Myrna CG Mibus - Idyllwild

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 ...

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...

I just got back from a short fatbike ride in the coldest temps I've ever ridden in. Wunderground tells me it's about -10°F but feels like -22. Normally I wouldn't head out for a bike ride today but my bicycling friend, Christopher Tassava and a whole bunch of other athletes are biking, running and/or skiing the Arrowhead 135 right now. The race is 135 miles and goes from International Falls to Lake Vermillion, Minnesota. The competitors have 60 hours in which to complete the race. They started at 7:00 this morning and at my latest check of the results , Christopher and another Northfielder, Jerry Bilek (owner of my favorite book store, Monkey See, Monkey Read ), are still in the race. At this point, about a third of the bikers have dropped out. I figured if Christopher and all the others can get out there and brave the elements and race through the wilderness I could certainly suit up for a leisurely 20 minute ride around my neighborhood. So I did. It was nice and s...

It's been ages since I've blogged. The idea of writing to catch you all up on what's new and all that just keeps me from writing because the task seems too daunting. As for trying to write something clever about the New Year, well, I just tried that and got stuck. But I think it makes sense to write something, to get myself going again with my blog. So here I am writing something. This isn't going to be anything spectacular at all - but I am writing something in the hope of keeping the flow going and blogging more often. But so I don't bore you with this first effort of the year...I'll just keep this post short and sweet. Here's a picture of my fatbike, Bear, in the snow and a gentle reminder that, even when it's cold, you can still get outside and enjoy the beauty of the world (wear proper clothing, of course!) It's been cold, cold, cold here in Minnesota with wind chills of -40° F. Despite the cold temps, I have gotten out on my fatbike a cou...

We got a couple of inches of snow in the night. And while I'm certainly not ready for snow with things like coats and gloves and snow boots for the kids, I managed to forget how unprepared I am for the season when I saw the sun shining on the snow this morning. Sunshine on fresh snow makes for an absolutely beautiful morning! And, even though I had to get going and start my work day, the beautiful snowy morning kept begging me to grab my fatbike, Bear, and go for a ride. So I did. It was a short ride, less than a mile. And I was quickly reminded of how much work it is to pedal through fresh snow. I feel totally out of shape and I'm tired now (and running behind schedule). But, boy, it sure was worth it to get out and make the first fatbike snow tracks of the season.

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, ...

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...

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...

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...