A Tale of the Wind.

Not to continually complain but man the wind last week was relentless. Literally everyday I rode was a battle with the wind.  Saturday and Sunday followed suit.  Saturday I headed out on the Cutthroat.  Per normal I changed my mind a dozen times on a route before I left.  The wind was finally not out of the NW but SW, switching to W, and yes, later NW.  I headed down county road 8 and started making my way west.  Despite the "prevailing westerly" winds I rarely make it out west.  It was nice to have different roads and views.

Eventually I started to head west and north versus south and west.  I thought about heading all the way up to the Wobegon Trail and taking that all the way into St. Cloud but I was starting to run low on time so made the turn east and cruised home with the tailwind.  I'm not sure if it's just me or if the gravel is truly in rough shape this year.  Lots of loose sections, wash board sections, and very little "hero" gravel.  It's still fun just no speed records!

The ride.  Sorry I didn't get closer.

I had hoped to have a fire outside later that day but the wind never died down and the overcast skis didn't make it too appealing out.  I did get some yard work done and finally beat Harper at Mancala. 

Sunday the sun was out and not a cloud in the sky but the wind was whipping and the temperature was not as warm as Saturday.  I actually got a bit chilled on the first part of my ride.  This time I was on the Moots.  The wind was back to N/NW going all W later in the day.  Not wanting to take the River Road again I headed to the east side of Hwy 10 and took gravel all the way to Little Falls.  The Moots has skinny tires, 700x35.  My first DK I was on 34's I think.  Not sure why I bought the 35's. Anything less than 38's are not for me.  They cut the gravel like a pizza cutter.  But I didn't care.  For whatever reason, maybe the sun, I was have the best time.

At Little Falls I started back down on the River Road, west side.  But later jumped on the Soo Line (paved) till I hit gravel and headed due east.  It was on this road that I ran into Charlie.  We stopped on opposite sides and chatted.  It was this encounter that really hit home how much I'd like to ride with someone.  Nonetheless we bid each other a good ride and headed opposite directions.

The Ride.

Greg, the Dirt Bag director, has come up with an idea.  Dirt Bag Challenge!  Basically from now till the end of May if you ride one of the 3 Dirt Bag courses you can enter to win a gift card from us (Revolution) or Fitzharris.  What a great idea.  Details and routes can be found on the Dirt Bag Facebook Page.

Lastly, I tend to obsess over the "next" bike.  It changes constantly but it's fun.  Currently I've been stuck on the Salsa Cycles Warroad AXS.  I have no need for another bike, even with the n+1 rule.  But damn I think it would be fun and sure to get a lot of miles.  But hey, it's ok to dream.

The wind it slotted to peak today with gusts in the 30's.  Most likely not riding.  If I do it will be at the North Loop spinning the legs.  I wanted to take Harper and the other girls if they want to the North Loop but it's not looking like a nice day.

Happy Week.