Duluth Road Cyclist

I was recently shown a local blog to check out.  These people ride...A  LOT ! ! !  Check them out at  http://duluthroadcyclists.blogspot.com/

Missing the Single

I have been on the mountain bike...well, Not Enough...though I have been on the road bike lately and this last weekend some miles were put on at a good effort for me, but the MTB has been in the garage.  Tonight we had about 3 inches of rain, so the trails will be wet for a while yet and the MTB will sit a little longer.  I have been comtemplating heading to Marquette MI and riding the Ore 2 Shore again, so the 2 to 3 hour hard efforts on the road are a good thing.  For me though, these events are not about winning...it's finishing, camaraderie and having a good time.  It has to be for those reasons when a person is, shall we say, not young or fast.  Missing the single trackin for sure. 

Riding Near Farm Country

It is a little over 6 miles to the nearest farm from our family cabin.  After this first one, there are many.  Sometimes when I go on rides, I intentionally ride through the farm country.  It may smell sometimes, but I do enjoy the scenery.  Is it bad that I like riding through areas that sometimes have an odor?  I think not.

Saturday Morning Gravel Grinder

This morning had me riding the gravel and I will say that with out a doubt, the conditions could not have been better.  It was a 49 mile ride with the conditions perfect.

This is a photo of the Jackson Box Road which was the third gravel road of the day.  I noticed there had been one track through this road since the last rain on Wednesday.

This is a little fishing hole that is located a long way from anywhere.  I had a little snack, and I say little because that was all I could eat before the flies drove me out of here.  I swear they followed me for about ten miles...just swarming and every once in while landing and inserting their beak into my flesh.  Fortunately, that was the only section of the day where they were an issue.

This was the road going into the pond above.  I rode it in alright, but biffed it coming out of there.  The bike was getting a little squirrelly and tried to ride it out, but the Kona wanted no part of it and bucked me over the bars.  It was a soft landing...little mud on the skin, I had no leaks and everything that was suppose to bend, did, and that is a good thing.  It does make one think that with no cell service, one track down the road three days ago and nearest blacktop probably 5 miles away, one should be at least a little careful...naaawwww. 

Sweeeeeet roads today! ! !

I spotted this tree that was recently struck by lightening.  I estimated there were large pieces of this tree 75 to 100ft away.  The tree before it in this picture had pieces of it hanging high in the tree.  It is unreal how sometimes lightening just blows trees apart.

Like I said before...there isn't much better way to spend a Saturday morning than 49 miles of mostly gravel.

Fun

I didn't put in a long ride, but it was a pretty good effort...+84 degrees, 46 miles, some hills and some wind.  After arriving back I pulled up a chair along side of my Dad on the patio...sweating as much as I sweat...and said something to the effect of "ohhh man, that was work."  To which my father in is wisdom replied,  "Work? I thought it was supposed to be fun."  He had a point...it was both.

Cabin Time

We have been Internet, TV and tele challenged the last week or so, as we spent some extended family time at the cabin.  I did get in some great road rides as well as some mountain biking...some CAMBA stuff, needn't say more.  Also some boating and canoeing.  Overall, a great time.

I am proud of my Dad carrying the American Legion Flag in the Gordon Good Neighbor Days parade. 

Also proud of my Mother and Sister shown here representing the American Legion Auxiliary in the parade.

Naturally proud of this one also...My daughter ! ! ! aka...Daddy's girl.

Happy Fourth

This weekend is my home town of Gordon WI's yearly celebration.  Gordon is a very small town...township itself is large, but the town proper is very small.  The July 4th Gordon Good Neighbor Days has been going on for as long as I can remember.  The claim to fame is the fireworks show.  It is suppose to be one the best in the midwest and it is the only day of the year we have a traffic jam.  I had enough of it a few years ago, so now I am a good neighbor by leaving town and giving room for someone else.  I think that is the neighborly thing to do.  My family still goes...and I probably should...but that many people, and mostly partying people, is not my thing.  Although if were bicycles, that may be a different story.  

A few years ago I started doing things by myself that weekend.  I have made century rides, long mountain bike rides, extended gravel rides and just about anything away from town that weekend.  This year is no different. 

Decorah lesson

We stopped into three different bike shops on this trip. The first one was the shop Dano owns in Sheboygan WI called the Sheboygan Bicycle Company...Dano is on my blog list.  He is indeed interesting to read.  Brian...very very fast and just as nice as he is fast, Dano and another guy were helpful in giving us very good directions to MTB trails in their area.  For anyone who is out and about in unfamiliar territory, I would suggest stopping into these shops.  They always are willing to help out and as an added bonus. you get to meet some very nice people. 

We also stopped at the The Prairie Peddler bike shop in Prairie du Chien WI looking for more MTB trails.  We talked to the owner, Marty Larson, who was very helpful in pointing us to some of the trail systems in the area.  He even offered to be our tour guide, but he was busy the night we were in town.  He told of us where the trails were located in Prairie, which we checked out that night, and also some at the Yellow River Rec area in Iowa.  We drove through the Yellow River area and looks like a place we will be returning to.  Bicycling from your campsite is always nice, but we decided not to stay there.  We moved on to Dechorah Iowa to ride some of those trails he had suggested.

I always knew I wasn't a strong climber and Decorah confirmed that fact.  That, and I just didn't have it the day we were there.  I rode as much as I could and "hike-a-bike" the rest.

Decorah wrapped it up for the bicycling on this trip.  From there it was on to Dubuque for the highlight of our trip, our God Daughter's Wedding.