Wed. 6/16/10

There was a good turn out for this evening's ride (I guess all the days of rain makes everyone ready to ride). I think we started with 11 riders.

We headed east on 40th and then north on 18th until we got to 75th, where we turned east again.

Followed that east until south a bit on cty 11 and then east (and north) to Elgin. There was a slight pause in the action as someone experienced a rear flat tire.

After the repair, we continued north to Millville, where we stopped for water.

Then a nice steady tempo along the river, through Hammond and up to hwy 63.

I started to feel my calves cramping up, so I slowed my pace a bit to recover. The group eased up a bit, so after a few miles I was feeling better and was able to latch onto the back of the group.

From there, we followed hwy 63 back to 75th, then west to 18th, south to 40th and east back to Erik's.

Great ride everyone and thanks for waiting up for me...

Sunday 6/13/2010

I made it out with the Big Dogs (minus Big Dave) today.

I got there a bit early, so I sat and had coffee and read the paper till everyone showed up.

We had 8 riders as we headed east out of town.

Dr. Tim peeled off as we turned toward Plainview. At Plainview we stopped to refuel and that is where Bob turned and headed back. The rest of us fools followed Terry to the Mississippi River.

The run down to the river was much more fun than the climb back home and as we hit Rollingstone I could feel my legs starting to run out of energy. By the time we hit Elba, everyone was ready for a stop, but I had enough water and feared if I stopped I would never get going again (and Beebe would have to carry me).

So, I kept rolling up and out of the Whitewater Valley and back to Viola, then I went south until I got to cty 9 and then I headed west back to Rochester.

The boys caught up about halfway back on cty 9, so then I tucked in back for some nice draft.

I got home with just under 100 miles and according to Terry we had over 3700 feet of climbing for the day.

All under cloudy skies and the threat of rain all day, not bad...

Great ride and thanks for pulling me around (Terry, Dr. Tim, Bob, Beebe, Dan, Bruce, and JP).

6/7/2010

I have been able to get out the last couple of days for some nice rides.

The other day I did my 32 mile route to Eyota, Dover, and back on cty 9.

And last night I got out for a quick spin on the 20 mile out and back route. I played "catch the rabbit" with a tractor that was up the road a bit. That gave me an excuse to push it a bit more than usual.

5/29/2010

Met up with Jeff and Steve today.

There were pretty stiff winds from the SSE, so we headed mostly east to Elba.

Then we made our way back through Elgin and rode part of the new bike trail to Viola.

From there we backtracked to Rochester. I cut out at cty 11 and headed home from there.

Nice long miles...I'm still behind schedule.

5/28/2010

Got out for a nice spin on the Douglas Trail with Kathy and Jamie.

It was nice to spin the legs, nice and easy.

I still need more miles, though.

5/22/10

Another very big "Hats off" to Big Dave...

Congrats, Dave.

5/19/2010

Made it out with the group from Erik's.

We had 10 riders and with the ESE winds, we headed across town and out past Century HS. Then we headed south on cty 11 and east past the gun club to Eyota. From there we went north on cty 7 until we hit cty 9 and we followed cty 9 back to Rochester.

We saw a lot of other riders out that way, must have been the Recyclers groups.

Anyway, I ended with just over 42 miles and we averaged just over 20 mph. Which isn't half bad considering all the crosstown riding.

5/18/2010

Tuesday Night Terror (TNT) == BRUTAL

The night belonged to the younger, faster, and better looking.

I was glad they waited up for me (several times).
But, I do plan on attending more.

It reminded me of the RCF Tuesday rides when you may have gotten some mercy, but you expected none.

I can only expect these rides will get wilder and stronger as the summer comes.

Great time, Dave, Bill, Dan, and Al.

5/15/2010

To celebrate my 50th birthday, I let Dave and Terry drag my sorry a$$ all around SE Minnesota.

We started with 6 riders, but as the day progressed they each turned back at different points, they had other commitments and such...

The three remaining diehards made our way south until we crossed into Iowa, turned around and enjoyed a nice south breeze all the way back to Rochester.

I finished with just over 100 miles for the day.

Thanks for the fun, Dr. Tim, Al, Jeff G., and of course Dave and Terry.

5/13/2010

I haven't seen too many road miles lately.

We just back from a week-long cruise and I really didn't feel like taking my bike to the Caribbean.

Anyway, it's been cold and rainy around here, so indoors is fine for now.

Hope to get out soon.

And BTW, we had a great time in the warm island sun, drinking Corona and margaritas.