember that safety speech I mentioned at the beginning? Well, for most of the ride we heard nothing from the ride leader about runners, walkers, or bikers up. He also rode 2 abreast most of the way back... even at one point when he was passing a walker on one side and another cyclist was coming toward us and passing. I thought that was interesting. Why? Because I am inherently a rule disobeyer. And when I see the ride leader... who just read all these rules to us AND didn't want someone to ride with us because she was late and *that is the rule*... break most of those rules... I AM IN! lol

Welcome to the 2008 Training Season!

P.S. I forgot Jeero! Please don't tell Jeero that I was out riding. Jeero would be VERY hurt! Jeero was home with O.X. having an UglyParty. We'd have grounded them but we felt guilty.

First Ride 2008

Distance = 10.21
Time = 54.43
Average speed = 11.1 mph

Sunday afternoon and we decided to get our butts on our bikes and start the training season. We decided to do the end road from our usual 20 mile route out past Dundas. I think we took longer to get ready than we did on the actual ride! lol But it was cold and we had to figure out how much clothing to wear so that we'd be warm but not overheat. It's a science really! I think we did pretty well. Lorrie had her regular riding gloves on so her fingers were cold. But I think that was the only problem we had. We rode our behind Target and Cub on Jefferson Rd. and then down over Hwy 3 toward Dundas. We wound our way through Dundas and out to Hwy 1. A little different than Hwy 1 in California! (= There ended up being quite a bit of traffic. And the shoulder was basically non-existent. We rode that route in the middle of the summer and both remembered having more space, at least on the one side. With sand and such from winter, the shoulder was gone. Add to that all the pot holes on the side of the road and it was actually quite dangerous. Not a road we'll be riding again soon. At least not without a group. We rode out 5 miles and turned around to go back the same way.

It felt good being on the bike again. I just got mine tuned up about a month ago and it felt great! I've had a little catch or pop in my bottom bracket, or so it seemed, so I got that taken care of. I also got a new rear crank and chain. It's like new! Lorrie's was just tuned up last year so hers is good too. I'm sure we'll feel this in our butts soon. But for now, it's a good start to the season!

Jennifer reviews the ride...

Missed Expo

Just thought I would express my frustration with myself! I put the outdoor expo we were supposed to attend on my calendar wrong and we MISSED it! Free tickets, a personal guide, and we missed it. Damn!

Our trip to the Boundary Waters is set though. June 22-29! Can't wait!

I still need a Duluth Pack and a couple dry bags. Otherwise I think we're basically set! We are going with Sue Steele, a friend of my sister's from high school. Planning meetings to come!

Summer Charity Bike Rides

I just registered for the Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride. There's always a short time after I register for these rides in which I wonder what I am thinking. Why am I putting myself through this! And isn't there something *better* I could do with my time in July?? So far the answers have always been the same. I'm putting myself through this because it makes a difference to lots of people. And no, there really isn't anything better than riding my bike around the state raising money for charity during the month of July. I'm going to be hot anyway, I may as well make some good of it. (=

I'm doing something different this year though. More! In 2006 I rode from San Francisco to Los Angeles for the AIDS/Life Cycle Ride. In 2007 I rode around Northwestern Minnesota for the MS TRAM. This year I am planning on riding the Red Ribbon Ride July 17-20 and the MS TRAM July 20-25. Nine days of riding for two organizations whose issues mean a lot to me!

For the Red Ribbon Ride I am required to raise $1500. For the MS TRAM I am required to raise $300. With your help, I can definitely do it. I don't have my MS TRAM page yet. But to donate to my Red Ribbon campaign, click Jennifer's Red Ribbon Page to get to my donation page. I'll let you know when I'm up on the MS TRAM site!

Thanks for your support, financial and otherwise!! Guess I should get started on my training! (=

Cannon City Loop

Distance - 32.94
Time - 2.25.04
Max speed - 31.0 mph
Avg speed - 13.6 mph

This route seems to get easier with time. Could be that it wasn't 100 degrees out and I'm in slightly better shape than earlier in the season. Basically the same routine as before. Except that after I left Nerdstrand and got to the next stop sign, I headed left toward Dennison on 42 and the took another left on, crap I can't remember the road right now, toward Northfield. But what was interesting was all of a sudden I realized where I was. When Lorrie and I rode to Cannon Falls, we came down that road and took a left into Dennison. So, all of a sudden I have in my head the picture of a route loop, which connects a couple different routes. That's how I'll get familiar with the country roads I suppose. I always feel a little lost when I'm out there in the fields. So it was nice to feel like I knew where I was. (= Nothing significant.... just a good ride!