Thur. 5/28/09

Got out for a nice 35 mile route tonight.

Took the normal roads out to my turn-around point on my 20-miler and then went south.
Then I turned east toward the turkey farms. Ed, Eddie, and Edward were all there to chase me as I passed the farm house near the turkey farm, but only Ed (the rotweiler) kept the chase up all the way to the corner.

I yelled and had the pepper spray ready, but Ed is a smart old dog. He stayed just out of range and kept an eye on me each time I sat up. He eventually got bored and turned around.

I continued east and then north (into the wind) until I got to Dover. Then I turned west (into the wind) and made my way back to Eyota and the south to my turn-around point and finally back in to home.

I was really bushed tonight, must not have been my night for exercise...

Big Dave is at it again...

Puttin' the hurt on...

Sun. 5/24/09

I met up with the three Amigos this morning...



They started from the Westfire parking lot and headed east across town and I met them by RCTC. With the NNE winds we headed to Elba via cty 9. On the way out of town, Dr. Tim caught up and rode with us until we hit the top of the cty 9 hill, then he turned and headed for home.

The pace out on cty 9 was nice and steady with everyone taking turns at the front. During the whole time Jeff and Big Jim were keeping Steve and I amused with their jokes and tall-tales.

We turned north and continued down into Whitewater State Park. Boy, that road is nice and smooth now. It's alot more fun descending on pavement that isn't full of Grand Canyon-sized holes all over the place...

We stopped at the convience store in Elba for refreshments and nature breaks. Then we doubled-back to the campground and up the nice steady two-mile climb. Once at the top it didn't feel like we were getting any tailwind. Must have been more out of the north at this time.

Eventually, we turned south on hwy 42 and then turned west into Viola. Up and over the many rollers as we made our way back into town. I turned south on cty 11 as the others continued on into town.

I got home with a little over 3 hours on the cycle computer and right around 60 miles, so all-in-all a pretty fast-paced and long day (for me, not so for the others).

I even got sunburned abit on my arms and legs...

Mon. 5/18/09

Well I think I need to recap my last several rides since I've been lax in updating the site.

I did a nice 20 mile ride last Tuesday, don't remember much so it must have been a pretty normal ride.

I was out of town, so I didn't get back out until Sunday. But I did a nice 45 mile loop of Chatfield. The west winds made the county 2 stretch a bit of a workout. But overall, I felt pretty good.

Tonight, I did the 20 mile route (again). The strong south winds were fun. And at the turnaround, I was made aware of the real wind direction of SSW. So the homeward stretch was a good head-cross. I topped it off with a climb up the cty 11 hill south of home.

I think I'm getting better, but I just can't tell...

Sat. 5/9/09

I met up with Jeff and Steve today and we headed for Oronoco. From there we kept going north until we reached Mazeppa. With the WNW winds, we headed east to Zumbro Falls. But before we got there, Jeff flatted. He found the problem, a small shard of glass, after he cut his finger about 6 times. Then, it took quite awhile before we got all of the glass out of his tire. We booted the tire (just in case) and put in the spare tube, pumped it up, and continued on into Zumbro Falls. After a quick stop at the convience store, it was up the hill on hwy 63.

We turned west at Chefies and headed into the wind for a bit. After the nice decent into the valley, we turned south heading back towards Oronoco.

Lots of nice hills and it seemed like the wind was always there to make sure we worked hard. At least I had Jeff and Steve to block the wind for me on those windy sections...

Just over 51 miles on a chilly, windy day. About the time we rolled into Jeff's the sun showed up.

Sat./Sun. 5/2/09-5/3/09

Well on Saturday, I got up enough nerve to ride with the guys. I met Jeff and Steve at Jeff's and we headed out from there. With the winds out of the WNW, we headed for the Douglas Trail to meet up with Big Jim, then we continued to Pine Island. From there we went eastward to Mazeppa and then into Zumbro Falls.

After a quick stop at the convience store, it was up the long hill out of town heading south. We waved as we passed Chefies. The cross winds were really starting to get to me and by the time we hit the Rochester city limits, I was done.

Jeff wanted to do more and I'm sure Jim and Steve were up to it, but I wussed out and they lead the way back to Jeff's. Big Jim had a nasty stretch home into the wind. I hope he made it.

Today, I rode with my other friends (myself and I). I headed SE even though the WNW winds were starting to pick up. The ride to Chatfield was very nice and I felt like I was being pushed along the entire time (which I was). The turkey farm dogs (Ed, Eddie, and Edward) did not make any attempt to chase today. Maybe it was the pepper spray from the other night or maybe it was because their owner was in the yard and they felt they had to behave.

I made my way out of Chatfield up the now straight county 2 and after reaching the top, I was welcomed with a nice stiff breeze. From there the wind was either a headwind or a nice brisk crosshead wind. Fugels Mill road has only been slightly changed with less curve and a more gradual slope. And nice new pavement all the way to Simpson. From there I only had the big hills on county 11 to deal with.

All in all, a good weekend. I felt tired today, but not as tired as Saturday. I'm blaming today on the wind and the fact the myself and I did absolutely no pulls at the front. Sandbaggers, myself took the Simpson sign, followed by I, and that left third place for yours truely...

Tues. 4/28/09

With all the rain over the weekend, I didn't do too much. And Monday night, I made a trip up to see Hwood and picked up my new duds.

But tonight, my son and I got out for a nice 20 miler. The winds were from the SE, so we had more work going out. But, the ride back into town was very easy-going.

Nothing out of the ordinary to report, just a great night for a ride and good conversation with my son.

Update

I got out for a couple of nice but windy rides both Tuesday (really windy) and Wednesday (sortof windy). The weather was a bit colder on Tuesday, so I had to bundle up more, but Wednesday's temps were in the lower 60s.

Both rides were pretty uneventful, except I did spot a young cow standing on the side of the road during Wednesday's ride. He must have found an openning in the fence somewhere. He looked a little lost and confused as I approached.

I got my pepper spray ready, just in case...

Big D, again

Nice work there Big Dave! Fourth at the ever-tough Durand RR, in a group that contained Charlie Townsend is always a big win in my book.

You had great weather for Durand, I hope you felt good...

Best of luck for the rest of the season. Bleed Silver!

I'll be watching from the sidelines (as usual).

Fri. 4/17/09

Got out after work and went a bit further than I have over the past week.

I did the 30 mile out and back from my house. With light winds, I barly noticed the headwind on the way out.

Everything was pretty normal, until I got near the house west of the turkey farm. Two years ago I had encountered three big black dogs there and actually ended up calling the cops on them for coming out into the road and chasing me for almost a mile. But I didn't see them last year, so I thought maybe they were locked up or gone.

Well, this time there was the pack leader, a rotweiler mix (I think). I didn't see the other two (black labs), but at this point I wasn't looking for them either. Well, "Eddie" spotted me and came running to the road. And me currently being in such fine physical condition, it was a wonder I couldn't outrun him.

Anyway, as he got close he ran up alongside, growling and barking. He made a couple of moves into the road, but luckily stayed away from my wheels. I had just about had enough, so I pulled the pepper spray from my pocket and let him have a taste. He quickly backed off and went into the ditch to roll in the grass for a bit.

I continued to my turnaround point, all the while thinking what was going to be in store for me as I passed the farm house a second time.

As I neared the house, I could see all three dogs in the middle of the yard. The two black labs were barking, looking at me, and then looking back at Eddie. I think they were waiting for him to make the first move. But, Eddie was busy pretending he didn't notice me, by looking in the opposite direction.

I had to laugh as I calmly made my way past the farm and continued on home.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, except I was really tired by the time I got home. Just got to get used to some longer mile rides...