One gol-darn lucky gaucho

There's a fair amount of utilities construction on the surface streets near my house, so to avoid people like the crazy minivan lady who was driving way too fast and way too close in the narrow gravel part (and this was after she left the bakery - - - shouldn't she feel calm? or did she need to race to her destination so that she could eat her pastry?), my commute to and from work has been less direct.

This morning, riding in the fog as the weather shifted from a cool overnight to a hot and balmy day, I was thinking that I probably have one of the best commute routes ever:

1. I ride half a block to the park, and ride a third of the way around Lake Hiawatha.

I did not take this picture, but this is what it looks like right now.

2. I turn left and ride for a couple of miles along the creek, near the falls (not shown here because I don't actually see the falls when I ride to work, although I go by them).

I didn't take this one either, but it's pretty close to what it looks like right now.

 3. I do a sort of swoopy connector maneuver and ride over the Mississippi River, and then turn left/north and ride along it for a few miles.

This is the view from the bridge I ride over. This is obviously the fall, rather than the summer.
Today it was foggy and mystical.

4. I ride along Summit Avenue, a wide street with a bike lane and historic mansions, including the governor's mansion, although I ride along the end of it that is less dramatic, consisting of less old stone block. I ride for a few miles on Summit, which is the street where my office is.

I didn't take this photo.

Or this one.

     


So, it was a peaceful ride in. More peaceful than the hot, sticky ride home where a police car with lights and siren was speeding up behind me and maneuvering around cars while I hoped that my fluorescent shirt was visible.

We're really lucky to have such nice scenery. I'm looking forward to the scenery on the TRAM, too, which starts in less than a week! Proctor, Biwabik, Hibbing, Duluth, Two Harbors - - great, scenic North Shore and Iron Range towns.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieTRAM2015

A saddle is like a song

According to Glen Hansard "A song is like a saddle: you ride it for a while, and if it's the right kind of song you can sing it for the rest of your life." I don't know if he rides horses, bikes, both, or neither, but I figured this could go the opposite direction, too: If it is the right kind of saddle, you can ride it for at least a long time.

Getting a new bike seat has been an idea that has popped into my head here or there over the past couple of years, due to some discomfort. After going to PT for my back, though, talking through some issues about my biking posture, it being difficult to maintain proper posture due to discomfort on the seat, etc., I tried out some new seats this week.

The Angry Catfish put this one on my bike Friday night. 

I took it for a quick spin to the grocery store right afterwards to make sure that it would be okay to test out at more length on Saturday. I went for a decent ride yesterday (with a pit stop at Nina's coffee shop where I had the most delicious chocolate, caramel, walnut bar), and wrapped up the ride by stopping at Angry Catfish to buy it. It felt great and my back doesn't hurt as much. I'm really optimistic that this will make a difference.

When we were riding on Saturday, there was a tiny little shoulder like this in St. Paul, but instead of grass on the side, there was a curb.

Obviously, I didn't ride on the shoulder. Instead, Matt and I took up a full lane, which you can legally do. A dude in a truck drove up behind us and honked his horn, yelling at us to get in the "bike lane." I think there needs to be a better educational campaign for drivers (and cyclists, for that matter) about traffic rules related to bikes and roads.

Below, I've included an obligatory picture of Piper trying to find some sort of coolness under the hydrangea. If her hair was a little curlier, she'd look like a big hydrangea blossom.

This is the last full week of work before we head out for the TRAM - - I'm getting excited, especially since I have that new seat!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieTRAM2015

I heart the Heartland

We spent the weekend with Dan's family north of Park Rapids, Minnesota. On Saturday morning, I got up early and rode through the fog on a nicely shouldered state highway to the Heartland Trail. After the fog burned off, the skies remained hazy due to forest fires in Canada. 

This was my longest bike ride since the MS150. Although my back bothered me at the end, it felt really great to just move on an open trail. 

Proof that the trail was pretty empty.

The trail was pretty empty when I first got on it, which was good since the biffies at the Park Rapids trailhead were padlocked shut. The trail got more crowded later in the morning, especially when returning to Park Rapids in the midst of a 5k fun run. I got to use my keen sense of direction to bypass the people and find the right state highway back to Dan's family.

A view of a field that I think, like the land near it, was formerly a landfill.

 I saw taller-than-knee-high corn, pretty farms with cows and horses, open fields, ugly highway parts, and some pretty ponds and lakes.

This would have been amazing if the sky had been blue.

I would love to do a big ride around Minnesota going on the trails from St. Cloud up to Fergus Falls, over to the Heartland and Paul Bunyan trails, and then from Grand Rapids up to Biwabik. I can't help but think (dream?) that some day they all will be connected.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieTRAM2015

Photographic muscle memory

So, three weeks from right now, I'll hopefully almost be done with the first day of the MS TRAM. The five-day ride is about 300 miles, with 200 of those covered in the first three days.

I'm less physically prepared this year, but am hoping that muscle memory is a real thing and that my body has both a particularly great memory in the leg, shoulder, and butt department, as well as a selective memory in the let's-incorporate-what-we-are-learning-in-PT-and-not-revert-to-bad-habits department.

Regardless of it likely being difficult, it will be fun. Besides, I do this ride precisely because others can't.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieTRAM2015