High Tech Lighting!

We get all kinds of bikes into the shop with some creative and not so creative "things" latched to them. This is a first for me...a Colman lantern duct taped to the handle bars. Division Street Lighthouse!

Countdown is On.

Only 29 days left till the North Shore Winter Ultra. Shit this is coming up fast! I have started to pile up some time on the bike, however.

Monday was the mtb night group ride. I put some time in before and we went longer so I got 3.5 hours in.

Wednesday night I went out again. I did some more exploring. This time I crossed Hwy 10 and road around the Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area. I thought is was pretty cool, but short . It's 700 acres but not too much for trails. Maybe I missed some. I will go back with the kids and Zoe to do some hiking and snowshoeing. Ventured on to some more farm field access roads and some freshly plowed fields. I thought this might simulate snow. If that is what the winter ultra will be like, I'm out.

This morning I hoped to get a couple hours in again. The ground was covered with a dusting of snow and the temps were cold but not crazy. I was excited. I made it a tad over an hour. My damn hands were so freaking cold. This really psyched me out for my upcoming event. When I got home and the hands started to warm up I got what Charlie calls the "screaming barfies"...damn.
I just finished the book, "Swim to Antarctica" by Lynne Cox. She does a lot of open water swimming, but at great distances and cold. I kept thinking during my ride if she can swim in 32 degree water with nothing on but a swim suit I can bike in 20 degree weather. My hands won out and I ventured home. I had my Moose Mitts on (poggies) with long finger gloves. I will use warmer gloves next time. The Moose Mitts have a spot for chemical heat packs too...but it was only 20 degrees, not -10! Last night I had the same thing on with an outside temp of about 28 and I was hot. Lesson learned.
Only 29 more days to figure this all out.

Later.

Oh yeah, Wax of the Day is back on too...for awhile anyway.

Riding...soon to be skiing, I hope.

The past few days I put some time on the mtb. I pulled out the single speed Karate Monkey and hit the trails. Thursday on the way to Thanksgiving I stopped off at Elk River and put in 2.5 laps. Man that gets tiring on the single speed. I think I am out of "single speed" shape. Friday, on the way to a second Thanksgiving, I hit up Monticello. Again, if you haven't been there for awhile it is well worth the trip.
I planned to hit up Milaca today to make it a trilogy of all the old riding spots but bailed and kept it local. While I had a good time I am ready to be on the skis...soon, let it snow.
Not only do I want it to snow so I can ski but also to get some time with the Pugsley in the snow.
Filled out my post card for the Ragnarok 105, link on the side. Hope I get in.
Later.

Exploring Continues...

Two more hours exploring the south trails on the Pugsley tonight. I keep waiting for the excitement and thrill to wear off but so far it has not! I ended up bush crashing some and "hike a bike" a bit making it all the more fun. Got stuck on the wrong side of a fence for awhile, but made my way out...undetected!
The Cities Sampler is released tomorrow morning at Target stores. I am not a fan, but Jen is, so in line I will wait. Not as cold as last year at least.
I promise, pics of the Pugsley by weeks end.
Later.

Exploring With Pugsley.

After bringing the kids to Elk River to get a H1N1 Flu Mist thing up their noses, I thought I'd go for a short ride on the Pugsley. I remembered my dad use to ride the roads around the farmers fields by his house...so off I headed. I had a blast. Had it been light out and I on a normal bike it probably would have sucked ass. But it wasn't and I wasn't so it was fun. I spooked up a ton of deer and a few owls. My dad and I use to snowshoe on some land behind his so I road through there too. I haven't been back there for some time. Exploring on the Pugsley was fun. I think I have about a 5 mile loop I can train on for the upcoming Winter Ultra, once we get some snow.
Sweet.

...and so it begins.

With my winter event, Winter Ultra in Duluth, only a month and a half away I decided Monday was the day to start focusing on getting more time in the saddle. I headed out early yesterday, before the scheduled night ride. I hit up the usual spots accumulating 3 hours by the end of the night. The Pugsley is a heavy bike! Good thing it's comfortable. I had planned to go out again this morning but with getting the kids ready and other morning rituals it becomes real hard. So I will save my noon-8 days at work for pre work rides.
Tonight I get to drive the girls to Elk River so they can get the H1N1 flu mist...we live in Sherburne county. Maybe I can drop them off and hit up Hillside for awhile!!
I hope to get pics of the Pugsley up this week.

Out.

Stuff.

I did it! I got out on the road bike this morning. For the last couple of weeks I have planned to go for a road ride, but when the time would come I would mtb, run, or the gym. Not today...I road cty road 8, is there any other?

Last night was the mtb night ride. We have not had the numbers like last year, but still having a blast. I think with October being so wet a lot of people have written it off. But no...it's still on so Monday at 8:30 at the North Loop.

I am starting to figure out what I need/should do to prepare for my upcoming North Shore Winter Ultra. I am still signed up for the 88 mile bike portion. I think I will keep it at that and not drop down to the 48 mile option. Not having done a race/event in the middle of winter (January 2nd) on a snowmobile trail I really don't know what to expect. I am pretty confident in my ability, just not too sure what my brain will be telling me. I hope we get some snow soon so I can get the Pugsley out and see how it performs. I have been riding the Pugsley a lot lately and am really happy with how it feels. But for 88 miles, I am not too sure.
I have been toying with the idea of doing the Tuscobia winter ultra too. It's about a month early and 75 miles. The decision has not yet been made.

New Sport...for me anyway.

With baseball over I have nothing to watch in the evening. Flipping through the channels last night I stumbled upon MMA/UFC on CBS. I got pulled in. It's pretty interesting to watch. The heavy weight bought was straight out of a Rocky movie. Fedor, a Russian, is the dominant fighter. Brett Rogers was working at a WalMart now an upcoming fighter (10-0)...from St. Paul. He made the first round and actually looked good, from what I could tell. About 30 seconds into the second round Fedor knocked his clock!Yeah...blood.