ice ice everywhere and not a drop to drink

Ice was everywhere! We were planning to do a bunch of biking in Duluth, but the trails we would have used were either covered in rotten snow or flooded.

I don't like riding on rotten snow, it isn't predictable, and with narrow tires... pththth

This breakwater thingy looked more like a half sunk boat than a half-sunk building.  

When we arrived in Duluth we stopped at the rest area/visitor center at the top of the bluff, to use the facility's pamphlet racks.  

It was also mind-blowingly bright out, notice the squinting. Also very clear.

The drive up was great.  The roads were clear and the winds minimal. 

Interestingly, all the pamphlets about Duluth and Superior were hidden under the counter in the visitor center. So we had to ask for every piece of paper.  But if we had wanted information about the Twin Cities or Madeline Island it was everywhere, even in my raccoon wounds.

Duluth sounds really cool.  Like a thousand chandeliers being smashed gently.  Some of those slabs are as big as volkswagens, and some no bigger than my thumb.  wham wham wham!

Doh!

So now it has been more than a week since we got back from Duluth and the post andpictures is growing to epic proportions.  Homer will feel crowded.

Returning I didn't have to throw a spear or string a bow. But there was a mountain of poo in the cat's box.

Heading North

So we're heading up to Duluth this weekend.  I've driven through Duluth hundreds of times (I figure for 18 years I made the trip to the UP a dozen times a year, and a few times a year every year since) and yet I've never spent any significant time there.

So Shannon and I are going to spend the weekend seeing what the other twin cities have to offer. 

Today we made macaroons.  Not exactly a diet friendly food, but the coconut is a reduced fat coconut... so we are being penny wise.

They were surprisingly easy to make, and the finely grated coconut supple.  

The spring loaded ice cream scooper really helped to make them regular.  I like kitchen gadgets with fiber.

They didn't take on a very dark brown on the edges, but the bottoms were perfect, so we didn't complain too loudly.  

Tomorrow we bike!

Seems I can't spell for beans, or four beans. But that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.  

So yesterday I replaced the battery in someone's polar watch.  And we got to talking about biking.  He was going to spinning classes at Lifetime, and I've been biking outdoors.  He preferred the quantifiable workout, while I prefer the adventure of not dying in the snow.  

We got more miles in last winter because there was so much less snow last winter.  Inches wise I think there was more last year but in a shorter amount of time.  This year we have been more consistently riding though.  I'll blame tires with aggressive tread.

What I didn't like was that my workout is less of a workout to him because I don't sit in a room counting wattage.  That just doesn't sound like fun to me.

To the pain

"So that every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, 'Dear God! What is that THING,' will echo in your perfect ears.  That is what to the pain means. "

Great googly moogly, why are people buying this stuff.  Though that it is on clearance on a clearance website... maybe sales are not what Kellogg had in mind.

Myself I like biking in an old pair of corduroy pants.  Mostly because I don't care if they get grease on them.  I don't have some retro vendetta, I just like the stretchiness of a pair of cords.  When the weather is entirely too warm for such pants then obviously I switch to shorts.

Picture "courtesy" of Nashbar.com

Quote courtesy of The Princess Bride copyright 1987

A look to the future

We went biking today.  The trail was still snowy on the Minneapolis side of the river, so it was slow going.  Which is to say, the bikes had minds of their own.  1 3/8 inch tires with mountain treads don't slip around as much as the slicks we used last year.  But a narrow tire on rotten snow cuts through (and goes side to side) pretty much no matter what.  

We've biked on ice and hard snow without any trouble.  But when it gets warm like it has been the snow crumbles underneath.  

I've been saving for a very short amount of time, for my next bike.  And the second new bike I'll have bought.  Its going to set me back more than all the others combined, and at this rate take most of the year to save for.  BUT!  The Pugsley is a wicked cool bike.  

I took one for a spin at Hiawatha Cyclery last summer, and I was giggling.  I'll be the first to admit I giggle easily.  The Pugsley just seems to be a mountain bike to end all mountain bikes.

 

Pizza

We made pizza tonight.  Well, I grated cheese and distracted the cat.  It was awesome.

Anyone who hasn't had pizza with gorgonzola has been missing out.  It is so much more distinctive a flavor than just plain ol' moz.  We have been getting some excellent Mozzarella at the Co-op across the street though.  Those crazy cheeseheads are good for two things at least: micro-brews and cheese.

While typing this, Crazy/Beautiful has been playing in the background.  Here's to cable.  Not worth watching, but better than a blank wall, and less interesting than a train-wreck.  I should mention I hate voiceover denouement.

But the massive number of cameras in the movie was interesting.  I think the best part of the movie was the bellows camera.