The enchiladas I was eating that Jim mentioned were fantastic, but too little too late.

I am pretty sure I hit a wall because 1. I was underdressed for the weather 2. caloric intake was completely eclipsed by hours on the trail.

Breakfast was 1 1/2 scrambled eggs with 1/2 oz feta cheese melted into it, a small muffin and 4 shots of espresso with 4 oz soy milk.  

What I wore was the medium weight long underwear and a pair of knee high smartwool socks, a wicking shirt a long sleeve wicking shirt and a rain coat.  for gloves I wore a pair of synthetic gloves I got from Team Ortho.

I should have worn the heavier long underwear.  I should have had a larger breakfast or mid morning snack before heading out.  I should have worn the wool shirt and mittens I was carrying in the pannier sooner. 

We had a great ride though.  I think Jim liked that I had a map of Scandinavia, and I liked that his phone told us where we were.

I think I need to work on taking longer rides.  Depending on the weather I might ride Frenchie next Monday and try to pull another 44 miles.

This post is particularly whiny.  I blame it on The Biggest Loser.  They rode a stationary bike tonight and keep bitching about how hard the seat is etc.

shod in shoes for shlumping through the shnow

So I "accidentally" didn't use all of my vacation time last year (I had reasons for saving a day but that's another story), and took a Saturday off to balance the time out.

Saturday Chester and I went to bike around Lake Harriet.  And I went to the wrong lake.  There wasn't too much confusion since we were car pooling, but we did lunch at Isles Buns and Coffee.  The wind was wicked on the south end of the lake.  And the snow drifts on the lake made it almost completely impassable.  We walked much of the way across.

The folks at Isles make wicked good espresso.  I place the Mocha between Brewberry's and Black Dog.  

Saturday night we went to Let the Right One In.  I don't remember the last movie we liked enough to see 4 times in the theatre.  This one was totally worth seeing four times.

Yesterday we biked to the Town Hall Brewery.

And today we went snowshoeing in Eagan.

Joe Soucheray can eat my socks

Up yours ass hole.

(I will provide no context for this outburst.  I don't want anyone to send him letters.  I don't want anyone to look up his article in the tuesday paper.  I don't want him to profit from increased exposure from excited readers, regardless of their opinion.)

wool socks

yes I when I was wearing socks in Hawaii they were wool.

Nice light Smartwool socks.  Awesome.

In that picture of me: woolens

Signs of Hawaii

I think this sign is trying to tell us not to drive down the dirt road to the southernmost point in the United States.  

Specifically not to offroad, but since the road more or less ends a couple hundred yards from there and what continues are two tracks in the grass what are we to do?

As a side note: Kapu used to be punishable by death in Hawaii.  

This next sign was at the ranger station by an old lava flow in Volcanos National Park.  

And the seals are also out to get you

And so is the lava.

Lake Walk

The lake walk started beyond our hotel and continues down to the lift bridge.  

A nice little jaunt, but still covered in ice and snow in places.  And water the rest of it.  I kept trying to find places to step on the snow and filling my shoes with slush.  Have I mentioned I love wool socks.

Also by the lift bridge is Grandma's.  When I was growing up we would stop there for sandwiches and they were good.  When I was in college, Grandma's opened a location in Fargo, and it was also good.  

But time passes.  And when we went there on this trip the meat was over done and overall blah.  For the same amount of folding money a couple can get 2 beers and 2 sandwiches at Grandma's OR walk to the other end of the Lake Walk and eat in Fitger's brewery pub thing and get 6 beers and two sandwiches that tasted better to begin with.

We have a new place to stop on our way to my Grandmother's cabin.

Look at the big anchor. And then I sneaked another picture of Shannon!