Sunday, April 08, 2007

Saturday's 100K Ride

I told myself that I needed to do a long ride in preparation for something or other. I stuck with it and rode 101K on Saturday. I started by doing the Hiawatha Cyclery ride. Only a handful of stalwart lads showed up for that.

Then I rode home to install a pair of chemical foot-warming devices. My feet were too cold during the HC ride and I knew without some assistance, my feet would not make it through a longer ride. The foot warmers worked perfectly. I never thought about my feet again until at the end of the ride I removed my shoes and found the warmers stuck to my socks.

I rode up the chain of lakes and out the Midtown Greenway to St. Louis Park. Then back on the Cedar Lake Trail. Each time I take this route, I enjoy the smell of the Ovaltine factory. The steam coming out of the pipe in the photo is a chocolatey emission from Ovaltine production. It's a bothersome smell if you're hungry. Actually, I'm not sure if it's Ovaltine. That's what I've heard.



I also saw some vandal art. It made me laugh. He's a friendly looking robot, don't you think?



I jumped onto Wirth Parkway and rode north to Victory Memorial Park Drive. They've repaved the bike path and it was excellent riding.




More sculpture. This is the Lumberman.

I continued east to the Mississippi River where I found the Port of Minneapolis.

Washington Avenue is lined by old, industrial buildings in vary states. This one was the most interesting.


I stopped at the Aster Cafe again. I like that place. It's a real cafe, not just a coffee shop.



The downwind side of the lakeshores are covered with ice sculptures.




I rode one extra lap around Lake Harriet to get my 100K.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

good pictures. I've struggled with how to portray maps on my web site and have them mean anything. seems like the pictures and labels in the screenshot work really well. glad to hear that the victory memorial trail has been paved.

Unknown said...

Oh my god is it really an Ovaltine factory? I know exactly what you you are talking about because I bike-commute to Hopkins from Uptown and on nice days I take the back/long way and go right past that factory and sometimes it is like biking through an atmosphere of chocolate!

It's the most wonderful thing in the world, sometimes the factory vents are blowing just right and it's like riding into an invisible wall of chocolate. I always wonder what goes on there, and I have just stopped and sat there and bathed in the aromatic chocolate nirvana. It's pure bliss!

Dan said...

Looks like a great ride.

Anonymous said...

Is the bike pictured at the Astor your reconfigured Davis?

Eclectchick said...

Those chemical toe warmers are the best! I have wimpy toes - can't ride without my chem toe warmers unless it's, say, 55 or warmer.

I'll have to check out this Ovaltine factory!

Anonymous said...

Great photos! I especially like the abandoned building and the "ice sculptures."

rigtenzin said...

The bike in front of the cafe is my converted Davidson, converted to 650B, that is.

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