not quite enough for a century

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2583448

Today I got in my longest single day of riding of the year.  Jim and I left from HC and tried to make it to Carver.  It was my whimpy legs that made us turn around.  The trail got less and less plowed the further we went and my excuse is the single speed lacked the gear ratio necessary for the slipping.

So my legs cramped at mile thirty or so, and by mile 40 I was aching, by the time we got to Humboldt I needed to sit down.

A damn fine ride though.

Shannon got to be the knight in shining Jetta and save my sorry ass at Uncommon Grounds.

pub crawl

SO we went on the HC pub crawl.  And there was a high degree of awesome.

not a high degree of warm, but people were interesting and the food and drink were excellent.

I strongly suggest the tulburg.  Some wicked awseome dutch beer.

more as I am sober

Merde

So the Jetta went in for new bearings today.  Dammit.

We decided to take an emergency bike ride.  And that really helped.  We went up Minnehaha to Cedar and picked up a few things from Midwest Mountaineering.  Which was pretty cool, we ran into Kevin.  

Shannon found a nice hat and I found some gloves that will be nice when it gets colder out.  Since the car just needed further repairs, I passed on the gloves for now.

But after perusing the sporting goods store, we went to the Town Hall brewery for lunch.  I had two and a half pints of the house stout, and Shannon had the triple and a stout.  To eat, I had the 7 corners burger since we had just been to 7 corners hardware this morning.  We went there looking for locktite which we found, but I also showed Shannon which drills I liked there.  There are two Mikita and one Milwaukee drills I think would be nice.  One of the Mikita drills is pretty small, and only 2 amps, but it also weighs damn near nothing.  And the other two were much much larger, with the second handle and everything.  The burger though, was awesome.  Shannon had the pumpkin soup and brat special which rivaled the burger.

The stout was smooth without being sweet or heavy.  We'll have to go back.

On our way home, we needed to rest a bit.  Mostly, I was having trouble going in a straight line.  But as we were sitting next to someone's bronzed work boots a couple came pushing their bikes by asking for directions to the Hub.  But what they clearly needed was a patch and a pump.  

I had a pump but sadly couldn't find my patch kit anywhere.  So another rider gave us a glueless patch and we put everything back together.  And I told them where they should be going for their bicycle needs.

A bit cagy

And finally there is water on Frenchie.

Saturday, after work, we went over to Hiawatha Cyclery and picked up water bottle cages and mounting hardware.  For Frenchie we got a bracket that attaches right onto the handlebars, for Si Walter one that attaches where ever you want it.  Shannon now has a cage on the down tube.

So yesterday when we biked the greenway, water was available without stopping.

Also yesterday we set up the tent.

A week ago we bought our first tent.  Till now we have borrowed my sister's dome tent, but it was kinda small.  And a trick to set up in the dark.  So we had been in Thrifty Outfitters and saw a Eureka a frame tent like we had in the boy scouts.

Now back then we all tried to get into the sunrise dome tents because they were bigger and easier to dry out in the morning.  But the Timberline was the fastest set up, and lighter.

I figure a tent that can withstand a troop of boy scouts can withstand us.  And it is huge.  When we set it up behind the apartment it took up a significant corner of the patch of green we have.  Labor day, we will be camping.

Run Away!

We didn't make it to Elysian. A thunderstorm chased us back to the car. But we did get twenty miles in on the Sakatah trail before fleeing.

Shannon has a really good post about our adventures.
http://adventuresinordinary.blogspot.com/

Things that we figured out on this ride were:
1. Weather.com cannot be trusted
2. Food is heavy
3. The thunderstorm is never going the other way

It was a beautiful day though thirty miles east. And we still had a nice day of riding though it was divided between trails.

Frenchie did just get out of the shop again. The new wheel works so much better than the old one it is like comparing apples to hermaphroditic sloths.

Also, our new camera can attach directly onto the handlebars, which is wicked cool. No having to dig out the Ammo box right now.





Here is us in Cannon Falls after our ride.

As the wheel turns

So the old rim and spokes were pretty well shot.  What was suggested was that a new rim get laced onto the old hub and we start fresh.  Shannon picked Frenchie up from the shop today, and I think it looks pretty good.

So tomorrow we will bike from Faribault to however far we feel like.  If we make it to Mankato perhaps we'll terrorize the folks we know in Upper North.  We'll at least go as far as Elysian, cuz I mean really.  It begs for slap styx comedy.

pictures to follow.

Longest day of the year

No, I did not mean the Summer Solstice.  That party has been and gone.I mean the longest day of riding I have had yet this year.  It was a store ride from Hiawatha Cyclery.  We went around Lake Pepin, clocking 72.37 miles. Longer than my previous longest day by almost a factor of 2.   I would have needed another 8 miles.  I set a new top speed on Frenchie at 38.6 miles per hour. It was a nice sized group of 11 people.  I was happy to be able to keep up with everyone else.

The morning started off humid and cool.  But as the clouds and fog burned off it turned into a beautiful sunny day.

We stopped at the Smiling Pelican.  The Cherry Popper I had was about five minutes from the oven.  A buttery sweetbread with cherries in the middle.  

We stopped in Wabasha for lunch at the Eagle's Nest.  I thought we were heading to Austria, but appreciated not have to ride through the Alps.

It's Jim!

the refuge

Frenchie being a good bike.

Everyone in Lake City cooling off in the shade.  I'm pretty sure the population is more than 11.  It was all of our group hanging out at this time.

I think it is time to figure out the water problem.

the Other

Shannon picked up Frenchie, and dropped him off at Hiawatha Cyclery to be reshod.

But she left Sir Walter with me so I could still bike home.  Which was awesome.

that bike feels WEIRD.

obviously, someone else's bike is going to be set up the way they are going to want it (And my preference in Frenchie is rather bizarre).  But the bike felt completely different.

I think Shannon should get a new bike first.  Handsome as Sir Walter might be...WEIRD!

mwa-ja-ja-ja *waves arms*

There is something wrong with Frenchie

I've been riding my trusty french bike for so long I think I don't notice how quirky it really is.

Shannon thinks it is squirrly. She hasn't used the word squirrely, but the handleing is kinda...*waves arms.*

Tonight I test-rode a Long Haul Trucker.  And it was not squirrely.  When I turned, it turned; when I went straight it went straight.  Which leads me to two conclusions:

1. The Peugeot is sick

2. A LHT is sick (as in cool)

3. The cat has found catnip and is very clingy.

perhaps a new bike is somewhere in the future.  But I have new questions.

I have been using 27in tires and like the larger wheel, maybe, should I try out another bike with 27in tires and see if I like them better than the 26in tires I rode today.  

What about the Pugsley I test rode last year?  I seemed to be pretty gaga for that too.  what the hell, am I just excited to buy something new?

How am I going to come up with the extra thousand dollars.

The difference in size of wheel might be enough so I don't feel like I am buying a modernized replica of what I already have, or like Jim said in the shop: "you could make it [Frenchie] a single speed." tempting.

The trouble with me buying an expensive mountain bike is: I don't mountain bike.  winter commuting by bike might be just as easy with Nokians. (I dunno, but thats what I hear).

1.???

2. Profit!

3. buy bike