Back in a saddle

I know, the phrase is "Back in the saddle" not "Back in a saddle" but it seems more appropriate this way.  I've ridden my bike three days this week.  Normally I move my Brooks B67 from my Kuwahara to my winter bike once it becomes studded snow tire season.  I love my Brooks, but they are pricey enough that I can't afford to outfit the entire fleet with them.  So I have a B17 and a B67 and I move them around, based on what bike I'm riding a lot at the time.  But I haven't moved the B67 to the winter bike because at some point in the last 3 months one of the bolts connecting the springs to the frame of the saddle fell off.  I stopped in at HCWHQ Tuesday and Jim gave me a bolt that may do the trick.  I'll probably give it a whirl this weekend.

 

I've been riding to the LRT stop at Ft Snelling, which is a route I probably haven't taken in a good 9 months.  It's amazing how many things come back almost unconsciously, like remembering certain potholes and which intersections are scary (like the off-ramp for 94 that basically dumps into a residential neighborhood).  But it's also surprising how much has changed.  Monday morning was the first day the platform extension at Ft Snelling was open, so the train stops at a different point.  Screws up my normal positioning for a clean shot at the bike rack.  Monday afternoon I left work and headed for the Warehouse District stop.  I normally go there rather than Government Plaza because it's the first/last stop on the line.  That means there are very few people on the train that I need to fight past to get to the bike rack.  I headed over to Hennepin and realized, hey, there's no bike lanes on Hennepin any more!  Marq2!  Had to backtrack to Nicollet.  Then once I got to the Warhouse District I realized it's no longer the last stop on the line.  Target Field!  Northstar Line!  But Tuesday I was already adapting to the changes and by next week, assuming I keep riding, it will probably seem like it's always been that way.