Myrna CG Mibus - Idyllwild

Meet my new bike! "Kermit" is an Advocate Lorax that found his way to my house in late February. Why the new bike? Well, my Vaya, Zippy, has been a good bike for me yet I was still tweaking some fit issues and with it's extra small frame I was running out of options for adding height to my handlebars etc. Also, due to the 26" tires,  I discovered my options were limited for getting better tires for riding gravel. So, even though I loved little Zippy and he served me well, I started considering a new bike. I talked to my favorite bike guru from Angry Catfish Bicycles , James, about what to get and quickly decided a new Vaya one size bigger than Zippy would do the trick. Sadly, my size was sold out at Angry Catfish and at Salsa Cycles. So James and I talked options. And I rode a couple of bikes and they were okay. Then I rode a demo model of the Advocate Lorax and knew within, oh, the first 20 feet of my ride that the Lorax was the bike for me. It's hard to s...

This time last year I was gearing up for my first ever century ride . I was feeling pretty fit and had done a ton of biking throughout the season including the super awesome and challenging Box of Frogs ride and a bikepacking adventure . This year I got off to a great start with some winter riding and another round of 30 Days of Biking in April. I was working on a milage challenge and had several organized rides on my calendar. Then my Dad, who had already been dealing with issues from Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia, took a bad turn and life changed in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Even before Dad passed away in early July, I realized that bike riding would not be a priority and that I needed to focus on my family instead. So, save for a few rides and a three session mountain biking class in late July/early August, I really didn't ride bike all summer long. Well, life is setting down somewhat and I'm happy to say I've managed to get out on my bike ...

It's April 1st which means it's Day 1 of the next round of 30 Days of Biking! Today's ride was on the Cannon Valley Trail. Had to go around a tree that fell on the trail. I signed up to do the challenge again, of course, because I've been doing in April ever since 2010. Wow! Now that I think of it it appears I'm either dedicated or a bit crazy - perhaps I'm a bit of both. Don't know what 30 Days of Biking is? Well, it's a challenge where people pledge to ride their bikes every day during the month of April. As of this moment, 7,658 people from all over the world are officially on the roster stating they have pledged to do the challenge. People don't have to ride any certain number of miles. There are no prizes or people policing you to make sure you ride. You just commit to riding every day and do your best to complete the challenge. After completing the challenge six years in a row I certainly know I can ride my bike every day for 30 days...

I got out on my gravel bike for a bit of gravel riding this morning. The ride, though short, was lovely. I saw three pheasants, a bunny on the run (I scared it), a dog and heard a bunch of birds singing. The gravel was wet but solid and fairly easy to ride. I'm doing 30 Days of Biking once again (for the 6th time with a couple of bonus rounds thrown in) so getting on my bike this morning was motivated by knowing that I needed to get my ride in for the day. I usually end up riding later on in the day, sometimes I even ride in after dark, so it felt especially good to check "ride bike" of my list of things to do early in the day. My rides for 30 Days of Biking thus far have been short ones - I let myself get all soft, squishy and out of shape over the winter and have been dealing with some medical limitations so I'm taking things slow. That said, I'll be stepping things up as the month goes on and really picking up the pace come May. You see, I've signed...

I just signed up for yet another round of 30 Days of Biking . I honestly have lost track of how many of these I've done. Thankfully, other people are keeping track - according to this Pioneer Press story by Molly Guthrey , 30 Days of Biking started six years ago. So, if we're in the 6th year and there were a few bonus rounds in September a few years, this will make my 8th 30 Days of Biking - or something like that. I guess the number of challenges I've done doesn't matter as much as the fact that each April I get out and I ride my bike every day and doing so makes me feel good. If this lovely spring weather we've been having sticks around into April (please! please! please!) then this 30 Days of Biking will be a piece of cake compared to other years when we've had snow, cold, sleet and rain to ride in. I do have a busy schedule this April because I'm in a musical, Oliver ! It's likely my rehearsal and show schedule will be more of an issue for me tha...

By the time I found time to ride my bike for 30 Days of Biking today it was raining - again - so I decided to bring my Salsa fatbike, Bear, in the house and ride indoors. It's actually rather difficult to ride in the house. It certainly is difficult to build up much speed or log any actual milage. The ride might have worked better if I would have: taken off my tap shoes (I'd been practicing tap and wanted to keep practicing after my "ride" so kept them on). made sure there wasn't any mud left on my big ol' tires from my last ride. moved some furniture out of the way. Here's my ride report: the "ride" was short and rather erratic (pedal, stop, move stuff, walk, pedal etc.). Tap shoes don't work well on metal pedals. Absolutely no traction. I had to vacuum a lot of mud off the floor when my ride was done. I laughed When all was said and done, I took off my tap shoes, put on a rain jacket and some puddle boots and rode Bear...

This year marks the 5th year of 30 Days of Biking , a challenge to ride your bike every day for 30 days straight in the month of April. I've done the challenge every year plus three bonus rounds in September. That's a lot of biking in all sorts of weather. In past challenges, I have biked through snow, sleet, rain, hail and have been out in very nice weather, too. The weather this April has been less than desirable. So far I've not had to bike in snow or sleet (though it's due to snow today) but it's been cold and I had to pull out my winter jacket again. Oh well. Thus, most of my rides have been short hops of a half a mile to two miles. They count. I've also had the fun of getting out on some longer rides, like two rides on the Cannon Valley Trail this past weekend when the weather was pretty nice (for Minnesota). I'm looking forward to some more nice weather so I can get some longer rides in. Taken on one of our longer rides last weekend. My Vaya, ...

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Albert Einsten I'm at the Anderson Center in Red Wing this weekend with two of my writing friends, Joy  and Chris . We're here having a writing weekend and are working on our various writing projects. The Anderson Center is an awesome place. We're staying in a huge house surrounded by lots of green space and a sculpture garden. It's quiet here and it's a perfect place to write, read and rejuvenate. It's also a perfect place for bicycling as the Anderson Center is right by the Cannon Valley Trail . So in addition to packing some books, my journal, fountain pens, computer and works in progress, I packed Zippy, my  Salsa Vaya, so I could ride this weekend - partially because I like to ride the trail, partially because I'm in the middle of another 30 Days of Biking challenge and partially because I find that riding helps me write. Earlier today I rode about 12 miles. Most of th...

I had a great surprise in my mailbox yesterday - a new book to read! The book, Finding Harmony , is due out everywhere on February 1st but I am super lucky and got a pre-release copy of the book. Yay! Here's the new book - Finding Harmony. I love the cover! Finding Harmony is the third novel in the Kate & Annalise series written by Pamela Fagan Hutchins. Though I already have a stack of books to read , Finding Harmony is going to the top of my list because I have been waiting, somewhat impatiently, for it to get published. Why? Because I was so taken with the storyline in books one and two ( Saving Grace and Leaving Annalise ) that I've wanted the series to keep going. In fact, back in July when I finished reading Leaving Annalise (at 2:00 a.m.) I immediately tweeted Pamela to ask her if she was going to write another book in the series. I wanted more! I was pleased to get a tweet back saying that, yes indeed, Pamela had another Kate & Annalise book in the wo...

The last three years, the month of September has brought a bonus round of 30 Days of Biking to all who want to participate and ride their bikes every day. This year, I didn't hear anything about the bonus round in the days leading up to September so I messaged 30 Days co-founder, Patrick, to ask him if it was happening this year. He replied saying there was no official September round this year but I was welcome to do it on my own. So I did. I got out on my bike every day except for two - I was sick in bed one day and totally forgot the other. But, other than those two days, I was out riding. I took part in a couple of organized rides with my family, the Jesse James Bike Tour and the Saint Paul Classic . Other than those rides, I mostly rode my fatbike around the neighborhood I usually keep track of my rides and make big milage goals for 30 Days of Biking. I didn't do that this time around. In fact, I hardly tracked my rides at all. Instead of thinking about dis...

There are days that don't go according to plan. Days that get awkwardly goofed up. Today has been one of those days. Until just moments ago when Rose, my daughter, came up to my office and told me that there was a package that arrived in the mail for me. She made a comment that it was addressed to "Myrna Mibus, Writer & Pilot." That's just plain strange , I thought. I wonder what kind of thing I got in the mail? And who would send a package to "Myrna Mibus, Writer & Pilot"? I found the package on the kitchen table. It was about the size of a book. I opened it and inside I found a package wrapped in blue paper with a golden ribbon around it and a small card attached. I opened the card before the package. And I cried. I do that sometimes. Here is what the little card said: I saw this book and thought of you (even though I doubt you have any shortage of ideas to write about). :) Thought you might enjoy it anyway ... From: Cassi I unwrap...

Way back in January I set a biking milage goal for the year - 1,407 miles. Why the odd number? Well, my friend from high school, Kate, wanted to keep bicycling this year so decided to set a goal for herself to bike enough miles to equal riding from her current home town of Poulsbo, Washington to our childhood home town of Richfield, Minnesota. I saw her post her goal on Facebook and made a comment. Kate encouraged me to do the same challenge - except I would "bike" from Richfield to Poulsbo so we could virtually meet somewhere about half way. Well the year has gotten off to a slow start for me. I rode my fat bike through the winter but fat bike miles are slow to add up, especially fat bike miles on the icy snow! I got in a good number of miles during April for 30 Days of Biking . And then it snowed. And rained. And rained. And rained. And I really didn't get out on my bike much. So here I am almost to mid-June with only 241 miles logged and am virtually just over th...

Wowza! This round of 30 Days of Biking has been a tough one. Here in Minnesota we've had crazy weather instead of a normal spring. A half hour ago when I was sneaking in a ride for Day 17 it was raining. Right now it's sleeting. I've heard another 6 inches or so of snow is on the way. I'm wondering how people are fairing who are doing 30 Days of Biking for their very first time. I'm guessing some people are frustrated with the weather, not to mention frustrated with the challenge of riding every single day for 30 days, and maybe want to quit. I've been there. Oh believe me, I've been there. This round of 30 Days of Biking is my 7th. I've been doing this challenge since the very first one in April of 2010. I'm no athlete or super biker. I'm a middle-aged mom of two. Finding time and energy to ride my bike every day for 30 Days of Biking is a struggle. It feels impossible sometimes. And this round, with the crazy weather we've been having, ...

September brought, along with gorgeous weather all month, another round of 30 Days of Biking . I've done every round of 30 Days of Biking since it started in April 2010 but really wasn't sure about doing the fall "bonus round" this time. I'm in a musical so I'm in rehearsals four evenings a week plus I'm tackling a huge project for work -  finding time to ride my bike every day, I knew, would be nearly impossible. But I decided to take on the challenge anyway. And I finished it. And I'm glad I stuck with it. It wasn't easy. Well, 30 Days of Biking never is easy - it's a challenge, after all - but this time I struggled more than before with just finding the time to get on my bike. Most of my rides were short, a mile or so around the neighborhood, a quick hop with the kids after school before I headed to rehearsal. On weekends I would get a longer ride in with Owen, 20 miles or more and we did one epic ride - 63 miles for the Jesse James ...

April 1st 2012 - April Fools Day - is going to be a big day in my life - and I'm not kidding! First, as most of you know, I'll be staring my 5th round of 30 Days of Biking on April 1st. 30 Days of Biking is a challenge to ride your bike every day for 30 days. I did my first 30 Days of Biking two years ago  during April of 2010 and it really changed my life. Seriously. I'm now a way more active person than I ever was before and my whole family has taken up bicycling. We now spend a lot of family time with bike-related activities. Just today we biked the Midtown Greenway so we could stop at a bike shop/coffee shop called Freewheel Midtown . While at Freewheel we visited with Patrick Stephenson (aka @patiomensch), one of the 30 Days of Biking founders and got fun spoke cards for our bikes. After that, we headed over to another bike & coffee shop, Angry Catfish , for a benefit bike art auction called Big Ring: 2nd Gear . The art auction is a benefit for an organization...

Today I started a new 30 day challenge. What is it this time? Well it's not another 30 Days of Biking challenge. We haven't had enough snow for another round of 30 Days of Snowshoeing so that's not my new challenge. This challenge is about writing and I'm calling it 30 Days of Writing. You might be thinking, "What's the point? You're a writer. Don't you already write every day?" Yes, I do write pretty much every day but the goal of my 30 Days of Writing challenge is not to do my regular writing it's to work on a couple of memoir projects that I seldom make time for. It's to work on projects that I keep saying I want to get to "someday..." Someday. That's a word that ends up in my vocabulary way too often. 30 Days of Writing is one way to get the someday out of my writing life. The challenge is simple - I just need to spend a little time each day working on one of my memoir projects. I can write a lot of material or...

Well over a year ago I promised my friend, Lori, a recipe for a wonderful appetizer - Brie Onion Tartlets. I even told her I would write a blog entry with the recipe and get it to her "soon."But I kept pushing the blog entry to the back burner and never wrote the blog or shared the recipe with Lori. Sorry! Guess what? I'm going to make things right and post the recipe now. And even though I'm late in posting, the timing is actually perfect for any of you who might need to make a great appetizer for a New Year's party! Brie Onion Tartlets I discovered this recipe in the Taste section of the Star Tribune in 2003 and have made it many times since. The recipe is called " Honey-Glazed Onion and Brie Tarts  but I've always referred to the little tarts as "Brie-Onion Tartlets." I'm not sure how I ended up changing the name. It's probably just because it's easier to say "Brie-Onion Tartlets" than "Honey-Glazed Onion and Bri...

Well, Round 4 of 30 Days of Biking came to a close last Friday - just in time for me to get sick with a terrible cold. Ugh. I'm not happy about the cold but am happy I finished 30 Days of Biking for the fourth time. The weather for Round 4 was almost perfect. I didn't have to bike in the snow like I did last April or in the pouring rain like last September . Instead, save for some light drizzle here and there and some killer winds, the weather was great. Completing Round 4 of 30 Days of Biking -  though still a challenge - was not too hard this time around. Looking on my Dailymile history it looks like I logged more miles on my bikes during this month than I ever have before. So, in light of that accomplishment I'm going to share some highlights of Round 4 of 30 Days of Biking. Here they are (in no particular order): •I biked 317 miles during September •Owen did the 30 Days of Biking challenge with me again. This was his third round •Two other friends of mine ...

Well, it's time for the fourth round of 30 Days of Biking and I'm doing it again. If you don't know what 30 Days of Biking is it's, in short, a challenge to ride your bike every day for 30 days. It was started by two guys from the Twin Cities who challenged their Twitter friends to ride their bikes every day. The challenge went viral and several hundred people from around the world participated in the first 30 Days of Biking. I was one of them. I rode my bike every day in April 2010. And, though it sounds over-dramatic to say this, 30 Days of Biking changed my life. I became a much more active person. I realized I could do things that seemed impossible. I met a bunch of positive, fun people. And I really started "loving the bike," as my friend, Darryl from Loving The Bike likes to say. Since that first challenge there have been two more and I've done them all. Owen and the kids joined me for Round 2 last September . Owen joined me for Round 3 in ...

My writing career has opened up so many opportunities for me. Through writing I’ve learned new things - like how to make metal garden sculptures with artist Jennifer Wolcott and and how to cover an airplane with an eco-friendly aircraft finishing process . My writing has given me a chance to write and record family stories, to be creative, to capture a moment or the essence of a lifetime and tell a story the best I can. Perhaps best of all, I've met so many cool people who, through the things they do and say, remind me that there's a lot of good stuff going on in our world.  My writing career has also opened up more career opportunities for me.  Less than a year ago, I was offered the opportunity to write for a newly launched, community news and information website, Northfield Patch . Though I already had plenty of work, I was excited enough about Northfield Patch that I told editor, Corey Butler, Jr., that I would write for Patch anyway. I’m glad I did!  My...