Wed. 9/10/08

We started with 8 riders from Erik's at exactly 5:45pm. We headed north on the trail to Douglas. Along the way Kristi turned back (not feeling well, I guess). We turned west out of Douglas and up the Genoa hill. The group stayed together as we turned south on cty 5, but not before Paul had to turn back (he got paged, bummer). We then turned west again on cty 16 (I think) and headed for Mantorville. Steve and Craig battled it out for the town sign (I think Craig got it). After we reformed the group we continued south out of town and then east past the golf course. Now it was the winds turn to beat up on us. We all took turns at the front (what fun) and we rolled into Byron together. It was Steve's turn to take the town sign this time. At Byron Jim headed for home, while the rest of us continued north and then east, then north again to cty 4 and finally east (into the wind) for Rochester. We were losing light, so I and Dan switched on the tail lights as we got back into the traffic on cty 4. Craig peeled off as we neared town, while the rest continued for the trail and then back to Erik's.

I finished with almost 37 miles. Great ride everyone (Steve, Kristi, Paul, Craig, Jim, Dan, and Justin(the new guy)).

Next week, CX with Marty!!!

Jesse James Ride

For anyone who is interested in one more long ride to test your fitness, there will be a group of riders from Rochester going to the Jesse James ride this weekend. The plan is to meet up in Northfield and depart from the school (at the flagpole) at 8:00am sharp.

They are planning on doing the 100 mile loop, but I think you can split off at several points.

Here is more information.

Wed. 8/27/08

We started with 11 from Erik's. The rain had passed by earlier in the day. The roads were dry, but sections of the trail were still slick. This means I'll be cleaning my bike later on. And Steve brought out the new ride, just in time to break it in right.

We met Big Jeff on the trail right near Douglas. After some debate, we continued north on the trail until we got to cty 3, then we headed east for Oronoco. Past Todd's local watering hole and then over nwy 52.

Here we turned north and headed for Mazeppa. Marty and Trevor slugged it out for the cty sign (well, not really). What a fun stretch of road with everyone taking turns at the front and some nice rollers to heat up everyone's legs. Just before Mazeppa, we turned west for PI, but not before I snuck down the road an extra few feet to grab the coveted cty sign. I can almost taste the green jersey, now.

As we made our way to PI, we had not only the rollers to contend with, but now we were facing the south wind on the several stretches. Good thing we had 11 riders, as everyone took their pulls and then quickly headed back to the shelter of the pack. I just really wanted to stay in the back all the time, but Big Jeff and Big Jim said "NO". Dang, those guys are mean. We rolled into PI, without too much fuss over the first town sign. But everyone got whipped up for the second town sign after we crossed back over 52.

From PI, we headed south on cty 3. Big Jim didn't want to go home just yet, so he headed off on cty 5 for a few more miles. The rest of us continued (into the wind) for the Douglas trail. And from there we rolled back to Rochester. Along the way, people started spliting off for home as we were fast running out of daylight.

AS the remenants of the group turned for Erik's, I continued on the trail and then took Vally High back into town. From there I turned on 7th and headed east. About this time I got cutoff by a car turned left in front of me, so I decided it must be time to turn the lights on. I turned on the flashing taillight and I had packed a small LED flashlight, which fit nicely in my right hand while I was still able to hold onto the brakehood.

I motored home without any other incedents. Almost 65 miles and it was plenty dark when I got home (to the glares of the wife, who insisted I was nuts).

Great ride everyone (Marty, Steve, Kristi, Big Jim, Big Jeff, Eric, Craig, Jeff G., Jim, Trevor, and Mark).

Sounds like that may be all for the Wednesday Erik's rides for this season. Maybe it's time for some CX??? Mud anyone???

Tues. 8/26/08

Had just enough time to sneak in my standard 20 mile route. On the way out a real neat looking three wheeled motorcycle passed me and then again on the way back he went by again.

I may just have to give up riding bicycle and buy one of these...

Mon. 8/25/08

Added a few more miles to my 20 mile route tonight. With the wind out of the SE, I kept going that direction until I got to the Turkey farms south of Eyota. Then I turned around and got a nice push all the way home.

Nothing extraordinary happened, just a nice day for a nice ride.

Sat. 8/23/08

It didn't look like there was going to be a large crowd for the Saturday ride, but as we waited to get going more showed up. So we eventually ended with 7 riders for our morning ride. The winds were a very stiff WNW, so we headed west for Mantorville. We motored along to Salem Corners with everyone having fun at the front. Then we moving on to Byron. With a few rollers and a couple of spots where the wind wasn't too bad, this was a nice stretch of road. At Byron, we turned west again for Mantorville, via the golf course road. Again, some nice rollers with some sheltered areas made this a fun stretch. We turned north at Mantorville and headed for cty 11. We stayed north on cty 11 all the way to the River Road, then Terry switched it up on us, by continuing north up the climb to the next intersection. There we turned east (finally a tailwind) and headed for PI. Along the way, some local country bumpkin, decided to pull his middle finger out of his bum long enough to wave it at us. He was heading west and it still bothered him that we were on "his" road. Anyway, nothing could bother us on such a perfect day. We rolled into PI, and stopped at the Kwik Trip for refreshments. We then headed south out of town on cty 3. The road by Big Jim's is tore up for construction, so the group decided to end the day on the trail.

I finished with almost 64 miles. Nice ride everyone (Big Al, Terry, Tim B., Jeff S., Allen, and Kristi).

Wed. 8/20/08

We started with 13 riders from Erik's Bike Shop. Marty had us head north on the trail to Douglas, where we picked up Jeff S. With the fairly brisk south winds, we then turned south on cty 3 and headed back toward town. Once we got to cty 4, we headed west until we got to where cty 3 headed south again. We followed that all the way to Salem Corners. Along the way, we got the a very nice paceline going. At Rock Dell the paceline broke up a bit, but the group stayed together on the climb heading south out of Rock Dell. Just about the time I grabbed a granola bar, we turned east on hwy 30. With the south cross winds, I soon found myself hung out, off the back of the group. I tried several times to catch back on, but was not making up the lost ground. Luckily, the group waited at the cty 15 turn. From there we all headed north. Shortyly after that, a group of 6 decided to turn it up a bit, while the rest of us kept a nice pace going back toward town. The group came back together for a short time on Salem Road, but then broke up again. Most everyone turned north on cty 104 and headed for the shop, while Jim, Tim, and I continued on Salem Road for town. First Tim turned for home, then Jim peeled off, and finally I headed off for home. I got home right around 8:15pm, and there was still plenty of daylight.

Great ride everyone.

Mon. 8/18/08

I had the day off. So after I finished a few things on my "list", I decided to take the CX bike over to Eastwood for some offroad stuff. I did a few laps on the west edge of the park and got more comfortable with the rough trails before I headed over to the east side for more of the singletrack experience.

After a bit of riding, I happened upon two fellas who appeared to be enjoying a "walk" in the woods. Get a room! Anyway, I didn't have time (or want to make time) to worry about what some perverts were doing. I continued down the trail and did another lap or two on the west side, before I decided to call it quits and head for home.

I felt pretty good, but I still can't get the hang of jumping off and back on the bike very cleanly.

Sat. 8/16/08

There were 10 riders to start the Saturday Dunn Brothers ride (Todd, Marty, Kristi, Paul, Jeff G., Bruce, Tim B., and Joshua). We headed west out of town and not before we had gone a mile, we met up with Big Dave. We headed for Salem Corners and along the way, just past the Historical Society, we met up with Big Jim. So, now the 12 of us headed for Salem Corners.

We turned south for Rock Dell, when Joshua called out to the group that he had a flat. While changing the first flat, Joshua got his second flat (I guess the tube must be ALL the way in the the tire before you inflate the tire with a CO2 cartridge). After the repairs were complete, we continued to Rock Dell.

Then we headed west (into the wind). Everyone took turns at the front and the group moved along nicely. At cty 9 we turned north, again everyone took turns at the front. We crossed over hwy 14, then turned west to Dodge Center.

After a quick stop at the Dodge Center Kwik Trip, we headed north out of town and then we turned east for Mantorville. From there we kept going east until we got to cty 5. Just before cty 5 we passed another group going west. We turned south on cty 5 for Byron, while Big Jim peeled off for home.

The rest of us continued south at Byron, where Todd, Dave, Tim, and Joshua decided to really turn the heat up. Bruce went by with a big head of steam, so I jumped on his wheel and he pulled all the way up to the speedsters. We then turned east into Salem Corners and eventually back into to Rochester. Then everyone split for home.

I finished with 74 miles averaging close to 20 mph. Great ride everyone.

Tues. 8/12/08

I did the 20 mile out and back again tonight. With a SSE 10 mph wind, I was fighting the wind on the way out. There was alot of traffic on the road tonight. I guess everyone was out to get a glimpse of me powering my machine. Met one other rider on the road as I was heading out and he was heading in. If I get my usual 60 miles in tomorrow night, I will be over 3500 miles for the year. I hope the weather is nice tomorrow.