Myrna CG Mibus - Idyllwild

Happy New Year you all! Yes, it's 2020 and I haven't posted anything on this blog for, oh, a couple of years. Oh well. Here I am now writing a quick update because I got out and rode my fat bike in the snow today. I didn't make it a mile and I went slower than molasses in January (how appropriate for the first day of January!) but I am still happy about the fact that I got out on my bike. Why? Well, let me tell you. I haven't been on any of my bikes since summer so getting out today for even a super short and slow ride feels like a huge accomplishment. Correction - it is a huge accomplishment. There have been things, physical things like tennis elbow and weird tailbone muscular pain and a less-than-fun surgery  that I'm still recovering from this past year and then some other stuff that have made bicycling next to impossible. But today, on the first day of a new year, I decided to get out on my fat bike and give it a go in the fresh snow. Rocket the dog loves t...

Inspired by  Pedal Hub's recent podcast , "The roundtable reunites!" in which Patrick, Amber and Gene discuss their top 5 bike moments of 2015, I decided to reflect back on 2015 and write about my five best bike moments of the year. Here are mine, in chronological order: My Vaya - post ride and still full of mud Box of Frogs  was a 60 mile bike ride adventure on gravel, tar and through the mud that I did back on June 7th. I set out to do the ride on my own but was lucky enough to ride along with my friends Kate and Victoria. Finishing that ride taught me that I can do things that seem impossible - like trek through flooded bike trails and ride all day long. The ride was long, hot, muddy, windy, rainy and wonderful! Click  HERE for my blog write up on the Box of Frogs  Adventure At the beginning of the Gandy Dancer Trail My Bikepacking Adventure  happened in early August and involved four days of biking in Wisconsin, most of it on the Gandy ...

We have a great new mountain bike trail in Northfield. The Sechler Park River Bottoms Trail was built by members of the Cannon River Offroad Cycling & Trails  (CROCT) club a few months ago and runs along the Cannon River. I've had the chance to ride it with Owen a couple of times and had great fun. We had a fresh layer of snow last week and I was itching to get out and ride my Beargrease on the trail again. Owen wasn't free to ride and since I'm a beginner when it comes to mountain biking I didn't want to ride alone - I think it's safer to ride with a buddy plus it's more fun! - so I contacted Griff Wigley (friend and blogger at Mountain Bike Geezer ) to see if he was free to ride with me. Griff was free so we set a time to meet. It was sunny and about 28 degrees when we headed out on the Sechler Park trail last Thursday afternoon. The trail was snow covered but fairly well packed by other mountain and fat bikes that had been out not he trail before us....

I've heard so much about riding the Minnesota River Bottoms bike trail and have wanted to ride it ever since I got my Beargrease. We've been talking about making this happen for a while but, finally, on Saturday Owen and I made it happen! We loaded up our bikes and drove to the Lyndale Avenue access point and parking lot to explore the river bottoms for a bit. Even though we weren't sure where to go and certainly are out of shape for a long ride, we figured we could ride at least a few miles of the 11 mile trail and check things out. Owen riding his Mukluk on the River Bottoms trail The temps on Saturday were above freezing, about 37°F,  and the sun was shining. We arrived at the parking lot shortly before noon and unloaded our fatties. There were about 20 cars in the lot and we saw a couple of fat bikers right off. We unloaded our bikes and got ready to go out and find some fun! Even though we had planned to ride east on the trail, I figured I would play it safe and...

Here I am riding Bear following Ben in the RBNC. Photo ©Marty Larson Last night I went on a super fun bike ride. I think it's safe to say it was my best bike ride ever. And by best bike ride I don't mean that I went a ton of miles, set a speed record or did anything that would be considered extraordinary among "good" bicyclists. By best I mean I laughed and smiled more than any other bike ride I've been on. By best I mean funnest. And I know funnest is not a real word but I don't really care because "funnest bike ride ever" seems to be the best way to sum up my ride last night. What did I do on this funnest bike ride ever? Well Owen and I loaded up our fat bikes (Owen's Mukluk  2 and my Beargrease named Bear) and drove on down to Milltown Cycles in Faribault and joined in on a Tuesday Night Ride. Milltown has these rides on most Tuesdays. Sometimes they ride gravel. Sometimes roads. Sometimes they ride mountain and fat bikes in River Bend...

We've had such wet weather lately that I haven't been out on the bike much. Last Sunday was gloomy again so I decided I was going to ride my Beargrease in the rain because my need to move exceeded my desire to stay dry. I had a few changes to make to my bike before the ride (Switching out a stem, putting ergo handle grips on and adding a front fender). That all took some time and by the time I was done the rain had stopped. Bonus! Bear and I headed out on tar to a short, somewhat hilly gravel loop near home. With my lack of serious riding I am out of shape so was glad I had my iPhone along as it have me a perfect excuse to stop and take pictures (and rest) along the way. I had a great ride, albeit short with a few stops. But really, isn't the ride more about stopping and enjoying the scenery than going fast sometimes? Actually, I think going slow is under appreciated when it comes to biking. When it comes to life. So slow I went. And often I stopped to take pictures...

My fat bike rides as of late have been slow and frustrating. For awhile we didn't have much snow at all. Then we had some rain and ice, followed by some good snow. But with the ice underneath the new snow was slippery making for one really big wipe out and several rides where my big fat tires just slipped around. My last two rides have gone kind of like this: push bike through snow, get on, pedal, slip around, tip over, get up, push, get on, pedal, slip around, maybe not tip over this time, pedal, tip, get on, pedal, slip, pedal, tip...and so on. I was getting kind of scared of getting hurt and really, really frustrated because I wasn't having much fun with my fat bike. On top of that, I'd gotten to the point where I just figured I'm a bad rider. But I was also thinking that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't terrible and I was dealing with some less than ideal snow conditions. So I figured I'd better talk to Ben, my local bike shop owner guy from Milltown Cycles...

We have about six inches of fresh snow on the ground at last! Trouble is, it's very slippery to ride in. I got out yesterday with the intent of riding through the new fluffy stuff and quickly realized that wasn't going to work well so I got out on the road instead and rode in tire tracks. Today I decided to get out on my snowshoes and create a fat bike track in my back yard. I tromped around the yard a few times to pack things down a bit then grabbed Bear and tried out my new track. Uh, it didn't work very well. I spent a lot of time jumping off my bike and pushing my way around the back yard. What biking I managed to do was slow biking to say the least. I worked my way around my back yard track and checked Map My Ride on my iPhone to see how far I'd gone. What? Only .19 miles? Geez. I kept at it until I logged a half mile. That half mile was probably the toughest half mile I've ever spent on a bike. I'm assuming my slow speed and difficulty getting arou...

The kids have the day off from school. At our very late breakfast we brainstormed on what to do on their day off. Go to the mall, watch movies and play Minecraft were high on the list. And while we considered each idea we did something far better - we went outside and played in the snow. Early stages of snow fort building. Even Rocket is helping out. The kids decided to build a snow fort. We found three plastic storage boxes to use as snow block forms and the kids headed outside with great plans for their fort. Owen is working from home today so he and I headed out for a quick fat bike ride in the slushy snow. By the time we got back the kids had a good start on their fort. Then I joined in and helped Ryan with snow block production while Rose kept working on building. We worked outside for almost two hours before heading in for a late lunch. The snow fort is getting bigger! Getting outside in the fresh air and snow has been a great cure to the stir crazies and a ...

We had a nice dusting of beautiful snow last night and at a balmy 10 degrees F this morning (compared to the 1degree we had last night) I couldn't wait to get out and ride my Salsa Beargrease, Bear. I took Rocket, my dog, with me for just over a 2 mile ride/run. He loves it when I take him out biking. We've figured out how to work together so he runs far enough away to stay out of my way and he's responsive enough that he comes when I whistle when he gets too far. The only frustration is I have to take off my glove in order to give him a treat when he comes when called. Oh well, I want to give him positive reinforcement so it's worth having my hand get cold for a few seconds. The fresh snow was so nice to bike on today. We had just a dusting of light fluffy stuff. And guess what? There's ice hiding underneath some of that white fluffy stuff! I discovered there were slippery patches within moments of setting out on my ride so I should have been more careful. Bu...

It's 1 degree Fahrenheit outside with a -10 F windchill but I've been itching to ride my fat bike, Bear. So I did. I wasn't cold. I had fun. I will do it again. Here's the scoop on what I wore (because I always wondered what people wear when they bicycle in the cold - and I figured you might be wondering, too): two pair wool socks wool vest and a fleece snow pants winter coat neck gaiter balaclava helmet lobster gloves oh, I had clothes on, too, just normal clothes, not workout clothes moisture-wicking workout clothes (ie: wool or those fancy synthetics or something) would have been a better choice I was overdressed except for my knees, they got a little cold. The rest of me, even my face, stayed warm, or warm enough. I rode Bear (that's the name for my Salsa Beargrease) over leftover snowbanks because going over them was way more fun than riding the flat, frozen grass. It's winter after all. Where's the snow? ...

As of this moment we have about a foot of fresh snow on the ground. It's been falling since daybreak and still coming down. With great excitement I got on my biking clothes after lunch and headed out on Bear to ride in some deep snow on the still unplowed streets of my neighborhood. Owen joined me on his Mukluk. We rode for about 30 minutes and probably went 2 miles. We laughed a lot, got a good workout and had a blast! Here's what I learned on my ride today: Deep snow is hard to ride in, even on a fat bike But boy is it fun! Snow is slippery and you can skid a lot This results in a lot of laughing And some happy screaming And a few near falls I'm better at controlling a bike through skids than I thought I was But look forward to getting even better It's easier to ride in the ruts where a car has already driven Pedals quickly get packed with snow making your boots slip even though the pedals have those little pins (12 per side on the VP Vice Trail Pedals I...

Owen and I had so much fun riding River Bend Nature Center on Saturday (Global Fat-Bike Day ) that we decided to hit the River Bend trails again on Sunday. It was about 50 degrees Sunday afternoon and we rode for just over an hour with no set route planned - we just set out and started riding the trails. There's something like miles of trails in the nature center,  some with great big hills! So big that we had to push our bikes up a couple of them. Pushing a bike is another kind of exercise, I guess, and since exercising is part of the point of getting out on our bikes in the first place pushing the bikes was all part of the fun. Well, maybe pushing my bike wasn't fun but it was all part of the outdoor, nature ride experience and that was fun! I was a little sore after the ride and my knee and right ankle are a bit sore still today. For the most part, though, my wrist is doing well (I changed out my handlebar - see below) and I'm feeling pretty strong. Plus it wa...

Today is Global Fat-Bike Day! There are fat bike rides all over, including a group ride in Minneapolis that is likely still taking place - they planned to ride about 50 miles in the Minnesota River Bottoms starting at noon today. I nearly drove to the cities for that one but our family schedule today is awfully busy so Owen and I opted to ride some great trails in River Bend Nature Center in Faribault, MN, instead. We started the morning at Milltown, the shop where we purchased our fat bikes. There we got some info from Ben, the shop's owner, about where to ride and Ben adjusted my shift levers a bit (still tweaking to get them in the just-right position) A couple of guys came in to pick up a Surly fatbike that was in the shop and one of the guys told me he'd read my Beargrease Report - No Roads? No Problem! blog. Wow! He said he liked it, too. That sure made me feel good. It's fun to note that my Beargrease Report blog post has had over 1,250 hits so far! That's...

Today - after ordering our fat bikes in early September and waiting, mostly patiently, with great anticipation - Owen and I got to ride our fatbikes together for the first time! Owen's Mukluk 2 was in at Milltown when I picked up my Beargrease last Wednesday but he wanted to switch out the handlebar for one with more of a bend. Curtis had to order the handlebar so Owen had to wait to ride until the bar came in. So I got my fatbike on Wednesday and Owen had to wait for his. By Friday Owen's bike was ready but we couldn't pick it up until Saturday. We picked it up late Saturday but it was too late to get out on a ride. Finally today, after a busy morning at church and raking leaves this afternoon, Owen and I hopped on our fatbikes and headed out for a ride. What fun! We rode our grass taxiway (we live on an airport with a grass runway) with the kids and Rocket the dog running along with us. Then Rose, Ryan and Rocket stopped at the house and Owen and I kept going. We ro...

My dog, Rocket, was stir crazy this morning. He was getting to the point of being naughty. Pulling things out of trash cans. Stealing socks from the laundry. He needed a walk big time. But I wanted to ride my new Beargrease fat bike, Bear. I had only a half hour window of time and couldn't do both. It was looking like Rocket was going to get his walk but I wasn't going to get a chance to ride. Or maybe not. Why not do both at the same time? Ride the bike and walk, more like run, the dog. Imagine this is a picture of me riding my Beargrease with Rocket running alongside me and the bike. Since I couldn't take a picture of myself riding Bear and running Rocket, this picture of Rocket standing next to Bear's front wheel will have to do. That's my glove at the bottom of the picture, by the way. It's black and turquoise just like my bike. I've never taken the dog for a run from a bike. I can't say it worked perfectly. Rocket was a little puzzled a...

A year ago I had the fun of test riding a Salsa Mukluk "fatbike" at Milltown Cycles with Milltown's owner, Ben. Boy was that fun. I blogged about that ride in what has turned out to be my most-viewed blog to date, " Can't Stop Smiling -  Riding the Salsa Mukluk ." Fatbikes, often referred to as "snow bikes," pretty much stroll along over snow. And curbs. And rocks. And sand. And just about everything that's in your path. They are just so much fun to ride. I've been wanting one since that first ride a year ago. Owen, too, had a chance to ride a Mukluk last fall and enjoyed it. He, my normally stoic and serious husband, even smiled and laughed while riding the Mukluk. Now that's something! (Check out a blog entry by Bobby from Salsa titled  Fatbikes? Or Funbikes?  that talks about how much fun it is to ride a fatbike and how they are for way more than just riding in the snow). A few weeks ago, Owen had the chance to test ride Salsa...

This morning started in the most fun way possible - After I got the kids on the bus for their second day of school I drove down to Milltown Cycles in Faribault where I met Ben, the shop's owner, for a morning mountain bike ride on a Salsa Mukluk fat bike. I'm not a mountain biker. I've never ridden trails and, save for riding gravel a dozen times, have only ridden on paved roads and paths. I never thought I could be a mountain biker or ride on anything but roads. But after an hour on the Mukluk I am hooked. Absolutely hooked. And I can't stop smiling. At first I was smiling just because the Mukluk is such a funny bike - it looks kinda odd with the big tires and the feeling of riding it is so different at first it just made me laugh. Once we hit the trails and I was faced with all sorts of stuff I've never ridden over before I was smiling because, despite my lack of experience, I was actually riding mountain bike trails with success. I never thought I could r...

It's downright warm today, about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so I decided to get out on my bike and ride. I talked Rose into joining me and soon we were out on our bikes riding down our grass taxiway and out onto the runway (no planes flying today, don't worry). Ready to go. Our runway is plowed but there was still about an inch of snow in most places, some places up to four inches deep, but my hybrid handled the snow well enough. Rose's mountain bike was better equipped for the snow covered grass. Still, it wasn't easy to pedal through the snow. Just a few minutes into our ride we were both huffing and puffing and I started to feel the familiar burn in my thighs from pedaling. There is simply nothing better, I think, than riding a bike to get a good workout. Yet, even with the hard effort, Rose and I laughed and smiled as we pedaled. And though I slipped and nearly wiped out on a hidden ice patch, we had a blast. My winter riding companion, Rose.  Our taxiway is totally...