Joyride

The weather has suddenly changed in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and it feels like spring. Everyone was soaking up the 60 degrees today, and I was no exception. I took the opportunity to get out and ride along the river in St. Paul during lunch and grabbed a few shots. 

Decided to hike my bike up the stairs.

Had forgot how much I hate heights... this little catwalk reminded me. I still stopped to take a couple shots of my ride.

Looked like some suspicious activity below, or just teens blowing steam... Or both.

Happy to be above the grating. 

Hanging at the Science Museum. 

Lanterne Rouge

Yesterday, 30 Days of Biking opened for pledges to ride for the month of April. Every day. Regardless of weather.

I pledged to do it, which isn't much of a stretch for me, really. I've been pretty consistent, especially after upgrading my winter ride. But after a bout of bronchitis in February, combined with some pretty cold temperatures out there, the only biking I have done the past couple of weeks has been of the indoor nature.

At any rate, after pledging and with spring "starting" this month and the promise of a near 30 degree day today, I was excited to break the bike out again for the work commute.

Frankly, it was still a little shocking to the system. And when tempted to turn around, the only thing that kept me in the saddle were thoughts of the Lanterne Rouge 'winners' from the Tour de France. You see, yesterday I also started reading a book titled Lanterne Rouge, by Max Leonard, about the unsung heroes that hang on to finish the Tour, just ahead of the Broom Wagon. Thinking of their suffering gave me just enough motivation to endure the uncomfortable wind chill for my comparatively tiny hour-long commute. 

About the book: so far the very brief glimpse I've had into the tail-end aspect of the Tour is changing the way I think about it. A very engaging book so far; I hope to write more about it.

RIP Spock

Lost Leonard Nemoy today. Wow.

You lived long; you prospered. You'll be missed. See you on the other side. 

Black Friday

The best, or worst shopping day of the year...

I have a tradition of getting up early and hitting the Freewheel Bike "Black and Yellow Friday Sale" (matches their colors).  From 7-8am they have a 40% off coupon, and I usually need something worth taking advantage of the sale. 

This year. I took the twins with me. I had a few things in mind that I needed -- but when they turned out not to have those things it ended up just being a "fun" outing for the boys. Chasing them around, I wasn't able to think of anything else good to buy. 

There were lots of cries and craziness in addition to the fun. I caught a fat bike that they tried to tip over before it caused a domino affect across the floor. My favorite was watching them rool spare tires across the floor (probably to the annoyance of some other customers). Yes, I'm THAT guy. The best was when Sam proceeded to load them onto the rack of one of the cruisers... And then find more. 

Oh, and Anders left his Minion hat behind, so I have to go back to recover it.

Well, here's some photos. Got to go do some more shopping...

Vélo CX 2014

I was able to stop by Vélo CX in Blaine this past weekend.  I had the twins with me and saw more of the bouncy house than I did of any bike racing. Still, I was able to grab a few pictures. Better luck next time catching a bit more racing.