"Come to Wichita, Won't be There in 40 Days"

Honestly, I expected more golden fields. But it is spring, and I'm in the biggest city in Kansas.

I took advantage of my totally effed up flight situation to go for a walk with some good people to see the Keeper of the Plains statue. 

According to the Wichita website: "The Keeper of the Plains stands at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers with hands raised in supplication to the Great Spirit. Since the sculpture's installation in 1974 to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, it has become a symbol for the city of Wichita and a tribute to the Native American tribes who continue to gather at this sacred site. . . . The 44-foot Cor-Ten steel Keeper of the Plains sculpture now stands elevated on a 30-foot rock promontory, surrounded by a plaza which describes the Plains Indian way of life. . . . Fire drums on boulders at the foot of the Keeper dramatically light the night. . . . Renowned Native American artist Blackbear Bosin donated the Keeper of the Plains to the citizens of Wichita in 1974."

I didn't go to the science museum, but it is pretty striking.

Miscellaneous Weekend Observations

What I learned over my Memorial Day holiday weekend:

• If you slow down when riding on the Greenway, you can appreciate architecture and learn more about what businesses are located there.
• If you're going at a slow pace around the lakes, people who go fast are as annoying as those who go slow when you're trying to go fast.
• A squirrel that is trying to avoid getting run over by you as you're trying to not have it wrapped in your wheels (do a Google images search for "squirrel bike wheel" - gross!) can go as fast as 10 mph for quite a while. 
• Freewheel Bike Shop on the Greenway is fantastic when you get a couple of miles into a ride and realize something is very wrong. They're fantastic even under normal conditions. 
• NE Minneapolis has become more welcoming to bicyclists, even adding a cool biking traffic signal.
• It is a good idea to avoid riding right up to the Mall of America on the road that turns into highway entrance ramps.
• The Minneapolis Vets' Home has amazing old architecture.
• Sometimes when going fast over gravel there can be a big bump and you just have to take it on faith (and maybe close your eyes a little bit) that it will work out.

For a while today, I was on the list of the highest fundraisers for the MS150. I got bumped off the list, but I'm okay with that, since we're all working toward the same end goal.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieMS150

A Great Horse, A Strong Heart

We went for a great ride today (saw another huge snapping turtle!), starting and ending at Fort Snelling, which was packed for Memorial Day festivities. I paid my respects to the army horse Whiskey, who died about 70 years ago. 

It was a weekend of biking. In addition to today's and Saturday's rides, we had a team training ride yesterday doing a big loop around Minneapolis. The metro area really is unparalleled in terms of bike paths, trails, etc. I love living here. In the summer, anyhow...

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieMS150

How Do You Guys Afford This Place?

Tonight, our friends Andre and Jill, and their kids Ruby and Henry, came over for dinner. We had been out on the back patio for quite a while and then I had to show Henry how to find our bathroom.

He walked in our back door, said, "Your house is small," and then entered the dining room. He said, "Oh, no, this is a big house. HOW DO YOU GUYS AFFORD THIS PLACE?!?!"

Of course, this cracked me up. Our house is small. Quite small. And he obviously doesn't know about the prices of homes, salaries, etc.

This made me think, though, that things aren't always as big as they seem (especially to a first-grader), and things might be bigger than they seem.

What isn't as big as it seems: the task at hand. In two weeks I will be doing my fifth MS150. It seems daunting since spring came so late, but I got this. Today I rode to the grocery store, meet some people for a leisurely, exploratory ride around the lakes where we saw the cute little elf tree, and then tacked on an extra 17 miles before dinner. I can ride my bike for hours. I'll do fine.

What is bigger than it seems: 4391. Just a number, right? Not so fast. This is the huge amount of money ($4391) that very generous people have donated to the MS Society on my behalf for the MS150. What is so spectacular is that so many people have donated. My gratitude is 4391 many, many times over.

Here's the link for my MS150 page, if you want to see the good news that I met my goal with your own eyes. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieMS150

The route has been announced for the TRAM. I'm be sharing more info about that here, on this blog. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Maggie2014TRAM

Horrible Song Lyric Time

Every year about this time, I get bad songs like Europe's "The Final Countdown" stuck in my head. We're getting close people!

Since my last blog post I had yet another flat tire, bought and installed some new tires and tubes, got some new batteries for my little bike computer, had my derailleur tightened up again, etc. It is all worth it when you can ride your bike to and from work on a day like today.

Since my last post, I've also gotten dangerously close (within $45!) of my fundraising goal. It's pretty exciting!

On the horizon for this weekend: a fun trip to the orchestra, a BBQ, and at least three bike rides.

The final countdown indeed.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieMS150

Sweet, creepy land of liberty

Today, our team met in North St. Paul (site of the windmill from last year where I, in a delirious state, was trying to figure out how much the city spent running that big, fan-like thing) and rode to Pine Point Park in Stillwater. From there, we rode on some wide-shouldered busy roads through farmland and along the St. Croix River to downtown Stillwater.

After eating lunch, we rode across the bridge to Wisconsin, rode up a big, ol' hill, and, on the way back to the Gateway Trail, rode through the ever-so-creepy Liberty on the Lake planned community. Here are some representative photos I found online.

That place freaks me out, with its faux colonial (?) architecture and pseudo downtown. I think that what weirds me out the most is that there is a school nestled in there. Do these people leave? Are their children programmed?

Yesterday, I took my bike the long way to/from Stacy's and Travis' house to help with the yard sale. I was there on Friday too (before I left to attend a most fantastic wedding). That's where I got this tattoo I was sporting today.

Just two more weekends to prepare!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieMS150

Ukranian towers, ancient turtle powers

Every spring, Stacy and I go for at least one ride in the Roseville/Shoreview area and there is something new to see. (Last spring, it was some old historic building near Snail Lake that we discovered when we turned on a road too full of snow for our bikes to handle. There's an old blog post on that, if you're curious.)

We seem to have a tradition of riding on mother's day, and yesterday we rode around Shoreview. We sort of meandered around Snail and Turtle Lakes, only getting slightly off our intended route a couple of times on our way to this cool Ukrainian church. We were going to post a photo of us on our team's Facebook page, panting over our handlebars, pretending that we rode our bikes to the Ukraine, but realized we wouldn't fool anyone.

On the way back to Stacy's house, we debated whether to ride on a trail or stay on the street. We went on this little (yet surprisingly hilly) trail where we saw this huge turtle. His flesh was hanging out of his shell, including what would be his pectoral muscles (if turtles have pectoral muscles). I'm a little worried that he has inadequate protection to face the world. But look at his huge, fat dinosaur tail. Super cool. We did also see a pudgy woodchuck earlier in the ride, but he wasn't as striking as this turtle (sorry, woodchuck).

Our team is lagging in its fundraising. I'm finding myself busy as a team captain in keeping them informed about things, reminding them to train and raise money, while trying to stay on top of my own stuff while traveling for work.

It'll work out. This weekend's rides was a big confidence booster. Oh! You guys, I think that slightly shorter, slightly more angled stem on my handlebars is much better in terms of back pain. It still is a mystery exactly why my bike didn't bother me the first three years I rode it, and have some thoughts, but am glad that this might help solve the problem!

Just a few weeks left until the MS150! Here's the link to my fundraising page, if you want to check my progress or donate: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieMS150.

Jumping In

Well, I feel a bit behind in my training and the feeling was magnified, when getting back from Kentucky, to find my rider guide in the mail. This reminded me that the ride is just around the corner! I was only able to ride to work once this week because I spent two days in Atlanta, so I turned today's 24-mile group training ride into a 55-mile bike ride, by riding to and from the beginning/end point, rather than driving there.

It's like jumping in the cold lake, rather than wading, or tearing off a Band-Aid. But a bit more hunger-inducing.

I went to the bike shop for a bike fitting (way more fun than a dress fitting, obviously). I'm going to try riding tomorrow with a slightly different stem that I think might help resolve my back pain (super excited!). Oh, and I got my banged up mountain bike fixed, too.

Having this bike shop - a good one, too - four blocks from my house contributes exponentially to my quality of life. And who doesn't like being known by name and getting discounts "for being a good customer"? And while I'm at it, I'm going to confirm that my recent travels have confirmed that Minneapolis is a great biking city.

I'm at 75% of my fundraising goal with less than a month left, hoping that I can get there this year.

I'm trying to figure out what sort of planetary alignment would result in our team ride today having so few riders, all of whom are lawyers. Maybe some questions are better left unanswered.

Beast of burden

Our faithful Subaru got us, our bikes, and our camper to Kentucky, after we spent a rainy night in a campground in Illinois. Dan dropped my bike and me off in Lexington, where I wrapped up my 30th day of riding. (He camped in southern Kentucky.)

We then went to Frankfort, where we had a really fun few days with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We went on a behind-the-scenes tour of Buffalo Trace distillery, went for a bike ride and nature hike, had a beer with an interesting group of Kentuckians, went to a Shaker historic site, rode our bikes there (that's when we loaded up our car with our bikes and their bikes), had a college graduation party for my cousin, and went to watch some live music. Most fun for me was visiting with my family.

We are on the long drive back. While our car has held up nicely on this journey, our bike rack adapter for my wide-forked mountain bike that can turn into a fat bike has been a little temperamental, deciding that it wanted to try tossing my bike on the interstate, near Rockford, Illinois.

It wasn't quite successful. While the front if the bike came loose, the back held. But my bike thrashed around on our car a bit, so the bike and the car will need a little fixing.

Thankfully, the bike didn't come fully free and break someone's windshield, or even break our rear window in its flopping dying fish phase. That was interesting.

So, the MS150 is quickly approaching. Time to start training for real now, picking up my weekly mileage!