Monday, April 04, 2011

Stacking 'em On.

edit...upon further review it was determined that Jen did not erase my pictures but inserted a memory card.



Not to be I guess. I had some pictures for this post but after struggling to get them downloaded I discovered they had been erased. I got my camera last father's day as a present in conjunction with my birthday. I wanted a camera that I could take on rides and have with me most of the time and not tie up the family camera. Brinna had a dance recital this weekend. Jen used my camera which had a full memory card...many of which are hers from school. In haste to make room I am assuming she erased my pictures from the morning ride, so it's words for you.



Well here is a picture of Brinna after her performance.



Nuclear power plant in the morning...boom.



LHT taking it all in.

As a previous post mentioned I did get out Friday for an early morning ride. I was on the bike by 6. I like riding in the dark. Everything seems so much more laid back. I worked at 9 so ended with about 2.5 hours.


Saturday was another early morning, this time I was on the bike by 5:30. I opted to ride before Brinna's recital to have the rest of the day free. I rode much of the DirtBag course of last year with a few new additions added in for this year. The gravel started solid, still frozen, but as the day progressed so did the the softness of the gravel. Still not bad. Got in 4 hours 45 minutes. After the recital we went to lunch at Panera. Noon time at Panera on a Saturday is chaos, never again. I then tackled the garage. Put sleds, snowshoes, and skis away. Sorted out the many bikes into some semblance of order. The garage is looking pretty sweet.


Sunday was forecasted to be rainy. I slept in a bit and didn't have a real schedule of things to do. After hanging out for a bit I headed out the door around 9:30. I stated on the All City but about 4 blocks away I stood up a small hill and the chain snapped. Undeterred I spun around and scootered home, swapped bikes (see it pays to have a full stable), and was back pedaling. Down cty rd 8 I ran into Mike. I swung around and rode with him to his house and proceeded to head out of town on the opposite side of the river.


I didn't have a route or destination in mind. I rode part of the tail end of the DirtBag, skirted the perimeter of Kimball, Fairhaven, refueled in South Haven, waited for a train, found some killer roads (both gravel and paved) around a lake, then started the homeward journey. The temp was higher than I anticipated and no rain. I was riding pretty toasty. I was able to take off my shoe covers and ride with just regular shoes. My feet looked tiny compared to what I am use to, Lake winter shoes with booties. Ended with 4 hours 30 minutes. Capped the day off with a good sauna at the Anderson's.


Recap:


Monday: gym


Tuesday: group ride, 2 hours.


Wednesday: 3 hours


Thursday: Off, some core.


Friday: 2.5 hours


Saturday: 4 hours 45 minutes.


Sunday: 4 hours 30 minutes.


Total Ride Time: 16 hours 45 minutes.


Legs and body feel pretty good. I think I am coming around to being ready for Trans Iowa. Three weeks away!


Later.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Powerplant...I'm not exactly sure what your looking at but I assume it's the power plant just south of Becker. It's not the Nuc-plant but is often mistaken for it. Just thought you might want to know.

Anonymous said...

Powerplant... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monticello_Nuclear_Power_Plant

Word.

tman said...

There are two power plants in the area. One is the plant south of Becker that is often mistaken for the nuclear plant but is not. It is the one that belches a lot of smoke. The nuclear plant is more hidden and most people aren't aware of it's exact location. In fact I know people that work at both and the non-nuc plant often has protesters at their gates thinking they are at the nuc plant.

Ben said...

Uhm, does it really matter? Not that it does but I bike by both and I am pretty sure that the Becker plant is on the east side of the river and the Monticello plant is on the west side of the river. I was west of the Mississippi closer to Monticello than Becker.

the schad family said...

For the love of God get your power plants straight!

tman said...

I still think it's funny that protesters can make the effort to organize a protest and not make an effort to locate the right place.

Anonymous said...

That is conclusively the Becker Coal Plant in the aft ground of the photo. Specifically SHERCO units 1-3. In the event the western plant is giving off similar emissions it is time to head to get off the gravel and ride pavement west as fast as you can.