Posts Tagged ‘biking’
Recovery Day
After an incredibly full day on Saturday, yesterday was a blink of doing next to nothing and seeing the minutes on the clock disappear just as fast. I don’t understand how that works.
The morning dawned with a gusting wind just ahead of a very dark thunderstorm, which forced Cyndie and me out of bed to race around picking up things that had been left outside at the end of the celebration evening. Once things were in order, Cyndie offered me the choice of going down to open the coop and feeding the chickens or going inside to feed the dog and cat.
I felt like feeding Delilah and ‘Nita required less thought, so chose that option. Seconds later, the rain began to pour down. Cyndie got soaked.
Two storms moved over us yesterday, but neither seemed particularly threatening. However, after the second one, Cyndie discovered that the top of one of our big oak trees had snapped off and was tipped down across the shortcut trail to the barn. I refused to take a picture because there was no way I could capture the actual detail of what happened. It’s too big. There’s no angle to show the actual size. It’s in the middle of so many other trees you can’t discern which leaves are which.
That never stops Cyndie.
Dealing with that new calamity will have to wait. Yesterday I squeezed in a nap and slowly chipped away at rediscovering order and routine from the aftermath of Saturday’s big event.
Let’s relive a couple of fine moments again…
I knew that we would continue straight on that road, but was all too happy to pause while the details were confirmed. At least I didn’t call for a wrong turn at this junction.
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It was a very happy birthday celebration and it was a great honor to be able to share it with my treasured friend, Paul Keiski.
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Epic Ride
It started out nice enough at six in the morning yesterday. Five riders rolling through Paul’s Linden Hills neighborhood, fresh and ready for the symbolic 60-mile bike ride from Paul’s house to mine. None of us had asked for a day with a heat index at or above 100°F.
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But that’s what we got. I’ll just say this: it was the kind of heat that saps your energy while you are just sitting there, let alone intensely exercising. I’m not going to mention the error in judgment I made in the last miles near home when I said to go right when we were supposed to turn left.
I blame it on oxygen deprivation. I plead insanity.
On the good side, it was brand new pavement that rolled smooth as silk.
We paused in Prescott, WI for refreshments and the ice cooler turned out to be a treasured perch.
At one point, Paul stepped out of the Holiday Station store and gushed, “Have you been in the beer cave?”
Three of us hustled in to check it out. Oh. My. Gosh. There was a temperature drop of about sixty degrees. I thought, “This can’t be good for me,” but it sure was refreshing. We walked around the stacks of bottles and cans for a while and dropped our body temperature a shocking amount.
As I stepped out of the cooler, I asked the attendant, “What do we owe you for ten minutes in the cooler?” She just gave us an odd look and shrugged us off.
We finally arrived at Wintervale in the waning moments before almost 100 guests were expected to start arriving. I’d share pictures with you here, but I didn’t take any. In fact, even though I don’t drink any alcohol, most of the afternoon and evening is pretty much a blur. Hours passed like minutes, I barely had a chance to complete a thought in conversation, and I had a wonderful time basking in the glow of love bestowed upon me as one of the birthday boys.
Thank you to all who showered us with love yesterday. I’m feeling particularly blessed and looking forward to laying low today in recovery from riding for hours in humid heat and finishing the day with a massive dose of social interaction.
I’m almost feeling my age this morning.
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Party Day
It’s the big day! I’m gone biking by the time you read this, with Paul and three friends, Dan, Bill, and Brad, on our way from Minneapolis to Wintervale for the gala celebration of Paul’s and my 60th birthdays.
We’ll have 60 miles under our belts and be ready to party before guests start to arrive, if all goes as planned. The only thing I forgot to bring with me to Paul’s house yesterday was my water bottles. Luckily, they had a couple I could borrow.
We are hoping to ride early to beat the expected heat. Happy 60th to us!
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My Turn
Today it is my turn to join the club of 60-year-olds. Sixty years ago today I showed up as the latest addition to the Hays clan. Luckily, we tend toward not remembering our moment of arrival, but I bet I was kicking and screaming until that warm blanket swaddled me tightly. By my calculations, I have just completed a third stint of becoming a twenty-year-old.
I’m pretty confident that I am twenty years smarter than I was when I reached forty.
I will always remember the spectacular celebration of my fortieth birthday, because my life-long chum, Paul Keiski, and I combined our adjacent birthdays with a plan to thwart our wives trying to hold a surprise party for us. We announced a plot to do a nighttime 40-mile bike ride figuring nobody would be crazy enough to participate.
Turned out there were a lot more crazy people than we accounted for, so a fabulous group night-ride became an annual necessity for years after. That night when Paul’s birthday ended and mine started, we decided we had each ridden 20 moonlit miles by that point, so together, forty had been achieved.
Now, twenty years later, we gave in and let our wives plan a celebration event. I fear it may dwarf either of our weddings in terms of their efforts to prepare food, beverages, and entertainment for a wedding-sized guest list.
Once again, Paul came up with the perfect antidote for too much party. This time we are going to do all the miles.
Turns out, the distance between Paul’s house and Wintervale Ranch, location of the joint-birthday gala, is sixty miles. He suggested we ride our bikes to the party.
Count me in!
Pedaling from the biggest city in Minnesota to our country sanctuary is symbolic in more ways than just the mileage for me. Joining Paul for the journey is icing on the cake.
It is a precious treat to be sharing the process of aging with a pal to whom you’ve been connected since grade school.
Happy Birthday to Paul (yesterday) and me (today)!
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To Home
All too soon the trip is over, the time just comes, the dancing’s done
Bittersweet to reach the start again, don’t want to stop, can’t wait to get home
Imagine this: I didn’t take any pictures on our last day of riding from Hibbing back to our cars in Grand Rapids. However, I have scoured my files for some of my favorites from the week, several of which I am unable to credit because I can’t recall who the photographer was. In no particular order…
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Men in black.
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Prop wash!
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Bear butts in Ely on the WOWOWs.
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It wasn’t all trails all the time. That’s Gary approaching in the distance.
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.Geoffrey and Marylin arriving on the Virginia High Bridge.
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View from the bridge down to Roucheleau mine lake, a former iron mine partially filled with groundwater.
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The three amigos.
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Rich snapped a closeup of me as I breezed past.
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Rich captured us in front of a mine lake. There are lots of mine lakes.
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Music in the park. Thank you to Julie for this image!
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Posing in front of an iron man and handing phone to whoever is near to capture.
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Hanging out with the best-dressed guy on the ride. Gary, you do look dashing in that jersey!
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I absolutely love this woman and she has captured our joyful energy in this most beautiful selfie. Juuuuulieeee!
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And so ends another annual ride around. Thank you to all of the staff and volunteers of the Tour of Minnesota who provide these June adventures!
Peace, out.
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To Hibbing
It was a beautifully sunny day out of Gilbert. Rich captured this shot of Steve leading Laura and me on a particularly bumpy section of the Mesabi trail.
I took a picture of Steve and Rich later on.
No complaints about the weather yesterday. It was picture perfect. Tents packed dry in the morning, no significant wind, and lots of sunshine.
In Hibbing, we camped at the historic high school. I took a picture of the Steinway piano that Bob was banging on like Little Richard when he was yanked off the stage.
There is also a display case dedicated to the troubadour.
They seem rather fond of Dylan around these parts.
On the walk back to camp after dinner, we came upon a property with a labyrinth.
Today, we ride back to our cars in Grand Rapids. It begins the odd struggle of returning to real life again.
Bittersweet to reach the start again
Don’t want to stop, can’t wait to get home
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To Gilbert
The day dawned foggy in Ely, but not nearly as cold as the first few days. We stayed dry all day, which was nice because it was a day of the farthest distance. I clocked in at 68 miles by the time we reached Gilbert.
With dry weather, it was easier for me to get the camera out while rolling down the road.
I had a goal of capturing a shot of Gary at some point, and when the opportunity presented itself…
I happened to come across Angela and Cynthia mid-pause on the shoulder, so I took their picture, too.
I like the totally unposed aspect of that shot.
It was day flat tires for some unknown reason. I was riding beside Steve when he hit a piece of steel that he mistook for wood. It put a slice in the sidewall that required a custom insert to keep the tube from bulging out.
The riding has gone well for me and I feel like I’ve finally got my old skills and form back for long distance cycling.
It’s a lot like riding a bike.
Remembering song chords and lyrics has been more of a challenge than the cycling.
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To Ely
We dodged the rain yesterday, but no such luck with cool temperatures. That made for good riding, but was pretty chilly for patio dining.
It was the third day of biking and our spirited group wasted no time in embarking on silly shenanigans
The subject was unaware he had been pranked with the old pat on the back sign gag.
We visited the underground mine in Tower-Sudan and some folks took a tour, but I elected to stay above ground.
The Mesabi trail passes through some gorgeous northern Minnesota forest between the mine and Ely.
One highlight for me was witnessing a squirrel dash right between Steve Reynolds’ tires. Talk about timing.
Camped in park just off Main Street in Ely, where we did some power lounging in the afternoon before dinner. Once dinner had been devoured, we headed to Red Cabin Custard for dessert.
We will stay in Ely all day today, allowing for a one-day break from pedaling, and opportunity to amass embarrassing amounts of unneeded calories.
We eat like we think we have to
then have some more when it tastes so good
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To Aurora
It started out rather chilly yesterday, but at least it wasn’t raining.
We left Chisholm as a group and claimed a lane of the road until we got back on the Mesabi trail.
It was 16 miles to a rest stop for some snacking, a mere hour and a half after we left breakfast. No wonder we all tend to gain weight despite all the biking we do.
There is just one thing I asked for during this ride: it can be cold, or it can rain, I just don’t want cold temps AND rain.
Well, I didn’t get what I wanted. Between that snack break and lunch, the clouds started to spit a little bit. Then, it began to sprinkle, until it unmistakably turned to rain.
The optimist might say, “At least it wasn’t snowing.
Luckily, there was hot soup on the menu for lunch. Any food is good for recovering from being wet and cold, but hot soup was a welcome bonus.
The ride from lunch in Biwabik to Aurora took us through a picturesque stand of old growth pines.
Hanging out at our tents after hot showers (yay!), Rich sent up his drone for a bird’s eye view of our circle of post-riding silliness.
Then I took a picture from ground level.
All in all, another great day on the Tour of Minnesota, discounting
the fact it is so dang cold in the middle of June.
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To Chisholm
We were blessed with great weather yesterday for riding the Mesabi Trail from Grand Rapids to Chisholm.
The trail is a fabulous adventure of twists and turns with a variety of dramatic ups and downs.
There were a number of vistas that provided views of mining activity, as well as of the huge ridges of dumped leftovers. Eventually, vegetation starts to grow and reclaim the surface, but it is a little unsettling to see the way humans can alter the planet so significantly.
Has me struggling with the multitude of ways my activities and possessions contribute to demand for mining.
The trail just rolled past our tires…
That’s Rich and Steve vrooming around a corner.
In Chisholm, we camped at the mining museum and got a chance to see some big and historic equipment up close.
I asked Steve and James to provide a reference to actual size. Did I mention, big?
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Relative Something 