Well, hi there. The more-than-two-month hiatus I've taken from posting means that there's too much that's been going on for me to get lazy and rely on the too frequently lately, lazy book report-style "blog" post.
I can say this:
- Shortly after my last post, I took two days off work and went on two of the hottest bike rides I have ever taken.
 |
| One of those days, I rode to the wildlife refuge and went for a hike. |
- This year, although my bike rides haven't been as long as in years past, I've been riding more frequently. So far (knock on wood that I will keep riding one bike or another through the end of the year), I've ridden more miles than I did last year or the year before. It seems unlikely that I'll get another 700 miles in and tie my mileage for 2016 or 2017, which were remarkably similar.
- This year, I did a lot of rides to Grey Cloud Island, and got to see the farm fields as they thawed, as they were being planted, as the corn and soybeans sprouted, as the corn reached knee high (before the 4th of July), as the plants were harvested, and as the fields were turned over. It was kind of nice to see the progression over the season(s).
- I also did a lot of early weekday morning riding over the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. One day I purposely shifted my route to see the Mississippi in its fall glory.
 |
| Looking upstream, from near my house. |
- I got some rides and long walks in just before we found out snow was coming. I'm trying to find beauty in my surroundings, despite the fact that there are no leaves on the trees and it has been cold and windy. I'm trying to get my head in the right place before winter. Living in the north during the COVID era is going to be hard to navigate because you can't just sit on a patio with people (or not for as long or as comfortably, anyhow!).
 |
| Downtown from by my house, the night before we got 8 inches of snow. |
- In mid-October, just before it snowed, my good friend and riding partner for seven years - Matt - was in town to pick up some things. We went on a masked-up ride on fat tire bikes on gravel roads so we could ride side by side and then had a cold beer on a cold patio in the cold rain. It was my favorite ride of 2020. It was so not normal, yet so normal.
- Speaking of "not normal," but kind of normal, Dan and I went to Iowa the weekend after the snow, and went to an outdoor concert, with our seats distanced from everyone else and masks required in common areas. Live music! What a treat. Since the temps were in the mid-30s, having a face covering was kind of nice.
- More speaking of "not normal," I have spent a lot of time lately making stupid videos as a way to entertain myself and maybe a couple other people - including pretend workout videos. I won't share them here because they are too dumb, but here's a sneak peak of the type of other videos I have been randomly sending people.
- The snow has melted and it has been windy. I have been riding in the cold (like, wind chills in the 20s) dark before work and am pretty much the only person out there! It is peaceful. I rode this weekend and even though it was a little warmer, I think the wind discouraged people. That's fine; more space for me!
 |
| This big ol' willow came down overnight. It will be interesting to see how the landscape - and the park board - respond. |
- The second half of 2019 was a bad year for me, personally, and I kept on thinking, "I cannot wait for this year to be over." And then I realized (I think my sister pointed it out to me) that the change of a calendar page doesn't magically wipe the slate clean. In fact, the first day of 2020 itself was a bit of a whopper (not in a good way). I think things will get better for most people in 2021, but am worried about everyone being so focused on the stinkiness of 2020, that they'll have unreasonable expectations for January.
- Here's hoping that the rest of the fall will be nice and that the winter will be conducive to outdoor activities, including snowshoeing and walking with friends.
I didn't manage to fully escape my book report mode. I guess this is more the Cliff's Notes!
