I didn't do any bike rides in Northern Wisconsin, when I wrote my last post from the couch at my mom and stepdad's house. But Dan and I took our dog and my parents' dog for a nice (albeit buggy) walk in the woods before we headed to a beer tasting festival. This is my favorite place to walk.
Since then I've been prepping for the 5-day BikeMS TRAM ride by trying to ride as many days as possible, even if I'm only riding for 15 miles. My biking friend, Laura, who lives 0.5 miles from me has been a willing 7:15 a.m. companion on several weekdays. If it were up to her, I think we'd leave earlier, but I like coffee and breakfast, and am a putter-er.
Last weekend, I rode with my friend Steve, who will be doing the TRAM with me, up to the Coon Rapids Dam, where I haven't ridden for quite some time. I think I may have skipped it entirely last year. Anyhow, they have a great new visitor center area by a kid's splash pad, which means that there are good bathrooms and water now. On the way home, we rode through the brand new Upper Harbor Terminal park in North Minneapolis, which was pretty cool. We spent some time checking out the swings.
My back and hip have been bothering me, so instead of riding the next day, I did a lot of yard work, including spending a lot of time on my hands and knees cleaning all the weeds out of these bricks. I love how fresh and clean it is now. However, this did not at all help my back and hip.
I distracted myself from the discomfort by obsessing over Mr, Tiny, who I was crayfish-sitting while his family was out of town. I love this little guy. He is oddly captivating!
This weekend, Dan and I packed up the camper and dog and went to Pike Bay, on the south side of Cass Lake. Friday afternoon and evening were great.
I did a 54-mile ride on Saturday, the first 39 of which were rain-free, and the last 15 were more refreshing than anything.
The campground essentially connects to the Heartland Trail, which is the first railway that they converted into a bike path after our Legacy Amendment passed, dedicating money to trails and the arts. Last year, I did an out-and-back on that trail and wasn't as interested in that this year.
So, I tossed the dice and rode west on a county highway to the Paul Bunyan trail. The county highway, in Cass County, had bumps every fifteen feet, where they purposely had gaps in the pavement (probably for expansion and contraction), yet also had a small, but paved, shoulder. I had lots of blinky lights on the front and back of my bike (and me). The road had rolling hills and a lot of beautiful scenery. It felt like a road we'd ride on for the TRAM. It got nice and smooth when I crossed the county line into Hubbard County, but a short time after that, the shoulder disappeared. Thankfully I was not too far from Nary, where I picked up the bike trail. Also, there was not much traffic and each car/pickup that passed me went fully into the other lane, which I greatly appreciated.
So, I took the Paul Bunyan trail down to Walker, got on the Heartland Trail, and rode back to the campsite. It was harder than it should have been due to my back and hip (which woke me up in the middle of the night the night before), but I stopped a lot to stretch, played music and sang along to it, looked at the scenery, and tried to be grateful to be on a bike and hurting versus not being able to ride at all.
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| Nary, MN - apparently there are vending machines! |
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| From the Paul Bunyan Trail |
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| Proof that I was there, and didn't just pull that off the Internet |
After getting back to camp, wading in the lake with the dog, putting on dry clothes, and waiting out the next wave of rain, I made a PT appointment, two massage appointments, and mapped out my PT and stretching plan for the week (including some quality time tonight). I'll figure it all out before the ride. At least I'll figure it out enough. I saw this little critter. He made me smile.
So, I have a month before the bike ride and some more riding to do, some body management things to do, but it is all coming together!
