Sun. 4/27/08

Back by unpopular demand...my blog! Apparently, my blog looks alot like a "spam blog" to some automated bots, cause I was out of commission for several days. With a couple of well-placed emails, I got my blog back without too much lost data (some of my maps are missing, I'm still checking on this).

Anyway, on Sunday I had a nice 70 mile ride from my house to Chatfield, then on to Racine and then Stewartville. Temps were in the low 50s, so I had to put on several layers. I felt nice and warm the whole ride. Winds were out of the WSW at around 10 to 15 mph, so the first half of the ride was head or head-cross. The last stretch was nice tail or tail-cross, so I picked up the average speed on the second half.

I hope you all didn't find other more interesting blogs during my spam-flagged outage...

Wed. 4/23/08

We had 4 leave RC&F last night (Martin, Peter, Dan, and myself). With the south winds we headed for Cty 1 and Simpson. Then we turned west and eventually south again on Cty 20. We turned west again into Stewartville on Hwy 30 and continued west out of Stewartville on Cty 6 to High Forrest. North on Cty 8 and finally a nice tailwind. We decided to take a right on 40th and make our way back into town on 18th SW. From there I headed across town and for home. Nothing out of the ordinary to report, but a nice-paced group ride. Could have used a couple more guys to share the load into the wind, though.

Tue. 4/22/08

We had 3 for the Tuesday ride from RC&F, John, Maderrick (sp), and myself. We headed out following Charlie's pre-ride route. They had a section of West Circle Dr closed at Country Club Manner, so we went on the residential route, then we decided to turn west instead of continuing south. We kept a nice steady tempo all the way to Cty 3, where we turned south and got a nice tailwind. Into Salem Corners, then Rock Dell and onto Hwy 30, then turning east we headed for Cty 8. We hit a fairly steady headwind as we turned north on Cty 8, but once we got to the downhill section the speed picked up (as usual) and the high tempo continued all the way to Salem Road. I turned and headed for home, while the others turned north for the shop. No incidents on the ride.

Here is the route:

Mon. 4/21/08

Decided to sneak in an hour ride before any rain showed up. I headed out from my house for a quick out and back 19 mile ride. Was feeling pretty good, when I noticed I was bouncing a bit too much. FLAT! So I pulled over and proceeded to change the back tire. All the while keeping an eye on the clouds for signs of rain. Got the tire changed and finished the rest of the ride without incident. The wind was close to 20mph from the SSE, so I spent most of the ride with a cross wind, except for the few north/south stretches.

I guess it might be time to replace the back tire...

Sun. 4/20/08

No outdoor ride yesterday, just some indoor miles. But today was a different story. I headed out at 1:00pm with slight SE winds, nice warm 60 degree temps, and sunny skies. With the wind, I headed for Chatfield. Just before the big descent into Chatfield, a large brown farm dog started chasing. I thought I would out run him, but I was wrong. He caught me and blew right past me, lucky he was only interested in running. He stopped after just a short time, as we were really moving. Cty 2 out of Chatfield is still got gravel on the climb section (I hope they blacktop it soon). I backtracked to Chatfield and then headed out on Hwy 30. The old section is full of small speed bumps about every 10 feet or so, but the new section is very nice. Three old farm dogs came out to greet me, but I could tell right away none of them had much fight left in them. So I taunted them as I sped away. Up the nice long climb and eventually, I headed south on Cty 1 and then turned west on Cty 2 to Racine. After passing through Racine, I headed north on Cty 8 and then back east into Stewartville. Stayed east on Hwy 30 until I turned north on Cty 20. Then back east into Simpson and finally north and east on Cty 11 to home.

What a beautiful day...

Wed. 4/16/08

I headed out from home and decided to do the 35 mile route. I headed south, then east, then north, and finally west, because of the strong (+25mph) WNW winds. The temp was above 60, so I dressed on the light side. Looks like they are planning on closing cty 1 from just south of Simpson, all the way to the Fugel Mill bridge starting next Monday (4/21/08). No real issues with the ride. I had to out sprint a couple of black labs just before I crossed over Interstate 90, as I headed north toward Eyota. They didn't chase for too long, which was good because of the wind. I felt pretty good the whole ride.

Here is the route:



I did pass several other riders on the ride, all heading the opposite direction (Yes Martin, I did see you).

Mon. 4/14/08

Did the 19 mile out and back from my house with my son, Bill. It was the first time he had gotten on the bike since last fall. So, it was a good route and we kept the pace light (just spun the legs). The wind was stiff from the SSW, so we had mostly a crosswind. Traffic was rather heavy for that particular stretch of road. I guess everyone was out to see if they could get a glimpse of me riding.

Well, it's time to go work on my taxes...

Sun. 4/13/08

Jeff, Marty, and I took off from Jeff's (this way he can't be late). With the NNE winds we were heading out on 18th ave to meet up with Tom and Todd. We met them right away and the group continued north on 18th to find Jim. We met Jim just a couple of miles further up the road. The group was complete (although, we kept a sharp eye out for Steve, just in case). We headed north to Oronoco and then east and north and then back west to Mazeppa. We stopped for a break in Mazeppa, then continued west to Pine Island. Once we got to P.I. the group decided to tack on the Roscoe loop. Todd had to get back and headed for home from P.I. The five of us made our way west to Roscoe (with Tom taking the sign). Here we turned south (finally a tailwind). We made our way back to cty 27, where we turned east toward Pine Island again. Everyone took turns pulling into the +20mph winds. I took the P.I. sign (uncontested, as the group turned south just before we got to the sign). Anyway, a sign is a sign. We continued south and east until we got to the cty 3 intersection where Tom took a left and headed for home, while Jeff, Jim, Marty, and myself turned right toward Douglas. Jim and I stopped by his house and topped off our water bottles. We turned east at Douglas and then south to 65th St. From there we made our way back to Jeff's. After some smart talk, Jim headed for home and Marty and I packed up our bikes and headed home also. I'm not sure what Jeff did. I hope he's not still standing at the end of his driveway looking for Steve.

Here's the route:



60 miles all together, a nice way to stretch the legs. I do think Jim and Jeff were taking it easy on us, cause neither one looked tired and they never stopped talking.

Wed. 4/9/08

Can someone please tell me what month this is? I though it was April, but the way the Wednesday ride panned out, it must be August. We had five guys take off from RC&F (Charlie, Gunner, Eric, Dan, and myself). The ride was laid out before hand and we headed toward Elgin. The pace was stiff from the beginning, with a steady 19mph up the hill toward Century HS. We all had to sprint to get through the traffic light, as it changed on us as we approached and from there the pace stayed high (+20mph). We got to Elgin and stopped for a quick break, then headed out for home. I was feeling OK, until we got to Viola and the climb out of town really took it out of me. The rest of the ride, I just tried to hang on to the back of the group. They waited up a couple of times. Then I headed south on cty 11 and the group continued on into town.

Here is the route:



40 miles in just over 2 hours (with warm up and cool down), you do the math...

Fri. 4/4/08

Same route as last night, but with less layers. With temps in the high 50s, I had just a couple of layers on the upper body and I felt great. Only got chilly when the sun went behind the clouds or on the downhill descents. Winds were stronger and out of the WSW, so more head winds and head-cross winds. Overall, I felt about the same and finished close to the two-hour mark.

BTW, I won both town signs (again)...

Thurs. 4/3/08

Rode from my house to the SE. Temps were around 48 with light winds. Had to put on tights, wind socks, and several upper layers, but was comfy the whole ride. Went out past the gun club toward Eyota, then south on 41. Followed that up with a quick stint on hwy 52 until I jumped onto cty 7 heading south until I got to hwy 30. Then headed west back to Pleasant Grove (I won the sign). North on 1 through Fugel's Mill. It looks like they are planning on tearing up (and straightening out) the road from the Fugel's Mill bridge north to Simpson. Lots of trees cut down, red flags in the ditches, and a number of big earth-movers in the quarry just waiting for the frost to come out of the ground. Anyway, I won the Simpson sign as well, then back east on 11 and north to home. Almost 36 miles and no major mishaps.