Thursday, October 26, 2017

Teaser Pic

Duluth, Minnesota, July of 2017. God's little slice of Heaven on Earth.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

You Know All The Answers Must Come From Within

I just realized that I have been delinquent in blogging about my riding. I assure you, the lone reader, that I have not given up riding, building bikes, discovering new trails and roads, or even poured myself into new hobbies. I'm a biker, can't quit if I had to.
The images here are from yesterday. I rode my age in miles, 52 this year. It's my own annual physical of sorts. Much like last year the weather was ideal, and my nutrition was dismal. I neglected to pack any food, only one water bottle, no tools, and no sun glasses. I paid the nutritional price for it too. I was walking hills toward the end that I would normally laugh at. I'm sure that I had a goofy look on my face. The vacant stare of a third world starving fool perhaps? Yep. Oh well, I survived. Seriously, these are some massive river valley hills that I rode, along with a Class C road that simply petered out into nothing.

 I'll go back on a proper gravel bike some day and show those miles who's the boss. My 40 pound Mongoose Malus was not the ideal weapon for these roads, but the tires just sound so good on that White Rock gravel that it's worth every aching mile. Still funny to me that one county (Boone) will have brown gravel and the next (Webster and Hamilton) will have tiny sized white rock. I much prefer the white as it puts a better coat of dust on your bike, but maybe that's just me? Badge of Honor kind of thing.
So here are some pics, and I'll do a write up on the trip I took to Duluth back in July and August. Solo ride to Split Rock Light House up in my absolute favorite place ever. That was a soul cleansing experience and I'm better off for having done it. Bikes can solve a lot of problems. Or, at least, they can empower you to solve them yourself. Later!







I have ridden many a gravel mile and never have I seen a feature like this. The county boys poured a concrete culvert right across the road. Must really be a rager when the rain is heavy. This area is known as Deception Hollow, on Maguire's Bend. You look at the river and it defies logic by flowing in what seems like the wrong direction. Super cool.


They put signs like this out there to tempt simple minded idiots like me. Speaking of, October 17th is the birthday of America's Greatest Showman, Evel Knievel! Alright, bye now.