My Uncle, the Star

The summer solstice has always been a bittersweet day, in my mind. Summer is just getting off to a start, yet the days are starting to get shorter. Added now to the mix: the now-anniversary of when our family lost my dear, sweet Uncle Andy.

In some ways, it feels longer than a year, in other ways shorter. Regardless, it still feels bad.

Although he had two dozen nieces and nephews, each one claims to have been his favorite, and each one can say truthfully that he was their favorite.

I have some lovely momentos of time spent with my uncle, and this weird one.

Uncle Andy gave me this little bar of silver when I was a teenager. I don't fully remember the context, but I think I maybe had just done his dishes for him (if you had been to his house on Stanfield during his bachelor years, you know what a chore this was). Perhaps we were just hanging out after one of our road trips to North Carolina. At the time, it seemed weird to me that he had a bar of silver. As a watchmaker and fixer of jewelry, though, it makes sense to me, now.

I thought it was really special; he assured me it wasn't valuable.*

Apparently silver is created during a supernova - when stars explode at the end of their lives. We still are feeling the effects of Uncle Andy's own little supernova, although I'm not yet sure what that created.

I think this is really special; in my mind it is really valuable.

* My online searching this morning suggests that it was probably worth about $8 when he gave it to me, and it is worth anywhere between $17 (going rate for a troy ounce) and $40 (collectors like the history of the Bache bars of silver). 

Best laid schemes gang aft a-gley and all that

We took Thursday and Friday off of work to have a nice long weekend camping along Lake Superior, about four hours north of here. I was kind of apprehensive because it just got warm and summer-like, and the highs were projected to be in the 50s - maybe the low 60s. I just spent a whole fall, winter, and spring being layered up and wanted to wear shorts, by golly.

Well! The universe was on my side. After driving to the state park, and pulling in, we found out that there was a mixup (on our end, not theirs, don't blame the DNR). So, we didn't have a beautiful site on a cliff overlooking the dramatic ocean-like lake after all.

My smarty mapper husband reviewed the maps in his head and declared that we should try Sawbill Lake - a lake just about 30 minutes away on a gravel road. The lake is an entry point to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We had the foresight to call ahead, they had some sites, and so off we went.

It was inland, so it was warmer. It was inland, so it was less windy. It was inland, so it was considerably more buggy, but the mosquitoes took some breaks here and then, especially on Friday, which was a beautiful, beautiful day. The campground, operated by Sawbill Outfitters, is the only thing on the lake. 

While many of the other campers
were roughing it as they headed into the
BWCAW, we tested out this hand-cranked
blender that Dan got for Xmas and had
smoothies for breakfast. We used to be
hardcore backpackers. Now we have a blender.

So, instead of riding my bike, which was faithfully perched on top of the car, I rented a canoe and got blown all around the beautiful lake, and tried to avoid crashing into rocks and wrecking the lightweight canoe (although I confess it didn't feel all that lightweight when I had to tip it over onto my shoulders and walk to and from the lake with it over my head all by myself). 

Sawbill Lake

I had to pull over to the shore in search
of more rocks to use as ballast to keep
the canoe from spinning. The wind
came from every direction, it seemed.

It was a great nature-filled weekend, and I'm really glad about the change of plans. 

Piper and I found a rock where we could read a book (Maggie)
and chew on a bone (Piper).

"Why are we sitting on a rock?"

Her Farrah Fawcett ear-do.

A triangle-shaped rock cleaved perfectly from this bigger rock.

We were planning on driving home on Sunday morning, but decided that we should leave Saturday instead to allow me time to get to my good friend's son's graduation party on time on Sunday. That was a good plan, until we inadvertently got stuck behind the marathon near Duluth. But, Dan was driving and I was doing a crossword puzzle, so I didn't care so much.

This was a good plan, which allowed me to ride to and from the party at Canterbury Park, stopping to eat ripe blackberries by the Minnesota River on the way. I tested out a new way home from that area, which would have freaked out a lot of people I know, given the traffic, but the cars were blissfully in Father's Day high spirits and didn't kill me.

If you're on Facebook, you know I've been in search of this bike seat. I found a few in the U.S. while searching online on our way to the woods, ordered one, and voila! here it is at my house today! I can't wait to put it on my new bike, to make it more TRAM-worthy.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieTRAM2017

Wowza.

This was kind of a record-breaking MS150, in my book.

First, our team was bigger than ever before, and we had a ton of new, energetic, friendly riders. 

5 of this crew were first-time riders

I spent Friday morning packing, then met a few other riders for lunch and headed to Century College. The check-in process was smooth and the MS Society people were super friendly because, well, they are, but also because they were really excited about how much our team has grown and all of the good fundraising that we do. On a per-rider scale, we raise a bunch more many than most of the corporate-sponsored teams.

We tagged ourselves and our gear, put our bikes on semis, and grabbed our luggage and took the always-slower-than expected bus to Proctor High School. It was about 20 degrees cooler there, so I was grateful that I remembered to pack jeans and a sweatshirt, as I set up my tent somewhere near a discarded mouth guard on an athletic field. 

I took the shuttle to Duluth, where about 35 of us met for dinner. Two of our teammates had just ridden their bikes the full 150 miles from Century College to Proctor. Whoa. A few people from other teams joined us, too. I suspect at least one of them might migrate over to our team next year.

It was cold when we left dinner, and I piled on lots of clothes before crawling in my sleeping bag. I then spent a couple of hours trying to figure out how late those two women a few tents over would stay up chatting. Also, if they were still up, were there others wandering around (meaning that I'd have to walk to an actual bathroom to pee, rather than just going to the edge of the field)? Thankfully I had my wits about me and took care of all of that business, undetected, before the lightning and rain came through for about an hour or two. 

I didn't want to get out of the dry, warm cocoon I'd build in my tent, but started moving at about 5:15, realizing that I'd forgotten to pack the very one thing I twice reminded all riders to pack: garbage bags to line luggage in the event of rain, to keep clothes and other things (e.g., sleeping bags) dry.

Luckily, it was dry when we packed up and there wasn't really much rain in the forecast for Saturday, so chances were good that my stuff would be dry when we rode into Hinckley. Between the time I woke up and was all ready to go, the temperatures had already risen by more than 10 degrees. I confess that I'm a dawdler, but that whole time period was only about an hour.

So, Saturday. Hot and windy, hot and windy. We had one year (about 5 years ago?) that was super hot and windy. (You know, the year I slept in a bathtub?) This was not quite to that level, perhaps because most of our riding was on the semi-protected Munger Trail, but it was still challenging. Because I was a VIP fundraiser last year, I got special treats at the last rest stop before the final leg. Those treats included ice-cold soda. I held the can on my head and neck for a good five minutes and then sugared up by guzzling the Coke.

Last year, I was the 38th-highest fundraiser out of nearly 4000 riders.
This year, I raised a bit over $3300, but am hoping to raise a combined
total of about this much, between the MS150 and the TRAM

When I got to Hinckley, I drank some fluids and ate some grapes and high-tailed it to the shower truck to get out of my stinky icky clothes.

The shower truck. One of my
favorite places.

At our team tent, we all ate a ton of food and drank a range of beverages, including free beer from our sometimes-teammate Brett, who is one of the owners of Clockwerks Brewery (downtown Minneapolis, check them out). We chip in for food, and we get some donations, too. Two of our riders wives, who aren't into cycling, purchased, made, and hauled up all of the food and beverages and took care of us. They do this every year, and this is a huge benefit of being on a team. We had some prizes to give away that Andy and I scrounged up from some donors, and then took a team photo. Unfortunately, not everyone was in the photo, but we got close!

At about 7 p.m., my throat was sore and my head was congested, so I made sure that I was drinking way more water than beer. I also realized, when I crawled into my tent that I had these weird patches on my semi-swollen ankles. I had this before (that one hot year, I had it on my leg). While it isn't technically heat rash, I've learned, I think it is due to the hot sun.

I didn't sleep all that great Saturday night due to whatever was happening with my throat and sinuses, so it took a little extra motivation to get out of the tent on Sunday morning. It was gray, but dry, and the forecast for the various cities suggested that we might be able to get to the finish line without getting caught in too much rain. 

Famous last words. 

Photo one of our riders took at rest stop 3.

 

Photo from the StarTribune

Hail on the side of the trail

Maybe we were relatively lucky?

It all started off fine. Grey, dry, then a few sprinkles, with lightning in the distance. Then it was a little drizzly and you could see the edge of the storm front clearly delineated. Then, it was pouring and there were huge gusts of wind from the west, making it hard to stay upright on the bike and to keep the bike from unexpectedly veering about five feet over into traffic. The temperature dropped about 25 degrees, into the high 40s. 

Some guy on a vehicle with flashing lights (not sure of his official job), directed my friend Matt and me into an area where people were taking shelter in some sort of warehouse, and initially said, "it's your call." We rode in, decided that we'd rather keep moving because we were cold, tried to get back on the road and were told that it was no longer an option and that we had to stay in the building.

While there, we got news from other riders that they were being directed to convenience stores, church basements, etc., and other sought their own shelter at restaurants when the saw the storm coming through (unbelievably, a few of our riders never got caught in the rain, due to the timing of their pancake orders).

We were released in about 30-40 minutes, freezing cold, and rode the 3 miles to the the third rest stop, which is where lunch is served. We huddled, shivering, as we shoved pizza in our faces as quickly as possible, and I declared that I was getting on my bike immediately because I was so cold. I'm grateful that Matt decided to all at once eat all the food that was still in his hands and join me.

We rode fast and warmed up after about 15 miles or so, although I gave myself some weird muscle aches that are still lingering (although Jane the chiropractor did some nice massaging things this a.m. to the brick-like chunks), probably due to having freezing cold legs while riding. The temperatures rose again and it was pretty much a dry ride all the way to the finish. Again, I am thankful that Matt was willing to slow down for me a bit in my dreaded Wyoming-to-Hugo stretch, so that we could ride together and distract each other with our typically mindless banter (discussing the appropriate uses of fist pumps vs. fist bumps). I am always tired at that stretch, but I think it is mostly a mental thing based on some past unpleasantness that I need to get over. I'm not sure how fast or slow we were going because I also inadvertently left my Garmin at home, but I am sure that was the slowest part of our two-day ride.

After the storm, the crowds of riders really thinned out, because so many people opted not to finish and either took the MS vehicles back to the finish, or called family members to come pick them up. So, at the finish line, I was watching our riders come in, and trying to figure out who was still out there and who had stopped riding. Our last riders crossed the finish line right before it started raining again. It was great to see, in particular, some of the brand new riders cross the finish line, so proud of themselves. I'm amazed that a huge percentage of new riders, whether they finished the ride or not, already signed up for next year. We've had hot windy conditions and we've had cold rainy conditions, but never on the same weekend. 

A few of them said they signed up because they loved being part of the experience, and felt so supported by our team (yay! we did our job!), others who didn't finish said that they need to finish it.

And I guess that's why I keep doing this ride and the MS TRAM. We need to finish it. 

The Upper Midwest Chapter of the MS Society raises about $3M through the MS150 bike ride. Nationally, the BikeMS events raise over $83M, and are collectively the biggest bike "event" in the country. With this multi-pronged approach of funding research, advocacy, and services, I am really proud to be part of this effort.

Hydrational Priorities

Despite the fact that I'm turning into an old lady who retains some water in her lower calves and ankles, allowing my socks to clearly mark their territory, it appears that I'll need to stay very hydrated this weekend.

I'm thankful that if it rains, it will be warm, and that the wind most likely will be strongest on the day that we're riding mostly on a trail. 

The MS150 always offers some surprises, however, so we'll see what's in store for us this year! I'm packing my bags and tying up loose ends with the team. I haven't ridden my bike for a couple of days, so I'm really looking forward to pedaling with 3,999 other people for a good cause!

I'm equally excited about the prospect that, once this weekend is over, I now will get to think about and plan for the 5-day MS TRAM ride in July. I heart summer.

Thanks for all of the support, friends! 

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieTRAM2017

Cabbage with a college education

While I found a quote by Twain about cauliflower, it was more difficult to find out what the result might be of my eating an entire, grilled head of cauliflower with a very generous coating of crushed red pepper for dinner. Stay tuned, gentle reader.

Actually, no. Scratch that.

I had intended to make sure my tent is all in order for camping Friday and Saturday nights for the MS150, but worked a little later than I had originally hoped, to take care of some things before I take Friday off to head to Duluth, and decided that eating supper and doing laundry was more of a priority.

I'm looking forward to the ride. It looks like it might be toasty, with a bit of wind. We shall see. It's always an adventure! Thanks for all the words of support!

Wash your spirit clean

My intent wasn't to follow John Muir's instructions - I just wanted to go to the woods to get the dog in nature and see some pine trees and my parents. But I did note to my husband that being up at the cabin instantly removes all stress and worries from my brain.

I took the dog and a rotating cast of humans for three long walks, ate some delicious Wisconsin Fish Fry perch, went for a pontoon boat ride, saw a range of wildlife (tiny baby fawn!) while biking on a new designated bike route on my new bike and a bunch of bluegill while standing on the dock, and ate a lot of dairy from America's Dairyland.

It was a good recalibration for a big push at work this week before doing the MS150 next weekend.

I took a picture of Dan's fat bike Saturday morning because there were cute little birds on the handlebars and seat. I was picturing some sort of Disney song number starting up.

Work it.

After last Sunday's inaugural ride on my new carbon road bike, I went the next day with my team on a mostly all-day casual ride out of downtown St. Paul on the Vento and Gateway Trails to Stillwater for lunch and back via the Brown's Creek Trail, ending at a brewery for a beverage and additional calories from a yummo food truck. Definitely the ratio of food to energy expended was high, but also delicious. I am proud of my planning for that ride in terms of anticipating when people would need snacks and water and what their average speed would be.

The ride was kind of chilly, windy, and wet. (When the skies opened up for a bit, one of my fellow riders said, "NOW this feels like we're doing one of Maggie's bike rides!") I took my old bike and didn't worry about the chain and related bits getting all gunky, since my bike was scheduled to get a new chain and cassette on Tuesday. I suggested that they replace the cables at the same time, which eventually led to the discovery that my front hub was basically destroyed, so I got a new front wheel, too.

The bike shop bill was equivalent to one of my lease payments on my el cheapo Civic. Considering I've ridden my bike more miles than I've driven over the past couple of months, and I put gas in my car only about once every six weeks, that all seems fair. (Although it does raise the question of whether we really need two cars.)

It seems I am working a bike.

96-down is a 7-letter word. Mahoney. 7 letters. Done.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MaggieTRAM2017