VeloCX 11/08/08

With the cold and the rainy wet weather, I stayed indoors on Saturday, but it seems that a few brave souls went out to play.

Jeff looks like he's having fun...



So does Marty...



Even Big Steve got into the act...



Someday I'll "grow a pair" and make it out to one of these.

Sun. 10/26/08

Big Jim, Big Jeff, and I met at the Condos for some fun in the wind. Jeff rode over from his house and he looked pretty tired by the time he pulled up. We jumped on the dirt trail and the trees provided a nice block for the wind (in most places). As we headed to PI, we encountered a number of larger tree branches (and whole trees) that had come down because of the wind. So we practiced our CX skills, by jumping off our bikes, moving the offending tree off the path, and then jumping back on the bikes to continue the ride. Unfortunately, we had to do this all the way to PI.

Then on our return trip, more (newly felled) trees were in our way. So again, we practiced our CX skills. After Jeff bottomed out on the edge of the snowmobile bridge (just north of Douglas), he noticed the back tire was getting low. We stopped in Douglas to give it a quick shot of air, but it wasn't too far down the trail before it was flat again. So, Jeff just rode it back to the condos like that. I had the Suburban, so we loaded both bikes in the back and I gave Jeff a ride home. Big Jim headed back home alone (and into the wind). I hope he made it...

Thur. 10/16/08

Well, the crud is still hanging on abit. But I felt good enough today to do the 20 mile out and back. Light SSE winds were not a factor either direction and I didn't feel too bad for not seeing the bike for just over a week. This weekend is hectic, so I'm not sure how much riding I can sneak in...we'll see.

Wed. 10/08/08

After a week of feeling terrible, I finally got out on the bike for a few miles. I did my standard 20 mile out and back. There was a SW breeze, so I had to work a bit harder to get home. I did see Gary G. out there enjoying the nice October weather. All in all, a nice ride and I hope it helps clear up this crud that continues to hang on...

Sat. 09/27/08

We had 9 start from Dunn Brothers South on a cloudy, foggy morning. The winds were out of the NW, but the Treadman Duathalon was being held in the Douglas area, so we decided to stay away from the NW. We headed east out of town on cty 9. With the slight tailwind it was a wicked pace until we turned north on cty 7 and the headwinds slowed the pace. But now the wind was making it real fun at the front. We formed a rotating paceline and that helped give everyone a chance at the fun. We turned east again on cty 2 and then north on cty 10.

Up and over the rollers as we went past Carley State Park, then we turned west on cty 23 and headed for Elgin. Dave dominated the Elgin sign and the Olmsted County sign. So we all had to listen to him talk about it all the way back to town. As we neared cty 11 there were two ponies lose on the road and we stopped as they carefully went by us and headed back to their pen. Dave wanted to stop and ride them, we said NO! Bebee justed wanted to take them home (I'm not sure what for???). Again, we said NO! About this time we passed another group of cyclists who were heading east for Elgin. We then turned south on cty 11 andmade our way back to cty 9, where I headed for home and the others headed for town.

Great ride everyone (Big Dave, Dr. Tim, Big Jim, Bruce, Big Al, Dan, Bebee, and Tobias) and way to make my legs hurt...

No sign of Big Steve:

or Big Jeff:

but Big Jim was there:

I gotta find a picture of Big Dave...

Wed 09/24/08

Big Jeff and I did the CX thing last night.

There was a lot of cyclists on the regular part of the trail. Must be the late-season peakers trying to cap off that mileage report with some bigger numbers. Anyway, the dirt trail was nice and quiet, except for the couple of walkers/joggers that were in the wrong place...

The CX trail wasn't too muddy either (even near Douglas). Only one real wet spot and you could easily go around it on the higher trail shoulder.

Big Jim did a nice job painting the bigger rocks (although, red is not my favorite color). But, there were several newly felled trees that need to be sawed out of the way. Jim you have a chainsaw, right? You can just pack the saw on your back and ride out there (about midway between PI and Douglas) and get those couple of biggies...Jeff would give you a big hug if you do.

Anyway, what a beautiful night for a ride. Even if it does get dark by 7:30pm.

Sat. 09/20/08

Didn't make it up in time for the group ride, so I took my time and got ready and then headed for Chatfield. The winds were SW and felt like they were getting stronger as the day warmed up. The westward stretch out of Chatfield was the roughest, but then I got a nice push all the way back home.

Nothing out of the ordinary, just a nice 50 mile ride (just me and my friends)...

Wed. 09/17/08

Met Big Jim and (eventually) Big Jeff at the condos for some off-road stuff. The trail was in very good condition with the occasional tree branch or rock to dodge. And you mix in a few gopher (or badger) holes to make it interesting. We saw quite a few people on the blacktop trail portion and we came upon a couple of people riding horses on the dirt section. We made it to just about PI, when we were fast losing the sunlight, so we headed back on the blacktop. Jim turned for home as we passed his intersection, while Jeff and I continued back to the condos. It was plenty dark by the time we got back.

Tues. 09/16/08

Just got in a quick 20 miler again. Met two others as they were riding back into town. Again, a gorgous September evening with light SSW winds.

Mon. 09/15/08

Did the quick 20 mile from my house. Nothing really out of the ordinary, allthough I did see Gary G. heading back to town on my way out. Slight SSW winds, so a bit of a headwind on the trip back in. A beautiful September evening...