A coyote.
After some quick deliberations at the roughly 40-mile mark of today's 71-mile bike ride, Matt and I realized that what we saw was not a small deer (my first thought) or a rather large fox (his first reaction), but a coyote.
Today we met at Fort Snelling, rode up the Mississippi to the Coon Rapids Dam, and turned west to go to Elm Creek Park in some western suburb (Brooklyn Park? I have no idea.) We saw the coyote on the way back to the dam. Our plans to ride across the top of the dam were thwarted by ongoing construction. Once we got to North Minneapolis, we rode through Northeast, to the U, through St. Paul and back to the fort.
Wide ranging conversations from TRAM planning, the cons of amputation to alleviate toe pain, biking short styles and fit, religious tolerance, ice fishing, Fourth of July menus, the Boundary Waters, and gratitude for being able to be out on our bikes...
This was my longest ride in a month, and not much more than the distance I will ride each of the five days of the TRAM. I'm kind of tired, and think the fifth day of the TRAM might be tough.
Today's photos are of/near the dam. The NPS says:
"The Coon Rapids dam was built in 1913 by the Northern Mississippi Power Company. It took 1,000 men just a little over 1 year to complete the entire dam system. During construction, a small town grew up on the Anoka County side of the river, complete with barracks, hospitals, fire stations and even dance halls."
1913? Of course there were dance halls.
I think this excerpt from Bicycling magazine may help explain things: "The same study that reported brain benefits from a short exercise session also revealed that more intense efforts can temporarily compromise memory and information processing..."
ReplyDeleteMaybe that also helps explain why, when I went to the bike shop immediately after the ride and I said I was having trouble with my derailleur, I couldn't think of which one was the problem. Also, can I use that to justify slow processing in everyday life?
ReplyDelete