Roller Coasters, Tone Loc, and Potato Chips

A few observations from today's ride:

One

I believe today is the first day I've ridden in Savage, and certainly is the first day I've ridden in Shakopee. There are some nice trails along the Minnesota River in those parts that are not heavily traveled.

Two

Valley Fair amusement park isn't hard to get to via bike.

Three

Seeing the Wild Thing roller coaster got me thinking of Tone Loc. I prefer his Funky Cold Medina over Wild Thing.

Four

It is not advisable to drink a lot of tea before a bike ride. It is advisable to get snacks at coffee shops rather than eating the same ol' bars that are carried in one's bike bag.

Five

On a related note, peeing behind a park map display board like this may help mute the sound of urination.

Six

On another related note, when coffee shops sell apples or potato chips, go for the potato chips.

Seven

Carrying Benadryl can be beneficial for others, not just for one's self.

Eight

I forgot what eight is for.

Not quite biking the talk

Since my last post, I spent a week in the most bike-unfriendly of places: Atlanta. Then, I was home for a few days and a few short bike rides before heading to Chicago for a quick cousin rendezvous.

My Cleveland-based most bikey cousins, husband, and I talked about bikes and bike rides, looked in bike shops, observed Chicago cycling and suggested ways in which our new-to-Chicago cousin might be able to go for decent, safe, and non-congested rides. We talked about biking a lot, while walking a ton and eating almost as much. I'm looking forward to getting back to easily-bikeable Minnesota.

Here are some photos from our architectural boat tour, our walk through the Lincoln Park Zoo, and a scene we thought was representative of America's preference for cars.

Carcass leathers and more stinging fun

Today, after working a good chunk of the day, I met Matt for a bike ride. We went from Mendota, through South St. Paul and Kaposia, to Inver Grove Heights, which I have a terrible time trying to pronounce, for some reason.

I was introduced to some scenic areas that I'll need to revisit, once I figure out where we were. One of those spots was a ride out on an old swing bridge (to nowhere, not anymore).

Riding along the Mississippi can be a little pungent due to dead, rotting fish and exposed mud. When riding, we saw some dessicated roadkill. About 5 miles later, I told Matt that I liked the route, and added, "The thing about this route, though, is that it smells like rotting animals." Matt pointed out that he earlier had run "over the head of an animal." It could've been a cat.

After we went our separate ways, I got stung by something that likely was on or near my seat. It necessitated this text to uber-neighbor Jen:

"Any chance you are home and can feed piper? Delayed on bike due to f!*#@ing bee sting in the a$$." I edited that for you, gentle readers.

Perhaps I should order a bee jersey like below, so that maybe whatever hymenoptera is obsessed with me will consider me friendly. But now I must rest. The Benadryl is in full effect.

Livin' la Vida Loca

My vida loca is a little different than Ricky Martin's. Just a little.

After the TRAM, my sister and her family arrived for a few days of fun before they headed to Wisconsin to see the rest of our family. Tom and I rode our bikes around Minneapolis, crossing the Mississippi four times (my niece: "Maggie loves her rivers"), and out to Excelsior, where we met Molly and my nieces for lunch and an afternoon of swimming. This was the day of 2015 that truly felt like summer. What a fun day.

They then went to Wisconsin and I went back to work.

To make a long story short, I then ended up rejoining them in Wisconsin after my dad unexpectedly had a serious health issue. I normally am the queen of TMI, especially on this thought-processing blog. However, I'm not going to go into details since it isn't my story to tell.

My dad did ask me when I am going to take a true vacation, rather than a biking vacation. While my cycling adventures help my physical and mental health, it did get me thinking about the amazing trips Dan and I took with my parents to Peru in 2006 and Egypt in 2009.

Peru 2006

Egypt 2009

I am hopeful that we'll be able to go on another big adventure with my parents again. In the meantime, I'm going to keep on getting all the nice health benefits from cycling, and hopefully will take this reminder to heart that I need to be better able to separate life's wheat from the chaff.

Not me.

Moving Meditation

I look forward to the 5-day TRAM each year because it calms my mind. This year was a little more logistically laden, but another great week of riding was tucked in there.

Monday, 7/20: I left late in the afternoon and drove 5 hours to my parents' cabin, which my stepdad was referring to as "Grampa Biscuit's Kennel Service." We ate bean burritos.

From my parents' dock on Deerskin Lake

Tuesday, 7/21: This was a free bonus day, since I headed to the cabin on Monday. Grampa Biscuit very kindly let me off the hook from helping out around the cabin. I rode and stopped at "Fresh Eggs LLC" and learned about their eggs, chickens, turkeys, and other poultry/fowl, and ended up at this spot, where I saw a cute little toad (photos are in my online album).

Along Carpenter Lake Road

Piper and I walked past my most favorite field in the whole world while taking our traditional walk to the wildflower-covered river bank. I then went for a quick swim at the cabin, and spied on bluegills, sunnies, and perch from the dock. I experienced an unusual overwhelmed feeling, based on gratitude for my family, friends, and good life. With the eggs I bought, we made breakfast burritos with beans.

Wednesday, 7/22: I left Piper with Grampa Biscuit, drove 5 hours back home, ran errands, did necessary things around the house.

Thursday, 7/23: Finished packing. Dan and I picked up Steve and drove to Proctor. We set up our tents. I ate a bean burrito (!) and sweet corn as we watched the Chmielewski Funtime Band (super old former state representative on accordian) play some polka hits.

The Chmielewskis have some serious MN accents.

Friday, 7/24: Rode 83 miles to Biwabik. It rained for the first 15 miles, but otherwise, it was pretty easy. Someone from another team complimented me on my calf muscles while riding (thanks, Dad, for the calf genes). We had some good pizza for dinner, and then watched the local musicians in the park. I slept with an icy hot patch on my back.

I made Dan and Steve pose with me by the big ol' Moose

Saturday, 7/25: Rode 42 miles on the gentle but continuous hills of the Mesabi Trail to Hibbing with an icy hot patch on my back. I lingered at the rest stops to stretch and waited for Dan and Steve so that we could ride the final 7 miles together. I was glad to have them with me when I got stung by a bee and as I rode doped up on benadryl, hoping that I wouldn't need to whip out my epi pen. We ate at a weird Grandma's (as in Grandma's of Duluth) restaurant within a hotel with Matt, Ron, and Marina, and then watched the regional musicians and the MS team song competition at the park.

Mine lake near Hibbing

Sunday, 7/26: Rode 85 miles to Spirit Mountain with another icy hot patch on my back. It was quite mystically foggy and visibility was very limited for nearly 20 miles. It is wet, riding through a cloud! I saw tons of funnel-shaped spider webs in the woods along the side of the road. After the fog burned off, I rode on a newly tarred/graveled road and didn't see anyone for many miles. I almost fell off my bike when someone finally came up behind me and said, "on your left." I was in a total trance, with a completely empty brain, looking at horses and hay bales. I think my calm state, and perhaps low blood sugar, is what caused me to be confused and say "on your back" instead of "on your left" when passing a lady. We laughed hard.

As I was pulling into the 5th rest stop at mile 63, I got stung by another bee. I waited for a long time at the rest stop, with ice and benadryl, before wrapping up the ride. The last 22 miles were really tough for me. I was very wiped out, hot, and sleepy when I ended up at Spirit Mountain. We took a shuttle to Canal Park, where I had a good dinner.

I can't complain about my back, bees, heat, or exhaustion. I talked to many riders on Sunday who have MS and are very affected by the heat. Some of the riders with MS have canes strapped on their bikes to help them walk to the food and restrooms once they stop at the rest areas.

View from our tent at Spirit Mountain

Monday, 7/27: Short 38-mile ride into Duluth, through Canal Park, and along Lake Superior to Two Harbors. Beautiful. Hot. And icy hot. We went to museums in an old train depot and lighthouse, toured Castle Danger brewery, and had dinner with Matt, Ron, Marina, and the very nice Two Harbors resident, Clark. We saw a very drunk TRAM rider, which made me cringe. Host cities don't want drunkards visiting.

Monday morning view from our tent at Spirit Mountain. My bike was covered in slugs.

On the breakwater at Two Harbors. Remarkably, it didn't cool off.

Tuesday, 7/28: Another short, but pretty hilly icy hotty ride back to Proctor. We left early in the morning to beat the forecasted thunderstorms (70% chance with 0.35-inches of rain). I got sprinkled on for a while, but that was it. We rode on Skyline Parkway for quite some time, which had great views. Again, I didn't see anyone in front of, or behind me, for many, many miles, which made me question whether I'd gotten lost. Some of the riders with MS were having difficulties with the hills, but were very determined to finish the ride.

Our four Stacy's Cycling Supporters riders at the finish.

Dan, Steve, and I checked into an interesting hotel in Superior, went to Canal Park for scenic beer, and ate dinner at the Thirsty Pagan.

From the little Fitger's outpost in Canal Park.

Wednesday, 7/29: I drove Dan and Steve to Proctor so that they could ride their bikes in the gale force winds to Grand Rapids (90+ miles) for their annual golf weekend. I then drove back through Duluth and Superior to the cabin, where I learned that Grampa Biscuit had started calling Piper "Biscuit," and that she came when ever he called her by that name. 

Thursday, 7/30: I drove back home, did tons of laundry, aired out camping gear, unpacked, downloaded my photos, and tried to get Piper back on schedule (and used to not having treats quite so frequently). I had hoped to get my bike cleaned up (the handlebar tape isn't in the right spot, the chain needs to be cleaned and lubed, etc.), but that hasn't happened yet.

It was a most peaceful journey. This year, I raised over $5,000 between the two rides and my team raised about $38,000. Everyone's generosity is really amazing - - the MS Society raised about $3,564,000 between these two rides combined.