Back at it

I think it's been over a month since I last posted. I am sucking at this blogging thing. I have sat down few times to write and then I feel like I should be working on homework instead. Maybe I can make these Sunday evening posts a recurring thing.

These photos were taken from a ride I did around St. Paul and Minneapolis. It ended up being 36 miles and somehow I ended up at the airport and had to backtrack for a bit. I had the Monocog geared at 40x16 and that seams to work pretty well for my route.

A couple of take a ways from the ride:
1. I ran into people with "Stop the war" signs on the Lake Street bridge. I don't really care for protesters in general, so when one of them put their sign in my face as I rode by they got a prompt "Fuck you."
2. On West 7th was the first time that I have had a problem with drivers. I usually stick to the suburb roads, so I don't have any issues. I had 2 people honk and tell me that the road is not for bikes. I don;t think they like it when they are stopped at a red light and I cruise right past.

A couple days later I did a real quick 22 mile ride. It was another city ride and was without issue. The thing I noticed was that South St. Paul smells like shit and Caesar Chavez Blvd. in West St. Paul smells delicious. Next time I ride through there I am making a point to stop at El Burrito Mercado for some salsa.

Here is some Honey Stinger goods for the coming year. I experimented with making some waffles of my own today. They came out ok, but I added honey and peanut butter afterwards and folded it over. This is not the best method for packing and eating these things. I have some ideas to make round 2 better.

Last Saturday I set out on a longer ride. My plan was to ride to Lake Phalen, get on the Gateway and go into Stillwater and then come back. I followed that plan for the most part and got in some gravel miles for the first time this year. I didn't dress particularly warm and got cold towards the end of the ride. I think I came in at just over 55 miles.

Some of these long rides get pretty boring. I have the head phones in and listen to some podcasts and music and it still gets a little old after a while. I don;t see how some people can do this stuff for hours on end. Maybe that should be inspiration for me to get faster and be done sooner.

Well, hockey is over after next weekend and then the Ragnarok training will get into full force.