Hard to Forget Rides

 I had some geocaches I wanted to drop off, so what better mode of transportation than the Fatty. It was the first time on the Fat-bike since the snow has gone.  I had cleaned and lubed it before I left this morning and you would never had guessed it when I returned.  The bike and I were coated with a gooey slippery nasty crud.  I was out for 4 hours 6 minutes today. I dodged rain showers, rode some nice hard packed trail, some not so hard packed trail, ate a quick lunch I had packed and had a blast!  Hard to forget rides like this.

 All is good here...smooth sailing.  Just enough ruts and mud to keep it interesting.

 This was the reason for riding the Fat-bike, because there is no driving this road. 

 Skirting the edges of the soft stuff. 

Still able to ride the edge here. 

 OK...now we are getting serious. Get up some speed, not too much...just right.  Now get the right gear.  Don't quit and squish right through.

 Now this one is a little deep.  I barely made this one.  Toes were lapping water and the bottom of these do not have a hard bottom. But once committed, there was no turning back.  I was surprised I made all of these without stalling out. But I was barely moving towards the end of this one.

 The creeks and rivers are slowly coming down from the spring run off.

I think this bridge will require some work in the near future.  If you sneak a peak and peer in the hole, you can see clear to the creek. Not good.   

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

PS...As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

About Time

 We are having another go at spring here in the north of Wisconsin.  Today had temperatures in the 70's F and very little wind, which made for some nice riding today.  It is a welcome change from the cold and very windy weather we have become accustomed to this spring.  The above picture is of the Eau Claire River. 

 Just last week in nearby Hayward, they groomed a portion of the Birkie trail for skiing, although the Hayward area received about 16" of snow to our 2". The trail above is a winter use only for snowmobile and ATV's.  There may, or may not, have been a Fat-tire on this trail this winter also.

 The Wascott Fire Hall.

 This is the street in Gordon, WI where I learned how to ride a bicycle...a blue one.

 And this is the field where I learned how to drive a car.  We were helping family friends hay this field and when we were done, my parents taught me how to drive their car.  It was a 1966 Ford with a 3 on the tree...a blue one. I think of that day every time I go by here.

 That log floating out there is going to have to change direction if it's going to fit through the culvert it is heading for. 

The small lakes around here are now free of ice.  The larger deeper lakes are still iced in.  We had our fishing opener this past weekend and the ice still on the lakes have been the talk of the town.  It is the first time I that I can remember having ice for the opener, at least to where a person couldn't get out with a boat.  Some people ice fished for the opener and I heard reports of 16" of ice on a couple lakes.  I am not complaining about the weather we have been having this spring, but the weather today...eh...about time!

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

Charity Riding

 Last weekend had me riding the Mn Ironman bicycle ride.  I was waiting to post this up to see if they would release the amount of riders they had ride.  I had heard several reports of over 5,000 riders, but did not find anywhere to verify that.  Judging by the amount of autos, the premium of parking and the amount of people at the start/finish,  I believe it.  We arrived early morning the day of the event, although I wasn't in a hurry to register in because I knew from past experience that registration goes fast.  After checking in about 6:50, I walked the 1/4 mile back to car, readied the bicycle, suited up and headed out near the 7:15 mark.
Edit...it has been verified at 4,697 riders. I found the e-mail Doug mentioned.  They are aware of the hits and misses.  

 I rode the 50 mile route rather than my usual century.  We had other things to do, so I felt lucky just to get in the 50.  I think they listed it as 53 on the profile map and that is very near what I had on the Garmin   We had a very strong wind helping us on the beginning of loop.  Speeds were very high on the first section.  Surprisingly, the speeds stayed not bad on the return also.

 Because I was out early the first rest stop was easy to get in and out of.  The second stop was located where two loops came together.  That one was much more crowded.  I made a trip to the biffy, but skipped the long snack line.

 There are always some pacelines on rides like this.  If I choose to join one, I try to pick and choose wisely.  A person can tell by riding at the back of the pack for short ways what you're getting into.  I hooked up with a group of about 20 for a couple miles, (not these guys pictured above) that I just wasn't comfortable with.  The roads had some potholes, and pot holes is an understatement, but that group had some riders making quick movements even when the roads were good.  I decided to let them go.  Glad I did.  As we were on a slight downhill with some good speed, I could see them a couple hundred yards ahead of me.  That is when disaster hit for them.  There were bicycles and bodies flying.  A sag vehicle happened to be right behind them, so they had help right away.  It looked like they were all sitting up as I rode on.

From what I saw, the routes were excellent.  The bathrooms at the start/finish line had very long lines.  One person made the comment, 5 bathrooms for 5,000 people...not good.  There were many more bathrooms at the rest stops and from what I saw didn't seem to be a problem there. The lunch line was also extremely long.  I didn't take many pictures.  I do not know why.  I guess some days are not picture days for me.  It was a great time and I will do it again!

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

Turning the Corner

 I think we are turning the corner on our spring.  Today was first day this year for me riding a road bike.  I felt like a rocket on that road bike after riding the Fat-tire, the studded fixed gear and the my touring unit with fenders, racks and such...but I knew better.  It will take more than that to fool me, because after all, it's not my first rodeo. 

 The nearby city of Duluth, Mn set snow fall records for the month of April.  I think it was somewhere over 50" in month of April alone.  The most snow of any month on record.  We still have plenty of ice on our lakes and just yesterday I see a person out ice fishing and used an ATV to get to the fishing spot.  I have heard reports of this being the latest ice out from local lake residents that keep track of such things.   

The ride today was a quick one as I had things to do today, but with the temperature around 65°F and the warmest so far this year, I needed to get out.  

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

We Will Manage

 We were blessed with between 18 and 20 inches of snow on Friday.  It is looking like a very late spring here in northern WI... especially seeing how they are predicting 7 to 11 inches tonight. We will manage.

 The temperature rose today to right around the 50°F mark. I was overdressed today and needed to shed some clothing a little ways into the ride.

 I saw this little guy, or girl, Raccoon today.  It sure was nice of him/her to give me a break in middle of this little climb.

I suppose I could have just rode around around her/him, but seeing things like this is some of the reason I ride to begin with.  Ahhhhh, the snow just started as I am finishing this up.  Like I said before, we will manage.

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

Water Crossings

 I am registered up for the Mn Ironman bike ride which is coming up in less than 2 weeks.   That said, our spring this year has been more like winter so long training rides haven't been happening.  But, I have been on the bike every day in April...and most everyday since of February.   

 Last night I had studied the weather forecast and today was suppose to be one of the nicest days we have had in a while.  I had a route I have not ridden this year and decided today was the day.  I knew I would be fighting a wind for most of the beginning and if there was any wind to be had in the afternoon, it would be in my favor.  The forecast was for WNW winds at 15 in the morning changing to N at 6 this afternoon. They were right. 

Rock Creek

 I remember going by here when I was a youngster giggling about the name.  That means it has been here for many a moons.

  

 This farm has been here for many years also. 

 A new bridge on Douglas County Highway M crossing the Tamarack River. 

 The Sheosh creek.  A trout stream.

 And...a picture of the Moose River.

Nearing home, a picture of the St. Croix River.  

 The first 23 miles I would be fighting the wind.  I did not mind.  For me, it's not a big deal when I know what I am up against. Today's ride was right close to 42 miles with the temp around the 45°F mark. Another great day to be out.  I did not load up all the pictures of the water crossings the bicycle took me across today.  Believe me, there were many.

Lets get outdoors and have some Fun!!

BBB Porn??

Warning: BBB Porn Ahead

(Big Beautiful Bicycle)

 I talked to my Dad shortly before today's ride.  He said "It's kind of nasty out there, isn't it?"  He was right.  But, a person has to take advantage of weather like this...because before you know it, it will be summer!

 Yesterday I was on the Fat-bike also and I could ride these snowmobile trails without too much trouble.  After the snow these last two days, these trails are difficult riding now.  I rode some of it and reverted back to the roads.

I was out for just short of 2 hours today.  It would have been longer had I just thought a little.  Yesterday was the first time on the Fat-Bike in about 3 weeks and in that little time I totally forgot how much fun they are.  Like a dummy, I had only brought along one water bottle.  I should have brought along more drink and a sandwich to make a day of it.  But riding without food and drink, one can end up like a skeleton.  A skeleton hanging in the bush.  Wouldn't want that!

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!   

Calm Before the Storm?

 

 

The above pictures show the transformation of the Moose River during the last week.

The St.Croix above.

The calm before the storm, I think not.  Windy, windy and windy today.   We are suppose to be in line for big storm they say.  Another dumping of snow?  We will see.  Makes for some interesting riding anyway.  

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!  

Truth be Told

First Moose River picture on April 2nd

Second Moose River picture on April 4

This mornings picture on April 7th.  

We received another taste of winter the last couple days. It was not as much snow as they were predicting, but we did get some wet slushy stuff.  I have heard people claiming we have had easy winters as of late and we have become soft with this winter being normal.  Some truth to that and some not so true.  Some would like to have all easy winters, but truth be told, this is a much colder than a normal spring for us.  But as Mark Twain once said "In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours."  Similar to some on both sides of this issue, I think he may have exaggerated a little.  But, he also said "Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get." True that!

Lets get outdoors and have some fun! 

Proof of Spring Still Springing

 If a person was keeping track of training miles, I do not think I could in good conscience count today's ride.  The ride was 21 miles in which I just meandered along weaving between the leaves that were blowing down the road.  I figured I was training for the opening of single tracking...yeah, that's it.

 

 The path leading down to the St Croix River on the Mail Rd has cleared up.  No snow bank to maneuver today.

 

 

The wind was blowing strong again today, as it has been lately, but this lunch spot was relatively calm. 

 

This is the water level gauge here at the bridge.  It will be rising.  When the water level gets higher on the stick, I will get the kayak out.

 



 The snowbanks are moving back and slowly, melting which makes these mini rivers flowing along the edge of roads. 

 

The above picture is of the Moose River and was taken two days ago.  The picture below is at the same spot. If you click the picture to magically blow them up, the difference is quite noticeable I think. Notice how the earlier picture has no snow and ice up against the bank and in today's pictures the ice is accumulating against the river bank.



The above two pictures are more proof of spring springing.

 

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!