Guest Post: Joe and the $52 t-shirt, or, the 32nd annual Tour of Saints

Hello! We've reached the blog equivalent of the point in a TV season where the sidekick takes center stage for an episode while the hero gets to take a little time off to relax in her luxurious trailer. While Elly was getting back to her city girl roots this weekend, I was off to have an outdoor adventure of my own.

Sunday was the 32nd annual Tour of Saints. The Tour is one of many bike tours throughout Minnesota each summer, and is one I have done three times previously. I've always enjoyed it- it was the site of my first 50 mile ride and is a great way to take in the beauty of rural Stearns County with more than a thousand other bikers. I completed the 50 mile version in 2008, 2009 and 2010. I missed it last year due to barely biking at all for a variety of reasons, and was excited to get back in the swing of things in 2012.

However, as the date got closer, my excitement begin to turn to trepidation. I hadn't really gotten back to any high mileage rides so far in 2012, and after a 21 mile test ride a few days beforehand, it was clear I was not going to complete 50 miles this year, and I doubted if 35 would be possible. An 18 mile option was added this year, but it simply was an out and back on the Woebegon Trail. As nice as the Woebegon is, it's not really worth paying for a ride on it (see our earlier experience with a bandited Caramel Roll Ride).

[editor's note: we did not really bandit the Caramel Roll Ride...it was technically over and we were just "biking on the same path". ;-)]

After a pep talk from Elly the night before, I decided to give it the old college try and headed to, um, the College of St. Benedict for the start of the ride. As I unpacked and assembled my bike, the sight of multitudes of happy bikers embarking on their rides lifted my spirits, and I set off with a song in my heart and a hum in my tires.

A lovely summer morning, cloudless and cool

The Tour is structured with a rest stop every 12 miles or so. First up was Rocori High School in Cold Spring, with tempting treats provided by Cold Spring Bakery, along with a very busy hydration table. At 12 miles in I was pretty optimistic. Sure, I'd been passed by about six times more people than I had passed, but those who passed me were riding nicer bikes and had shinier clothes than I. Plus, I'd already conquered six big hills and had just eaten some tasty mini caramel rolls. Today Cold Spring, tomorrow the world!

Free food, water, Gatorade; even bike repair if necessary!

The next 14 miles traced the back roads from Cold Spring to St. John's University. There were fewer major hills, and apparently all the serious bikers were already ahead of me as I was no longer getting passed right and left. One of the great things about bike tours is the variety of riders. I saw a few who looked to be middle school age, and some people who were clearly past seventy. There's a lot of very fit riders, but also plenty of people in all shapes and sizes. Fellow riders and I occasionally exchanged pleasantries as we passed, and there was a nearly full moon in the cloudless blue sky. Things were still going well, though I could feel some tiredness and soreness creeping in. Rest stop number two is hosted by Collegeville Orchards and was a very welcome sight after 26 miles of riding. It features fantastic grapes, cherries, peaches, and strawberries (also, cookies).

Kickstands? Bah, let's get some fruit!

The last leg flew by. I was tired, but I felt so good about nearly completing something I wasn't sure I could do that I almost took the 50 mile route where it splits away at mile 31. Luckily I restrained myself and wheeled back to St. Ben's for some well deserved watermelon and an expensive t-Shirt.

Mmmm...watermelon.

The ride had some highs (33.2 MPH downhill!), with beautiful weather, good snacks, biker camaraderie, and an endorphin high, and some lows (2.5 MPH uphill), with hills, some wind on the second half, hills, some tiredness, and hills. I remember now why I enjoy this so much, and in 2013- I will be doing the 50 miles. Only 363 days to go!

Editor's Note:  I took a picture of Joe being awesome in his $52 shirt

Joe's back, also awesome

The Caramel Roll Ride: Lake Wobegon Trail from Albany to St. Joe: June 9, 2012

Joe and I didn't actually do the Caramel Roll Ride, per se.  We did what we did last year...we were inspired by the ride to participate, but we wanted to sleep in on a Saturday instead of getting up at the crack of dawn.  We're not really "race bandits" because the Caramel Roll Ride goes from 8-10am (too early for us), and we got out there at about 10:15.  Most of the riders were done at this point.

Lake Wobegon Regional Trail:  Where all the visitors are above average.
And, WEAR BRIGHT CLOTHING DURING HUNTING SEASON.

The Lake Wobegon Trail is a 46-mile-long trail that crosses the very center of Central Minnesota.  It's a rail-trail project, creating a perfect synthesis of Joe's Two Loves: bikes and trains.  Minnesota is a leader in the US for converting disused train tracks into bike trails.  In many cases, the trails are "railbanked", which means that the railroads retain some rights of future usage.  It's rather complicated, but if you're interested in learning more the wikipedia page is helpful.  :-)  Rail-trail projects are also winners in my book, because they are often straight and flat (trains can't turn quickly or handle steep hills, and neither can I) and they are safe: aside from infrequent intersections, bikers won't have to share the road with cars.  They are also wonderful in that they cut through the countryside, giving bikers great views of whatever happened to be along the train tracks: small towns, farm fields, old depots, lakes, hills in the distance, rivers below.

A pretty segment of trail on a summers day

I've already talked a bit about how much I love Minnesota's Bike Trail system.  These regional trails are true gems - and they're growing.  There is a movement to extend the Wobegon trail into St. Cloud, where it would hook up with other trails and perhaps become the longest in the nation.  It's difficult to put all of Minnesota's paved bike trails in one place - some are run by the DNR (State Trails, like the Gitchi-Gami trail that I biked last month), some are regional trails (like the Lake Wobegon Trail), and some are city trails (like the Grand Rounds, which we will get to later this summer/fall).

Which Saint would you like to visit today?
These are just a few of the many, many Saint Cities along the Wobegon Trail.

We found evidence of the trail's Train History while biking.  Every now and then we'd see a white mileage marker with black numbering.  The numbers were much higher than the total number of miles on the trail - they were the old train mileage markers, signifying the number of miles the train was from it's final destination in the Twin Cities.  We also found a set of rails off to the side of the main trail near the old Collegeville station location.  We figured it must have been for the train to pull off the main line and load/unload people and products.  Joe found several chunks of coal on the tracks.  Neat!

Railbank sign and old train mileage sign

Joe finds an old section of track...

...with coal still on it.

We did the "Fox, Goose, and Bag of Beans" shuffle so that we would be able to bike from Albany to St. Joseph, instead of having to double back.  It worked out great!  It is 16 miles from Albany to St. Joe, and we passed through some of the most beautiful parts of the trail.  I have to apologize for the not-great pictures - it is impossible to bike and take pictures at the same time (for me, anyway) and photography was not on my mind on this beautiful day.

16 miles was a good ride for the morning.  The temps were in the upper 70's, there was a breeze but we weren't going directly into it (for the most part), and I survived the trip without many problems.  When we got to St. Joe we sat on a picnic bench to recover a bit, and a lady came up to us offering free bottled water and bananas.  They were left over from the Caramel Roll Ride!  It was clear that we weren't ride participants, but she said to take them anyway.  Minnesota Nice in action!

Gitchi-Gami State Trail, Iona's Beach to Split Rock (and back): May 10, 2012

My first bike ride on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail was difficult.  It's amazing how one can hike for hours, run for minutes (well, maybe 20 minutes), and ride the bikes at the gym with no problems at all...but when faced with a Big Hill in the Real World on a Real Bike...things fall apart.

Last Wednesday (Fantasia Overlook day of beauty) was followed by an equally beautiful Thursday.  Still on a high from Wednesday's hike, I decided that it was time I got out my bike and took on some of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail.  The Gitchi-Gami State Trail is a paved bike/multiuse trail that lives between Highway 61 and the lakeshore.  It is still being built, but when it is done it will be 88 miles long.  Another great trail project in Minnesota!  I love Minnesota.

This trail brought to you by the awesomeness that is MINNESOTA

I considered starting at Gooseberry Falls State Park, but missed the exit.  I drove a bit further until I found a place to hop on the trail by Iona's Beach.  I decided to head northeast towards Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.  The Big Plan was to bike to Split Rock, turn around, bike back past Iona's Beach, go to Gooseberry, turn around, and come back to my car.  That's about 12 miles total, all on the trail.  And it's so beautiful!  What a beautiful day for a ride, right?

Cliff, lake, small island covered with birds

Things did not go as planned.

I struggled on the hills.  Oh, how I struggled.  My legs ached, my muscles felt weak.  At first I thought that perhaps I just needed to power through the first mile or so to get to "the groove" (like I do when I am running), but no.  It wasn't a matter of power, it was a matter of strength.  I had none.  I was in agony.  The downhill sections were nice, but I knew that I would pay when I had to back up them on the way back.  The worst was a very steep switchback hill right near Split Rock: not only did I have to brake to get down it, I knew that I would have to walk to get back up.  I passed a curious Ground Squirrel on the way down.  I think he made fun of me.

Ha ha!  You suck!

I did make it to Split Rock. 

Proof that I did, indeed, get to Split Rock

I didn't want to spend any more time than necessary just standing around, so I hopped back on the bike and headed back towards the steep hill.  When I came to it, I hung my head a bit as I hopped off my bike and walked it up.  The Ground Squirrel was still there, still making fun of me.

Ha ha!  You still suck!

Okay, the hill was probably no more than a quarter of a mile total...a small part of the whole trail.  But I still felt bad about my Big Huge Failure.  I biked back to Iona's Beach, feeling low.  I knew that it would be silliness to try and get to Gooseberry and back.  I pulled up to the parking lot, and saw a bike rack kind of hidden in the trees. 

Wondering what the bike rack was for, I wandered over to it.  There was a path leading towards the shore: "duh," I thought. "It's Iona's Beach."  I locked up my bike and followed the trail. 

Beautiful Beach

Iona has a nice beach.  Good place to sit and think.  I didn't let myself wallow too much:  I guess I just need to bike more often, get in better shape.  Nothing wrong with being rusty on my first hills of the season, right?

Well, it did bother me.  I wound up feeling pretty low about it for...well, a week.  That's why it's taken so long for me to write this post.  Hiking comes easily to me, biking does not.  I need to be okay with that and I need to embrace new challenges.  Like...hills.  :-)


Total miles biked today: 9

Total miles biked (in 2012): 21.5

Biking to the Ballgame: April 29, 2012

Joe and I decided that it was high time to get the bikes out for the year.  He's had his up on the blocks in his living room for the winter (so that he could bike while watching Supernatural), and I've been keeping up at the gym.  It's not the same as biking down a path though - through nature and cityscapes, the wind in your hair (in my case...heh).  We bought tickets to see our beloved Twins on Sunday and thought that it would be great to bike into Minneapolis on the Cedar Lake Trail, which goes right to Target Field.

Before I go too far here, let me just sing the praises of my hometown for a minute.  Minneapolis has an AMAZING bike trail network.  I grew up by Lake Harriet and spent most of my childhood biking around it and the other lakes in the chain.  I had no idea how unique that experience was.  Minneapolis' founding fathers (and mothers) decreed early on that the lakes should belong to no one person - they should be parkland.  The City's Park & Recreation Board has long been a powerful force in the city for community park and natural spaces.  Through the work of Park Board as well as independent groups (such as the Cedar Lake Park Association, which is mainly responsible for the Cedar Lake Trail), Minneapolis is the #1 Bike City in America, according to Bicycling Magazine.  Imagine that!  A city that experiences 6 months of winter is the best in the nation for biking.  Clearly they're doing something right.

Anyway, back to the trail.

We decided to hop on the trail at Highway 100.  We had a hell of a time finding a place to get on the trail - finally we found little Dakota Park in St. Louis Park.  We got the bikes out of my car, pumped up the wheels, and got ready to go.

Lookin' good, Joe.

The path itself is for biking in both directions as well as pedestrian use.  Sometimes the pedestrian path is split from the biking path, sometimes there are THREE paths (one for biking west, one for biking east, one for pedestrians).  the Cedar Lake Trail is called the country's first Bike Highway for that reason.  It's pretty sweet.

Joe shows his Twins Pride as we bike towards the skyline in the distance.

One of the many nice things about this trail: it didn't cross a single road.  It's an old railbed, so there's a few roads that go over the trail - but the trail itself doesn't go over any bridges and there wasn't a single time in which we had to stop for auto traffic (there were a few bike trail intersections).

Remember where we parked!

The most difficult part of the trail was trying to figure out how to get ourselves and our bikes TO Target Field.  The trail literally passes beneath the field - but in order to get up there, we had to walk our bikes through a sketchy self-storage building, take a freight elevator to ground level, and then walk all the way around the stadium before we found the very-crowded bike racks.  Once we were in, though, we were golden.

We sat in the outfield for the first time - it was great!  

The Twins were golden, too.  We won, 7-4.  The first inning was particularly exciting: four runs, including a triple from our New Best Friend Josh Willingham.  He hit a triple, a double, a single...but neglected to hit a home run.  Ah, well.  He's done a lot for the team, offensively.  He's such a Willingham.

courtesy of Twinkie Town

After we got done mopping the turf with the Royals, we retrieved our bikes and attempted to find our way back to the trail.  We got turned around and wound up taking our bikes down an escalator, which was a new experience for the both of us.  Once on the trail, we realized that the trail went right by the player's parking lot.  We saw several players and a certain play-by-play announcer (TV guy, never watch him) go out to their fancy cars.  Neat!

post-first ride of the season

Nah, I'm just kidding.  It was only a 12.5 mile ride, and we stopped for 3 hours to watch a game in the middle of it.  I felt fine afterwards, and I feel fine today.  I'm really looking forward to more biking adventures this summer.  Grand Rounds, Tour of Saints, Hike-n-bike on the Superior Hiking Trail, you name it.  Have wheels, will travel.

Total miles biked today: 12.5


Total miles biked (in 2012): 12.5