Wednesday Worlds were Fast

First one of the year for me.  It has been a ritual of mine the last couple years to come out and get smoked on my first attempt and then get in shape after that.  Broke the tradition tonight, rode comfortably.  Some dudes have been eating their Wheaties all winter long and must have been spinning like mad gerbils on the trainer.  The group imploded and their were splinters all over Dakota County.  Good times.  I like riding bikes

Weds. Night World Championship

Penn Eagan 5:30 sharp.

Ride Plans for the Weekend

Trying to think ahead to the weekend.

Weather looks O.K.for the weekend but always changes.

Saturday, 8:00 am. from Starbucks in Rosemount at the corner of Hi 3 and Co Rd 42.
Descent ride about 20 people for a quick 40 miler, windy.
Sunday 9:00 am from Starbucks in Savage corner of Hi 13 and Co Rd 42.
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/mn/savage/153126966618412750
Windy ride, should have gone north.  Probably 60 miles.  Can't wait until the bridges are no longer under water, the improvised route was O.K. but not as fun as the usual route.

Bike Season has Come.

At the shop it has been hectic.  Lots and lots of bikes that need love.  Would have loved to have seen these in January or February.  It's good, but some people just don't get that it can't be done overnight.  Got another nice 75 mile ride in on Sunday.  We hit some dirt roads for a portion of the route, probably about 2 miles.  I can't believe no one flatted.

I found some time to get my van seats fixed.  The power button was only working in one direction, so every time I hit it, the seat would lean back a bit more.  I pulled out some control panel that was behind the buttons to have a look.  I was bumming because in order to get the panel out I had to electrically move the seat as far forward as I could, which put the seat in an un-drivable position.  When I popped open the panel 10 little copper plates fell out.  I was worried about getting them back in.  After close examination, I hypothesized about their position and purpose.  It was tricky getting these things to sit in the proper place and not fall out since nothing holds them in place other than the shell/casing which needs to fit back together precisely. A little patience and McGuyvering prevailed.  Yeah seats.

Wednesday Day off of Work..Great Day for a ride.

The moons were aligned.  On Wednesday, St. Patty's day the weather was perfect, I didn't need to work and I was able to find some companions for a long ride.  We had four people riding and amazingly everyone their had a child.  It's not too often that on a whim you can find that many people who can spontaneously join in for a ride.  It worked out well.  Jackie and I left Savage headed for our destination in Eagan and arrived precisely at the time we had expected.  Lee showed up within a minute of our arrival and then we departed for Hanson's house, who had just picked the kids up from school and was awaiting his wifes arrival.  He was already on the road, probably about 1 minute away from his house when we crossed paths.  We decided to ride to St. Paul.  Shepperd rd. was full of festive green people.  Hanson turned around and rode on his own back since we were still interested in a few more miles.  We wound up heading to the Birchwood Cafe.  Great mid ride food.  From here Lee departed and went back to work. Jackie and I carried on, discussing the best route anticipating the underwater river crossings and decided to re-cross the river at the Mendota bridge.  I would have preferred a tail wind at this point, but that was not happening.  We clicked off 80 miles and burned some of that winter fat.  Great Day and fun ride.

Sundays Ride 55 miles. Good weather and good times.

Watch out for those speed bumps they can be dangerous.  The elite don't like it when you ride bikes in their neighborhood.

Nothing Say's Easter Like the "Dude Bunny"

The Dude likes his ladies.

Check out the bling necklace.

Government Creates Nothing

Government creates nothing it only makes less efficient what already exist. Our politicians are busy spending our money on stimulus and bailout packages. How does enticing people with an incentive to throw away a car prematurely, help the American economy? How is that a green policy?
Top Ten Cash for Clunkers Purchases:
1.Toyota Corolla
2.Honda Civic
3.Ford Focus
4.Toyota Camry
5.Hyundai Elantra
6.Toyota Prius
7.Nissan Versa
8.Ford Escape FWD
9.Honda Fit
10.Honda CR-V AWD
8/10 cars purchased were foreign companies. At least the Focus is manufactured in Michigan. The Escape is assembled in Asia. Where does the money come from for these stimulus payouts? Our taxes of course. Extract taxes from citizens redistribute it to foreign car makers. How does this help the American economy? The government has duped the public into thinking they are promoting the well being of the U.S. economy and done so by using a green fuel-efficiency campaign. The government produces nothing, but they take money from people and redistribute income to special interest groups that don't benefit the U.S economy. This is just one example of unnecessary spending.

Last Sundays Chaska ride

More Rides in February and a Good Start to March

I got together with Gorski, Pribble, and Mark on Sunday for an excellent ride from Chaska to Belle Plaine up through Jordan and then back to Chaska again.  The weather was excellent, about as good as you could ask for in February.  I think it wound up being 47 miles.

Took Monday off except for a short spin on the rollers.  On Tuesday I decided to ride up to Hwood's with a fork that I did some work on.  It fit perfectly in my messenger bag which was good since I didn't want to drive.  I was thinking I might run into trouble at the Ferry Bridge crossing with all the snow.  I attempted it, but unlike riding on 2" mtb tires it just wasn't going to work out.  So I improvised and rode down to Shakopee to cross at 101 and Flying Cloud.  Turns out my 14 mile ride up changed into a 35 or something ride.  More than I was planning since my overall initially would have been 30 roundtrip.  Jay wound up giving me a ride south across 35 and I picked up my route from their.  Decent 45 miler on another fantastic winter day.


The planned route.

The actual route.