PedalPub Trip in Minneapolis

I rode the PedalPub last night. It's a pedal-powered wagon with seating for 16. About 12 of those riders can pedal. Take a look at the website for better photos. I only had my cell phone camera. I lost the little Canon on my recent vacation. So these photos are kinda crappy.

I stood inside it to get this photo of the back of the driver.

These guys may not want their faces on the internets 'cause some of you are psychos.

Anyway, the city of Minneapolis doesn't allow drinking on this vehicle due to their interpretation of a state law. The PedalPub owner is trying to get that changed. However, the PedalPub is plumbed for a keg. Maybe in the future, they'll allow booze.

We stopped at three bars on our tour of Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. Harvey's had the best looking staff by far. Wow!

Kieran's had the grumpiest waitress of the night. She kept giving us dirty looks. Good hire, Manager person!

The best stop was _____. You guess what it was based on this photo.

The PedalPub can be hard work, especially if some of the pedalers are drunk slackers. Because of this, I can now say that downtown Minneapolis is hilly. If you ride the PedalPub, you'll agree.

Nearly Instant Laxative

I bought a little coffee press and brought it to work. After making my first cup of pressed coffee, I sat with the warm mug in both hands inhaling the beautiful aroma of strong, fresh coffee. I looked into the mug and saw floating grounds.

It reminded me of my camping experiences using the little screw-pot espresso maker. Floating grounds mean strong coffee and that means whoever drinks the coffee will be in the restroom in less than 10 minutes or in the case of camping, searching for the toilet paper and a shovel.

Lord Whimsy

I enjoy reading Lord Whimsy's writing. I'm slowly reading his book loaned to me from This Verdant Country. It takes me a while to get in the groove of his writing style, but once I do, I find myself feeling less serious about everything. That's good.

Here's a bit from his latest newsletter:

"The angel's trumpet blooms are in full profusion of late, coming in at
last count at over thirty blooms. I sit under its boughs in the
evenings when the blooms fully open, and allow the bouquet of rose and
jasmine scents waft over my drooping eyelids.

And you should see the bog garden---venus flytraps large enough to
frighten livestock.

August--earth's siesta! The only time of year when a deeply lazy man
can pass for normal among the normals! Relish it, my darjeelings."

Bike Repair on a Rainy Day

I haven't been riding this three-speed lately. It 's saddle was ripped, due to dry rot. It had a flat tire also. I fixed the flat yesterday and replaced the saddle. When I gave it a test ride down the alley, I noticed the new seat was too high. While adjusting the seat I also replaced the seat binder, because the old one needed two wrenches and it was so long, causing it to catch my pants.
During the second test ride down the alley, I heard the rattle of the broken rear fender mount. It broke during the Lake Pepin Three-Speed Tour. I used a bright green zip tie to fix it back then. This time, I found a mount from a set of Planet Bike fenders. The Planet Bike mount fit as if it were designed for the old Raleigh. You can see it in the photo below. It's the black thing between the brake caliper and the fender.



I took a few photos and played with the depth of field.

Lutsen Trail Review

My vacation was great. I enjoyed the trails at Lutsen. Before I went, I read the trail reviews at the MORC and MTBR.com websites.

The reviews didn't convince me that I'd like the trails. The reviews were mixed. I was worried that I wouldn't like it. My worries were unnecessary.

I have some suggestions for anyone who wants to ride the Lutsen trails.

• Get the trail map from the lodge where they rent the bikes.
• Don't use the chair lifts or tram to get to the top.
• Pick one of the mountains and find a green trail that takes you to the top or close. Then ride down the mountain on whatever level of trail that suits your skills. Repeat that on each mountain and you'll have a great time.
  

One of the green trails I rode up was fantastic. It was very rocky. The rocks were the jagged kind that could puncture a tire, but I had no problems.

I saw this deer on the a road and remembered that I had my camera.


This is an underwhelming photo. I was having too much fun riding to stop and take any nice photos. Sorry.

Vacation

My family and I are heading to the north shore area of Minnesota for a vacation. We're staying at Lutsen and plan to hike and swim. Just in case they have some trails up there, I managed to fit a bike in the van. Who knows?



I intend to have lots of fun and will post some photos when I return.

Today's Ride to Work

Since the bridge collapse, part of my route to work has changed and it's given me a chance to see some different scenery. I like the larger version of this one. Click on it to see the larger version.


I really like to look at this building, but some people say really bad things about its looks.


This bridge has two layers. The bottom is for cars and the top is for bikes and pedestrians. The middle portion of the top layer is covered. This allows the graffiti artists to work in comfort during bad weather.




Some people work here, apparently keeping the lawn in good shape. I imagine Ray's lawn looks just like this one.

This is a hill I like to ride.

It was humid this morning and I think that caused the hazy conditions. I want a clear, sharp shot of this skyline. When that day arrives, I plan to have a better camera along to do the work.


No one on the bench this morning.

An Unintended Night Ride

A friend from out of town (Mr. G), another friend (Mr. H), and I rode to the Longfellow Grill in Minneapolis to drink a beer.

But before we could leave, Mr. G had to fix a flat.



When we arrived, we just intended to have a beer and leave. Mr. H paid. Thanks, Mr. H!



But two of us ordered food and next thing you know it was dark.



I had front and rear blinky lights, but Mr. G and Mr. H didn't have lights. We stayed on the bike trails and had a fun ride home. I was blinded a few times by the car lights shining in my eyes from a parallel road. One of those times, I even rode off the trail. I need to start carrying a more powerful headlight.

I also want a dynamo front hub. Which one should I buy? It's worth the expense, because it's a safety item, right?

A Trail Near my House

I live near Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis and sometimes I ride this little section of dirt trail next to the creek. It's between 12th Avenue and Cedar Avenue on the south side of the creek. It's not a secret, but I've never seen another cyclist on it.

I Rode a Different Route Today

My usual route through Minneapolis to work was closed today. I normally take the 10th Avenue Bridge across the river, but it was closed. For those of you who don't know Minneapolis, it's the little white bridge next to the collapsed 35W bridge. You've probably seen in news photos.

On the way to work, I went east into St. Paul. This route avoided any contact with the area surrounding the collapsed bridge. I didn't want to contribute to crowding around the area.

On the way home, I plotted a very complicated route through the University of Minnesota using a map. When I arrived in the campus area, I got on the Washington Ave. bridge and just rode west following the painted bike path through the campus.



I ignored my planned route and used the Wiseman Art Museum as a landmark.

I popped out right near where my old route carried me. I realized I found a better route by just following the paint lines of the bike path.

So I ask myself, "What do you think of bike lanes now?"
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I'm sorry for all those people killed and missing and I'm especially heavy hearted for their families. Waiting for news about a missing person would be one of the most difficult things ever. I know there are people sitting by their phones waiting right now. That's hell.

A Tour Comment

I watch the tour and have for many years. I'm addicted to watching it and have lots to say when I get a chance. Until this post, I've never mentioned it in my blog (at least I think that's correct).

So here it goes.

Each day after the tour, I've checked the big pro cycling news websites like Velonews and CyclingNews.com expecting another doping scandal to break. When I saw that Mayo tested positive, I was only surprised that it wasn't someone higher up in the placings.

Am I the only one feeling this way?

Attack Raccoon

I was nearly attacked by a raccoon on the Minnesota River Bottoms Trail on Saturday, I saw this little guy sitting and eating something so I rolled to a gentle stop. I didn't want to spook him. My riding buddy and I sat very quietly and watched him for several seconds. I made a little noise and the raccoon didn't notice. So I dug my phone out and took three pictures.

I made another noise and he turned toward us finally. He put his back up and started to walk menacingly at us. I laughed, because he was a very young raccoon. He acted like a Joe Pesci raccoon. "What are you lookin' at?" I think this little guy wanted to put up a fight instead of flight. Maybe that's the way all raccoons are, but I've never been this close to one.

After we yelled at him and rang our bike bells, he turned away and ran down the trail.

WNBA Lynx Game

A friend invited me and my kids to a Minnesota Lynx WNBA game the other day. My son and I attended and had fun watching the game and the people. We didn't expect such good seats though. We sat behind the visiting team. When they stood up for exciting moments or timeouts, we couldn't see the court.

We also sat behind a row of SuperFans. They're the types who call the referees names when a call goes against the home team. I think my 10-year old son enjoyed their comments. I bet it was the first time he'd heard this one, "You can shove that whistle up your ass, ref!"

That's an oldie, but a goody. Seeing or hearing, in this case, familiar things through the eyes of my kids is half the fun of being a parent.

Rainy Ride

A new bike path has opened near where I work. It allows me to avoid a death-trap road and I find it's a pleasant, undiscovered ride. I rode home the other day after a rain and took a photo with the cell phone. I think a real camera would have really been fun in this situation. I can see the reflection of my handlebars here.

Troll on the Trail

This is a photo from Lebanon Hills off-road trail in Eagan, MN. The trail is built and maintained by the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC). I'd heard they put a troll on the trail, but I really didn't imagine it was this big. It's located on one of the more difficult loops of the trail system. This loop includes a pretty tall log crossing, boulders to ride down, ladders, and a teeter totter. I don't enjoy all those scary things, so I haven't ridden this loop in more than a year.

Yesterday, I rode it and really enjoyed myself. I rode the teeter totter twice and rocks are nothing on my new Fisher 293. I picked it up yesterday before the ride. It mixes what I think are my ultimate features for this type of off-road riding: dual-suspension and 29" wheels.

12 Hour Off-Road Race

I participated in a 12-hour, off-road bike race last weekend. The weather was hot (not a dry heat) and the terrain was rougher than I expected. Overall, it was very difficult. I rode all I could then stopped short of 12 hours.

I enjoyed it and I'd like to do another. The next one available is the same day as a friend's event that I really want to attend also.

I rode the solo event. The race also had 2- and 4-rider categories. I think the solo event is easier, in a way, because I rode as fast (or slow) as I felt like and never felt pressure to ride fast for my team. If I had a team, I probably would have burned myself out much sooner.

Now that I'm talking about it, I loved this event. It was just my kind of ride.

I'm thinking of doing the same kind of ride at a local off-road trail on my own without a race going on. I heard of some guys doing it last year at Harmon Park in Inver Grove Heights. They road 100 miles. It's something to think about-- a do it yourself off-road endurance ride.

Lots of Photos from a Recent Trip

My son and I visited my mom in Western Nebraska last weekend. I took lots of photos. I'd like to share them all with you, because the area is beautiful. When the sun was low, it seemed easy to take photos that I liked. I can't share them all, so here are a few with comments.

We hiked up the Scottsbluff National Monument one morning.


When I was a kid we walked far out onto this now restricted area.
It was hot while we were there, but it's a dry heat. Dry heat does not compare to wet heat. I know it sounds stupid until you experience it.


This is where I went to my second half of kindergarten and the first half of first grade. I'm not sure if it's used anymore. They wouldn't let me go to recess on some days, because I wouldn't eat stewed tomatoes or prunes.

My mom married a former antique dealer. He has a few cool things laying around. This Hiawatha bicycle was one of them.


My mom lives in an old farm house surrounded by old farm buildings. I think she sees them as junk, but they are the sort of photographic subjects I love.

A Cliche

If you've noticed I haven't been posting much or making comments on other's blogs, it's because I've been spending less time online. This decision has a purpose. I have the ability to get stuck on something and let it take more of my time and thought than is right.

Blogging is an example of that.

My hope is that by restricting myself a little bit, I will find the right amount of blogging.

This means I'm in a restriction mode right now.

The part of this that I consider a cliche is that I've seen other bloggers run into a similar problem themselves and of course, they post about it.

Bike Lane: A Decision

Since mentioning bike lanes in a previous entry, I decided to ride them whenever I could and read about them. I couldn't find anything like people who advocated bike lanes as the best thing ever. But I found a few negative items (on the internets) about bike lanes.

A couple of the comments I received on my posts were really the most helpful.

With that, I've formed an informed opinion of bike lanes. Here it is.

Bike lanes are useful when built correctly. Bike lanes are really awful when built poorly. Of the places I ride, Minneapolis has built the worst lanes and St. Paul has built the best.

I'll try to post photos of some of both types.

River Bottoms

I finally took a bike off road this past Sunday. I rode the Minnesota River bottoms trail. It's so green down there, it's hard to believe. Everything is tinted in green.



The trail includes this stump in the water. It always looks worthy of a photo. I remembered to stop this time, but the CreepyCam was soaked in sweat, because I had it stored in my jersey pocket. So, the effect you see here is the sweat effect. Nice.



I cleaned the little tiny lens and this is what I got. Not much better. I probably would get better results with CreepyCam if I kept the lens cleaner -- no pocket fuzz and no sweat.