I da ho!

I heard the news that Idaho had recently released their 2007 State Quarter. I said to my pal, Sparky, "Dude, we gotta get to Idaho. The new quarter's out."
"Game on," he replied.

We'll be hitting the open road at the crack of 6am tomorrow. One night at the Billings, MT Grand Holiday Inn, a slight detour through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, and then straight out to Spudville. It should be a hoot.

Date: July 30
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
July mileage: 446
Year to date mileage: 2333

Date: July 31
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
July mileage: 472
Year to date mileage: 2359

Project Suburban: Completed

The Suburban has been completed, almost 2 months to the day from when I started. There's been a lot of idle time in there. All told it was probably a weekend's worth of work. It's certainly not up to show condition. But it looks sharp and rides nice. Mission accomplished.
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Original post
June progress

Sorting it all out

Housekeeping post. I got a little behind on tracking my mileage. Move along, nothing to see here.

Date: July 19
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 293
Year to date mileage: 2180

Date: July 20
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 319
Year to date mileage: 2206

Date: July 24
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 345
Year to date mileage: 2232

Date: July 25
Mileage: 31
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 376
Year to date mileage: 2263

Date: July 26
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 402
Year to date mileage: 2289

Date: July 27
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 428
Year to date mileage: 2315

Bombshell

I've been following Le Tour this year even though the current leader,
Rasmussen, has missed a couple of doping controls this spring and been
thrown off the Danish National Team as a result. But I just saw that
the entire Astana team has withdrawn because Vino tested positive for
blood doping after his Time Trial victory. Holy cadungas!

<a href="http://www.rte.ie/sport/cycling/2007/0724/tourdefrance.html">link</a>

Second attempt at posting via email. Trying something new to see if
hyperlink html will pass through. If not, check VeloNews...

Posting via email

The crackdown of the work regime has commenced.  Blogger, and all related .blogspot.com web addresses have been blocked.  They fall into the category of "personal web page" which is verboten.  Flickr has also been banned.  No bloggie from work.  So, being the clever chimp with a blatent disregard for The Man's rules that I am, I'm testing my ability to post to blogger via email.  Fun stuff!  The funny thing is, I rarely post from work.  But now, who knows?

In other news, I happened across a fellow blogger this morning on my way in to work.  I started reading Reflector Collector around the time he was talking about the lunacy of an elementary school policy in Roseville that doesn't allow kids to actually ride their bikes to school  And I've sort of been following it ever since.  It's always fun to meet the person behind the words.  He was riding his self-proclaimed "ugly 1993 Trek 520" and I was riding the Schwinn of many colors because I popped a spoke on the Jamis the other day and haven't gotten around to fixing it yet.  Between the two of us, we made quite a pair.  Though I think I win the ugly bike competition, if I do say so.  Nice to meet you as well.

OK, 3-2-1 test send!



Edit:
Links don't seem to work properly using the post-by-email feature. Otherwise, good to go!

Date: July 16
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Jamis
July mileage: 209
Year to date mileage: 2096

Date: July 17
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 235
Year to date mileage: 2122

Date: July 17
Mileage: 6
Ride type/Bike: Family ride to Waterpark/Schwinn Suburban
July mileage: 241
Year to date mileage: 2128

Date: July 18
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 267
Year to date mileage: 2154

Take Me To The River

We did manage to drag our sorry butts out of bed by 11 for the Rally on Saturday. I've never been to the Bloomington side of the nature preserve, because it's such a pain in the neck to bike over there. Hey, somebody should build a bridge or something. Anyway the family and I decided to drive for the simple fact that I wasn't very familiar with the route. I knew the roads were fairly low traffic, but I didn't think my kids were up to riding in any type of traffic just yet. We just had our first "rules of the road" ride earlier this week and that didn't fill me with confidence. But we made it by car with no issues. There were lots of folks there, which made it hard to hear most of the political stumping, but what I heard sounded promising. The pictures tell the story better than I ever could.

















You may have noticed that these photos are head and shoulders above my normal point and shoot attempts at photography. We here at Velocipete headquarters have gone upscale, and engaged a professional photographer to cover the event. We spared no expense.

Date: July 13
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Jamis
July mileage: 183
Year to date mileage: 2070

Spread the Word

If you're local, show up. You can drag your sorry butt out of bed by 11, can't you?

From the Hiawatha blog:
As many of you know, the old Cedar Avenue Bridge has been closed for some time. This essentially cuts off access from the Southern metro into Bloomington and requires a long detour — not a problem for mountain bikers but road bikes have a hard time navigating the dirt trails.

Ann Lenczewski is the State Representative for Bloomington and she has been working very hard to get funding to repair the bridge. She is hosting an event this Saturday, July 14th at noon at which a number of influential legislators will be present. She is hoping for a big turnout to show the legislators how important this bridge connection is. If you can make it, please do so we can get this link reconnected.

Here is her letter:

“As you may know, I have been the chief author of legislation to replace the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge for a number of years. I am proud to have achieved the initial funding at the legislature to begin the process of replacing the bridge for bikers, birders, hikers and wildlife refuge users and I want to thank everyone who has worked with me on this project. I am now asking you to join me in attempting to reach our shared goal of the final funding piece for all Minnesotans who care about the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge.

I am pleased to announce that I am hosting a rally at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge on Saturday, July 14th, at noon on the Bloomington side of the Minnesota River at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge. Please join me and the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee on site that day. These Minnesota House legislators are the key decision makers who will recommend whether the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge receives the remainder of the necessary funding that we know it needs. We need a great turnout so legislators understand the importance on this bridge.

Over the years I have worked hard with many of you and many organizations to help this project become a reality. I have been enjoying the bridge and the beauty of the location since I was a little girl and I know how much it means to so many of us.

Additionally, I am looking for volunteers to help that day, help plan the event or to help get the word out. Please send an email to rep.ann.lenczewski@house.mn if you would like to help or if you can attend. Also, I encourage you to send this email to any one you believe would like to join us that day and ask them to send me an email as well.

Again, thank you for all you have done. I am confident that together we will make the opening of the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge a reality. I look forward to working with you again soon.

Sincerely,
Ann

Ann Lenczewski State Representative - Bloomington Minnesota House Tax Chair rep.ann.lenczewski@house.mn



Date: July 10
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Jamis
July mileage: 105
Year to date mileage: 1992

Date: July 11
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Jamis
July mileage: 131
Year to date mileage: 2018

Date: July 12
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Jamis
July mileage: 157
Year to date mileage: 2044

Barely Legal Teen Beaver

Or maybe they're wombats. I really can't be sure. But there's a family of them living in Minnehaha Park down south of the old Depot building. Four youngsters and at least one adult. I see them out every couple of days, foraging. Usually they run away before I can get the camera out, but I got lucky today.
Here's one of the youngsters, ambling along:

And another in the shadow of the light pole:

Once it saw me it went and hid under the pole. You can just see it's face peeking out at me:


Date: July 3
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Premis
July mileage: 53
Year to date mileage: 1940

Date: July 5
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Jamis
July mileage: 79
Year to date mileage: 1966

Unsafe at any speed?

I rode the trike to work today. It seemed like a good day for it, being one of the few bikes I have that has full fenders. I'm working on changing that. Not very actively, but I'm considering the possibilities. Anyway. It was a nice ride in. First time I've used the clipless pedals I bought on craigslist. They're a very nice addition to the trike and help quite a bit on the hills.

As I was exiting the greenway I was riding up the ramp that goes to Park Avenue. Halfway up the ramp is a hairpin turn. I swung wide and took it slow, and managed to dump the trike onto it's side. I couldn't have been doing more than 5mph when it happened. Took me completely by surprise. The chain fell off and I got a scuff on my bike bag and my hub, but not a single scratch on my body. Weird.

I find it a little unsettling that I've crashed three times in the last 13 months, and two of those times have been at slow speeds on the one bike I own that has more than two wheels and, theoretically at least, better stability. I can only draw one conclusion: Must. Ride. Faster.

Date: July 2
Mileage: 27
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Trike
July mileage: 27
Year to date mileage: 1914