16 Miles!

Today was a simply gorgeous day. A day you can't help but want to be out and a part of. I know my weekend times are short between now and my 25-mile ride, so I really need to get some mileage in. But how to make it not suck, right? Well... One of my favorite movie theatres is the Riverview Theatre in Minneapolis. It is currently playing "Despicable Me" -- a film I didn't catch in the first run theatres and was sad about it. Thanks to Google Maps I determined it to be about 8 miles away -- doable for someone who did 6 miles earlier in the week, right?

Right. Except for when the route you pick is a natural wind tunnel.

So Pierce Butler was a little tough... but the awesome thing about biking is that you can just decide to choose another route if you want! Minnehaha Parkway it is! And I learned that Prior crosses 94 in a very nice, flat way. (And I saw a great building I never knew existed!)

So the movie was awesome, and fantastic... and totally worth the $2 I paid to see it.

The route back seemed easier, but took just as long as the route out. I did *not* stop at Izzy's for ice cream, even though I wanted to and definitely could convince myself I "deserved" it. I also checked out a pedestrian bridge off Hamline and Pierce Butler... I guess I always knew it was there, but never really thought about it. It was fun to find out where I'd end up (in the business park by Bandana Square) and change route to accommodate.

Oh, and PS -- I am SO glad I bought bike shorts from the REI Outlet online last night. I kind of wish I'd sprung for expedited shipping. :)

New Haircut!

W00t! Check it out -- pre-helmet!

Anyway, in spite of the threat of impending rain, I decided I was still going to bike to get my hair cut. I got a couple drops on the way, but arrived unscathed. After the cut, I stopped in to Panera for some soup... and the rain began. Thankfully, it cleared up to a slight drip for the ride home!

Oh, and the other awesomeness... last month I decided to ride to the movies and back. The path I chose was a little challenging. I took the same route today, and it was easier! I am making strides.

I feel like I have to plan a big ride for the weekend, or I'll never know if I'll make it 25 miles. And for sure I need to invest in some of those padded bike shorts. Owie.

Oh, and to the guy in the black SUV -- Firstly, don't block my crosswalk and ramp to the sidewalk. It makes you a jerk. Secondly, do NOT smoke with a kid in the car!!! Now you're on my list. That's right. The LIST. You don't want to be on the list.

Hey, City of Saint Paul...

...Speaking of resurfacing... Wheelock Parkway could really use some love, knowwhatI'msaying?

Anyway, It's funny how biking changes how you look at things. Last Friday I was driving to White Bear for an oil change. I usually take Wheelock, 'cause it's scenic, to Hwy 61 and take that up to my old Saturn dealership. (*sniff*) So I thought, "hey, I wonder how far it is from my house along Wheelock to 61?" and it looked to be about 4 miles... That seemed doable.

So I gave it a go tonight.

All-in-all... mostly successful. There is a gradual hill over about 4 blocks that totally killed me -- I stopped and made a couple calls while I waited for my lungs to work again -- and I only made it about 1/3 of the way up the serpentine hill on the way home. Oh, and a couple bikers passed me while I was walking my bike up said hill. But they looked serious. I do not look serious.

So... verdict: 7.3 miles. 45 minutes. One pit stop at Holiday for some emergency Powerade. :)

Dont Go, Summer!

Oh the weather was beautiful and balmy today!

I was a little peeved because I planned to go for a run right after work, and my left shoulder just hurt like a mo fo! So I only made it a couple miles.

BUT... I did bike my 3 miles to and from Stitch & Bitch, my weekly evening of stitching and (a little bit of) bitching. We'd been on hiatus due to the State Fair, so it was nice to see everyone.

Plus the weather was AWESOME!!!

I hope tomorrow is like today.

Chap Stick. A must.

Tonight was the celebration of my mom's birthday. Her birthday was in August, mind you, but we've never been great at timely birthday celebrations in my family. Anyway, her restaurant of choice is a mere 6.3 miles from my house. Mostly uphill, traffic-heavy miles... but I felt it was attainable.

She was unimpressed. Even to the point of changing the locale if I was insisting on being crazy and biking there. So, with the aid of my brother I drove to said celebratory location... And then biked back as my brother drove my car home.

Verdict? Just because the route home had less uphills doesn't mean no uphills. I've never prayed for a red light more in my life. (And no, it didn't work.)

Also, chap stick is a good idea.

Also also... Cold wind makes your nose run. It's awkward to bike with your head tilted back in the hope that the snot will run down instead of out.

I also realized that riding 25 miles, if I can maintain my mph, will still take around 2 hours.

TWO HOURS.

I have work to do.

Am I Solar Powered?

So I was distressed that it had been raining off and on all day. Then driving home it was a little gloomy and oppressive. So I did what every self-respecting biking wannabe would do: I took a nap.

BUT when I woke the sun was peeking out, I felt rejuvenated, and I hopped on the bike!

Nothing overly exciting... With the cold weather coming, I decided I needed something longer than my cycling shorts so I headed off to JC Penney. Bingo - Capri-length pants for $17. Much better than comparable offerings at REI, for sure!

So bring it on, autumn. I may have cold ankles, but the rest of my legs are ready!!

The Great MN Get Together

So, one of the coolest "I-never-even-really-thought-about-that-until-I-had-a-bike-and-it-is-so-totally-awesome" things I've learned this summer is... There is free bike parking at the fair.

And it is SWEET parking. Better than anything you can get from a car. And actually maybe even better than taking the shuttles!

And FREE!

Of course, one of the catches is that it's not just like biking to a movie, or dinner, or something what involves sitting on your butt in between legs of the ride. This is a whole lot of walking -- which made the ride home a little more... challenging.

There's a group ride tomorrow night around the Summit area, and I think I might go! We shall see.

Day Four! In Blaine!

So I'm driving to the rescue of a hungry pooch and thinking... Dangit! I won't be able to ride today! But then it hit me... Why not ride where the pooch is?

So today I did a little tooling around Blaine. Mostly I just turned it into an errand to Target, which is probably good because due to a later start than usual, it got pretty dark. Of course, I had purchased some lights to up my visibility... But I learned that in an area that is maybe not so "inner city" there are few-to-none streetlights. SO... my next purchase will be a headlight, better to illuminate enormous potholes who may try EAT ME ALIVE.


Here is the Velodrome at the National Sports Center. I thought it appropriate!









Tomorrow... The State Fair!!

Thrifty Friday!

Okay, I'll be honest... I am not prepared to be a cool/cold weather rider. I don't know how to properly do layers, and because of that I was hot, and then I was cold. but I was out!

I decided to hit a couple nearby thrift stores... Both for my enjoyment and because I have a show to shop for and you just never know what you might find. I had some failures (two Under Armor-type layering shirts that didn't fit) but I did find a wooden recorder and a huuuuge spoon (for the stirring of the 'stone soup.')

I also came across this lovely piece... And I'm sharing it because I had never seen something like this before EXCEPT earlier this week at another thrift store! What gives?

I'm not sure where my bike will take me tomorrow!

Day Two - Library!

It occurs to me that I had better start planning my biking routes ahead of time. No one wants to read about me biking around Lake Como every day for 30 days. Not to mention I wouldn't want to blog about it that much. Or bike it, for that matter. Anyway...

For today I decided to bike to the new Roseville Library. New, as in they remodeled and reopened in July. It's pretty snazzy. Dunn Brothers coffee, LEED certified building, special rockstar parking for energy efficient vehicles and car pools... But... I'm not sure I like it. It's very light and airy and open... And stark and cold and commercial.

But it has TONS of computers. And free WiFi. So I shouldn't be complaining.

I think on my way home I will stop and buy some string cheese... And try not to stop and buy a Dairy Queen mini Blizzard.

PART TWO! I spoke too soon! My biking adventures had just begun... I got waylaid briefly by a nice woman who made judgments about me based on the awesomeness of my helmet... she thought I might know an electrician or someone who knows about batteries. Weird, right? Apparently she's a "green" person and thought I might be too based on my bike-ness. ANYway... due to that, I was caught unprotected in a spontaneous thunderstorm! One of those "blue sky right over there but it's pouring here" kinds... and I was mere blocks from the grocery store, too. I pulled over under a fairly large tree and waited it out (mostly.)

I was rewarded, though... Behold, above the Rainbow Foods --
DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!

Day One!

I am not a slacker!

The weather was BEAUTIFUL! However, today was my first race in the Salomon Autumn Trail Series... So I ran 3.3 miles, people! So when I got home I rode my bike around the block.

Lame, I know.

But the race was great!

Tomorrow is another day!

Hope I Don't Die Before it Starts!

When I first got a bike I thought it would be cool to be able to ride to my production meetings on occasion. There were two problems with this: A) they are often at night, and in the dark; and B) my bike, weighing 42 pounds, would not be big fun with the bazillion hills.

BUT thanks to the generosity of my sister, and the awesomeness of her bike... AND because we were able to reschedule our meting time - today I rode to the meeting and back!

Being a little lazy, I chose a route that I thought might be longer (1 mile) but would be not as hilly. Little did I know it did NOT have a bike lane, nor any room to speak of. Also, no matter which direction I was going in, it was into the wind. (15-20 mph wind, it turns out.) so it took me over 30 minutes to arrive.

On the way home I decided to go with the more direct route and it took 15 minutes. More hills: yes. Less scary: yes.

I have one more route to try next time. Maybe a happy medium?

Tick-Tock!

So I just signed up for a 25-mile ride on the 25th of September... I thought that by then I should be able to handle that distance (and I was intimidated by the 55-mile course.)

In other news... the registration includes a baked potato bar and Root Beer Floats in commemorative mugs!

It sounds like the best race ever.

Still getting psyched...

(Apparently I can't post from my iPad. How annoying.)

Anyway, I think this is going to be GREAT! I'm also thinking I may tie this in with my photo blog.. I will bike with my camera in tow, and post at least one photo from each ride!

But I'm thinking about a plan of attack... I don't think I will be content just riding around my immediate neighborhood. I think I need a trip to the library to scope out some awesome trails to try! If you have a suggestion, please let me know.

Gearing up! ...With a day off.

I just signed up for 30 Days of Biking. The goal is to bike every day in September and Tweet/Blog about it. Now, I am not tech-forward enough to Tweet... so behold the blog. I'm not anticipating that I'll have a lot of awesome stories... and the fact is that I might have some nights where I'll drag my bike out of the house and around the block and call it good.

...But I can't wait!!!