Not fake

Impressive photo.  Looks fake, but apparently it isn't.

Finally got around to finding a good road ride

Since moving back to Richfield I have realized how spoiled I was in Saint Louis Park with access to a great trail system less than a block from my front door.  I could ride for miles with very little time on any sort of actual "street".  Today I decided to quit my whining and start a road ride from my driveway.  And guess what.  I had a blast.  I learned that going up Minnehaha Parkway to Lake Harriet is a very nice stretch.  Once I got to the lakes it was familiar territory.  All in all a very nice ride, but the lose gravel that the city of Minneapolis has laid down on the side streets is AWFUL on a road bike. Avoid at all costs.

When I got home I got to see the genius of my wife's insistence on setting up a softside pool in our back yard.  Floating around in cool water after my ride felt fantastic.  The beer didn't hurt either.

Blood, guts, storm damage and dirt.

Last week, John, Jared, Heath and I went out for a sweltering Sunday morning ride at Murphy Hanrahan. All was going well until my attention drifted and my face was suddenly driven into the ground. Almost simultaneously Jared’s chain broke on his Moonlander. While I was lying there covered almost head to toe in a mixture of sweat and dirt more riders rolled up and started talking to the rest of our group. Some sort of discussion about possibly cutting corners or something. Not sure. I was still stunned. There must have been some bad vibes at that particular spot. We went up to a mosquito infested shaded area so Jared could fix his chain and I could walk off my fall. Good thing Heath had insect repellent. We managed to finish the ride with no further incidents. I got home and surveyed the damage from my little face plant. One very swollen upper lip with a dash of road rash, a chunk of road rash under my eye, two bloody, swollen knees and a set of lenses on my glasses trashed.. Good times.

This weekend I headed up to the cabin and hit the trails at Cuyuna on Saturday. The damage from the series of storms that has rolled through the region in the past six weeks was still very evident. Flooding, washouts and landslides were visible in numerous locations. One section of trail is now interrupted by a stream running across it. I don’t recall there being ANY water in that spot before. I had yet another crash on that ride. Not nearly as bad as the weekend before. This time it was caught on video. It left me with a sore hip but nothing more. Well, except the leg cramps in the middle of the night.

Sunday I went for a nice mellow road ride with Just a Cool Cat who was visiting our cabin with his clan. The ride actually made my hip feel better. Good weekend all in all.