This Matters

Since my last post, I did my first two Thursday night ride of the season. This is my 3rd year doing Thursday night FTW rides from my local bike shop, organized by my now-friend Laura, and they are an absolute joy! They are about 20-25 miles, end at either my local taproom or the outdoor restaurant in the park at Minnehaha Falls, and are rides where no one is left behind. We have split into 2-3 groups the past two weeks, because people are at different fitness levels starting off the season, which is good so that no one feels like they are holding up a large group of people. The first week, I helped the middle group find their way back home, and the second week, I led the slow group back. I would have been okay with pushing myself more, but if needed, I'm happy to help make sure we create a welcoming environment and not accidentally lose anyone.

Last weekend, on a bit of a whim, I decided to do the BikeMS Twin Cities Ride. I paid the minimum fundraising amount and, did the longer route (45 miles), and rode to the start and finish (another 12 round trip). Then, the next day, my friend Matt and I rode about 35 miles. Those were my biggest back-to-back days since 2022, and it felt pretty good! 

Sweaty Selfie at the end of the
BikeMS Twin Cities Ride - - over an
empanada

I haven't ridden on
Shingle Creek Parkway for years and,
well, it is okay :-)

Our BikeMS team is named in honor/support of my friend Stacy,
whose dad and daughter also did the Twin Cities ride that day

We've had some good rain lately (fingers crossed we 
don't have a drought again this summer), so Matt
and I took photos of the falls

Yesterday, I walked the dog for quite some time and did yard work (not totally comfy on my hip), but then today I rode about 63 miles (my new, longest ride since 2022). I'm a little sore and I was kind of hungry at the end, but otherwise feel pretty good. 

Photo from the middle of the week, on my walk with Haley
along the MN River - - the high river accentuates the
work of some busy beavers

Lilies of the valley, which always remind me of my
maternal grandmother - - in a little pitcher of hers that she 
gave me before she died - - I love them and miss that sweet grandma

Thankfully, Matt and I didn't ride exactly the same
route to/from the turnaound point near Stillwater

All this riding makes me feel pretty optimistic about the July week-long BikeMS ride. 

In the middle of the past week, I connected via Zoom with a woman I've known nearly the entire almost 20 years that I've worked in public health, and who I learned about a dozen years ago has MS. She is one of the people I know who has a version of MS that is pretty progressive/less forgiving. She is having some big physical challenges, and we talked about the MS Society and my fundraising efforts. She confirmed my beliefs that the MS Society really is doing pretty cutting edge research and that its advocacy efforts are making a difference, too. So, thank you to all of  you who have donated over the years.

Last year at this time, when I was truly injured and decided I needed to see a doctor ASAP, I was "walking" my parents dog on my favorite trail when my mom was having knee replacement surgery. I saw the largest bear and was grateful that it didn't want to try to attack me. My stepdad just recently sent me video footage of a bear on their patio below their deck from earlier this week and then said that today they saw a bear - - near where I was walking last year - - that is easily 2x bigger than the bear that was at their house. I am wondering if it was that same huge bear from last year! The trail it is walking on is an old logging road, to give you a sense of its size. 

In my last post, I failed to mention that I took a vacation day with some friends on a Friday and just hung out eating and drinking around assorted patios on town and it was an amazing day.

Kristin, Susan, and me - early in our adventure!

So, I think I mentioned that my fundraising goal is $5,000 this year - partly because that is challenging, yet achievable, but also because if I hit that goal, I can do another BikeMS ride anywhere in the country without raising additional money - - like the San Francisco/Wine Country ride I did in 2019. I'd like to keep that option open, if it is feasible. https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/Go-Maggie-Go 

I have decided that I also need a biking goal for this year other than, "better than last year," which I've essentially met. So, I'm mulling that over...

Middle Distance Ru... Cycler

Today was a beautiful day in Minneapolis, and a great day for biking. My friend Matt and I rode to Grey Cloud Island. It was around 60 degrees when we started, around 70 degrees when we finished, sunny, and with a slight headwind for just a bit at the end (of course, but it wasn't bad). 

I keep a spreadsheet each year of each of my rides, including information about where I rode, who with, and which bike I rode - - because I need a hobby, I guess. Anyhow, it turns out that given last year's injury, this was the longest bike ride I've done since 2022 and the first time I've been to Grey Cloud since 2022. Because it is such a nice rural route, I rode to Grey Cloud seven times in 2020, when I was trying to stay away from people (although we saw several people doing a similar route today) and kill lots of time. That was my biggest Grey Cloud year to date.

It is weird to think that I didn't ride this distance even once last year, when in normal years this has been an average cycling day (a little over 50 miles). When pondering that, it made me think of this nice song, Middle Distance Runner, by Sea Wolf, although it isn't really about running, either. (Click on the arrow to hear it.)

I didn't do a good job of taking photos, which is too bad - - Grey Cloud Island is pretty. And we purposely rode through the winding trail down through Battle Creek Park, just because it is so scenic. My photos are kind of meh. But the trail crosses back and forth over the creek, where there are a series of human-reinforced waterfalls. (Meaning humans constructed some erosion-proof waterfalls, versus humans standing in the waterfalls.)

I was taking these photos for my friend's dad, who apparently thinks I haven't been taking enough pictures on my rides and sharing them. These crappy photos are for you, Mark Hochhauser! 

Anyhow, when I do the weeklong Ride Across Minnesota in July, we'll be averaging about 60 miles per day, so I will need to start getting some more rides in like today, and do them back-to-back. My hip was a little unhappy for part of the ride today, as was my other knee which I tweaked somehow this week, and my butt was reminded of the fact that I prefer to ride with no padded shorts - just regular shorts. 

Just like this was about 1/5 of the bike ride, it looks like I'm at about 1/5 of my fundraising goal. Better get on that! I've been aiming for $5,000 because I think I'd like to do a ride in another state next year, and, like how it worked for me in 2019 when I rode in the Bay Area, you only have to fundraise for one of the two events, if you bring in $5,000. Plus, of course, the MS Society does great work and is a trusted resource for friends of mine with MS. https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/Go-Maggie-Go

I'm pretty excited that the Thursday night FTW rides that my friend Laura leads are starting up again - - that's always a good way to get out there and move, and with fun people.