L-M-L

I tagged along with Steve, Rob, Shad, Pete, and Ted as they attempted the 80+ mile gravel race/ride from Lakeville to Faribault and back to Lakeville.

The roads were pretty frozen over with lots of ice and quite a few spots of recent re-freeze (both water and muddy ruts).

The racers were long gone before I even got warmed, but I was there to just ride it anyway.

It was a nice course that took us out through some great countryside.

As the temps warmed a bit, so did the roads in spots, so things started to get tacky and even a bit muddy.

Then while trying to navigate some very deep frozen ruts, I lost my balance and ended up on my side.

Nothing hurt too bad, so I picked myself up and rode on.

After awhile I noticed my left knee was starting to hurt, so I was sure I lost some skin.
As we rode on, I felt things starting to tighten up and I could tell I wasn't riding for fun anymore.

When we got to Faribault, I decided the rest of the ride would be solo and on blacktop.  I could tell the gravel ups and downs were too much for me today.

So I made my way back to Lakeville on the frontage roads following I35.

I was plenty tired when I got to the truck and I finished with almost 75 miles.

Sunday saw the stiffness set in around my left knee, neck and shoulders, and my right thumb seems to have gotten into the mix somewhere as it too was swollen a bit.

But nothing broke (on me or the bike)...