Posts Tagged ‘biking’
Trip Withdrawal
I’ve been home one day and I am noticing a distinct void from the abrupt absence of the large group of companions I enjoyed last week. Though personal space and familiar comforts of home are precious, the camaraderie we shared can be addicting, putting up a good fight for my desire.
I want both.
Now I’ve got my bathroom and bed back, but a lingering longing for the instantly available connection with inspiring souls leaves me wanting. I think that is what draws so many of us back to this annual ride each succeeding year.
Looking at a picture of the very first morning, taken just moments before we pedaled off en mass on the first leg of the week, I am instantly reminded of the excitement and anticipation of what lie ahead for us.
It started out with a damp fog just above the ground, but our 2016 ride in the heart of the state was blessed with some great weather and easy riding. A high percentage of our miles were accomplished on the 115-mile-long Paul Bunyan State Trail between Brainerd and Bemidji.
I had a really nice time meeting riders that were new to our group this year, discovering kindred spirits from as far away as Maryland, Texas, and Colorado, as well as a few from within the state of Minnesota.
They all won a piece of my heart, but challenging that for the highlight of the year for me was the opportunity to ride with first-timer, Sarah Gordon, the 10-year-old daughter of my treasured friend, Rich. They rode together on a borrowed tandem in a brave “test of concept” exercise for both.
I could see how difficult it was for each of them to manage at times, and they did a spectacular job of facing the challenges and achieving their goals, all while maintaining a superb attitude. They inspired and energized me greatly.
Sometimes we can become narrowly focused on doing this ride for our own personal reasons, but there is an equally significant value for those around us when we make the decision to participate.
I am forever grateful that Sarah decided to ride with us this year, and equally thankful for the rest of the crew, new and old, who showed up this year to make the 2016 Tour of Minnesota a particularly special biking and camping week.
How ’bout we do it again next year, eh?
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Let’s Party!
I’m Home! Before I even get a chance to write about the bike trip from which I just returned, it is time to jump into the next adventure. Today is the day our daughter, Elysa, is celebrating her 30th birthday with a gala at Wintervale.
I have some work to do to spruce the place up before guests arrive, especially getting my wet tent dried out and stowed. It is spread out with other gear all over the living room floor. I finished laundry last night but didn’t get the tent hung on the line until the sun was low because I was busy mowing the lawn.
I wanted to make sure that chore was done first.
The grass was a little long, but not all that unsightly. I have a fair amount of clippings to clean up this morning. There were a few spots that were pretty bumpy where some horse hooves left their marks.
While I was gone, the herd decided to go on a little adventure of their own. I got a voicemail from our neighbor across the street that reported our horses were wandering across his property toward his son’s house up the road and then had crossed into another neighbor’s corn field.
Cyndie said she was not home at the time and must have left a gate to the barn unclipped. That allowed the chain to be manipulated and the horses were able to navigate their way through an open barn door to freedom. Our neighbor left messages on both of our phones, but neither of us responded, so he just kept an eye on them.
I asked Cyndie if the sheriff got involved. She said no, because the herd took themselves home and our neighbor just followed to close the barn door behind them.
In a curious instance of timing, the reason I asked about the sheriff is because the very same day our horses were off gallivanting around the countryside, bikers in my vicinity were suddenly spooked by a siren that was the result of an officer responding to a horse in the road near the trail we were riding.
I didn’t see the horse, but one of the bikers from our group said that cars had stopped to protect it from traffic and the horse just stood in the road enjoying the view.
Was there something about June 23rd that linked these two equine escape incidents?
Now it’s time to party and celebrate our lovely daughter!
Elysa, you go girl!
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Current Jersey
I’m coming home today! The newest jersey I own comes from Minnesota Public Radio station 89.3 The Current. It is hanging in our bathroom, a place that I will have a renewed appreciation for after a week of communal showering in steamed up locker rooms.
Even though I don’t plug my ears with headphones while cycling, I hear songs in my mind, and plenty of what becomes ear worm music for me is something I first heard on The Current.
I wonder if I wore this on the first day or saved it for later this year…
If all goes as planned, I’ll be back to posting live again starting tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed my jersey show this week!
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TCBC Jersey
On the day before our ride comes to an end, I’m thinking about how much I miss my bed. This is a jersey from my brief participation as a paying member of the Twin Cities Bicycling Club. I think it is a brilliant design, especially in terms of wanting to be seen by drivers when riding the roads.
Start seeing bicyclists!
I will be so happy to sleep in my bed again.
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Yellow Jersey
The neon yellow jersey I wear more often than any other is featured today, appropriately enough on top of a pile of composting manure. It’s where I spend most of my time when I’m not on the bike it seems. Nothing fancy, but entirely effective.
This was really hard to photograph because the brightness of the jersey was in direct conflict with keeping the pile of composting manure light enough to identify.
Can you see me now?
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p.s. Happy Birthday to our beautiful daughter, Elysa, today! I’ll see you soon, E! And we’ll party!!
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TofM Jersey
Today’s specimen is the inaugural Tour of Minnesota jersey displayed on bales of hay. This jersey is from the first year that this annual biking and camping week in the middle of June transitioned leadership and took on the new name. It’s a collector’s item, for sure.
This jersey is also sized such that I can grow into it as I age.
Watson Jersey
Today we have a classic Graham Watson jersey on the deck railing. I first spotted one of these jerseys on another rider in our group. Being a big fan of cycle racing and Graham’s cycling photos, I was won over instantly and felt a need to have one of my own. I actually asked Ed Beckers if he would find it disagreeable if I wore the same jersey as him. With his approval, I bought one for myself.
What’s not to like about a Graham Watson cycling photograph?
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Warren’s Jersey
Up next, my most precious jersey, Warren’s red jersey on the seat of the diesel tractor. When good friend and fellow cyclist, Warren LaCourse passed away, his wife offered his bike jerseys to us as a remembrance. I chose this one because he wore it so often, the back became faded from exposure to the sun.
I always feel a little bit stronger on the bike when I’m wearing this jersey and thinking about Warren.
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Google Jersey
This year I have decided once again to take a break from blogging during my week of riding. Upon my return, I expect to have plenty of stories and pictures to share in the days following, but until then I have prepared a week’s worth of posts that will allow you to reflect on both my adventures of the bike trip and life at our home, Wintervale Ranch.
In the days ahead, I will be presenting a tour of my favorite biking jerseys. First up, my Google jersey, draped on wood needing to be split. A bunch of years ago, the kids gave me this gem for Father’s Day, a day which coincidentally tends to fall on the Sunday of this annual bike trip.
I like it for several reasons, but the best feature is the full zipper!
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Mixed Results
There has been enough progress from my last application of organic weed killer to see where it works, and where it doesn’t. I’m getting mixed results. Close inspection of the image will reveal some remaining leaves of poison ivy that are very green and healthy. Either they are new sprouts since I sprayed, or I missed them completely.
It is possible that I missed some leaves, because there are so many other growing plants in the vicinity, it is hard to see. I wasn’t about to reach down and move things out of the way to get a better view. When I spray poison ivy, I do so at an arm’s length.
When the weed killer hits the mark, it works very well. I will just make a point of returning at the next opportunity to apply another dose. It gets easier each time to spot the leftover plants remaining. I learned last year that more than one application would be required, after new growth sprouted in place of the first batch I had killed.
I never got the chance to do that follow-up application, and instead focused on readying ourselves to make a fresh attack this summer with the new sprayer and a new gallon of concentrated citrus-based weed killer.
On another subject, speaking of mixed results, I mentioned to Cyndie that I was considering creating a custom sweet and salty trail mix to take on the bike trip this year. She had me make a shopping list of ingredients so she could pick some things up on a grocery run yesterday.
What a bounty of choices I found on the kitchen counter when I got home from work! I concocted a bizarre combination of items, measuring each to calculate a rough sugar-grams-per-serving value so I would know what I’m getting when I dive in ravenously after a day’s ride.
When we arrive at the evening destinations, the first thing to be dealt with is finding the best spot for our tents. In that weary moment when helmets get dropped, bike shoes come off, and our baggage has been claimed, I find it an incredible pleasure when one precious friend or another shows up with something to munch on.
A primitive part of my brain is usually begging for sustenance to replenish the deficit it perceives after the day of pedaling. I don’t know why the body can’t just use up some of my extra middle inches for fuel at that point, but it never seems to work out that way for me.
It’s too easy to gobble up some new deliciousness before the body ever gets around to trimming the belly. I definitely gain fitness over the week of biking, but with all the eating we do along the way, the results are usually mixed.
An oft-used byline for the collection of folks who form the core community of this ride is… we are an eating group with a biking disorder.
I resemble that remark.
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Relative Something 