Post #14 Feeling Minnesota

Midway point update:

States covered:  Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and now Minnesota.  

Miles:  2,134.03 (approximately)

Streets named Main St:  24

Breweries: 8-ish 😉


    


An obligatory been-there-done-that state sign from Saturday and a photo from Rick of the Trek store owners in Fairmont, MN (population 11,000).  Rick stopped in on the way by as he entered the town of Fairmont looking for some protein powder which they didn’t have but the bearded guy did hop on an e-bike and lead Rick to the hotel while trying to sell him the bike shop.   Evidently, Rick looks like money, who knew?  In the picture below, Rick is the guy in the middle eating an ice cream sandwich, that’s what money looks like.



A joke from fellow rider, Carlin (a bit off color but just barely):

An older couple is driving along when a cop pulls them over.  The cop approaches the car and asks the driver “Where are you headed?”  “Heading home to Seattle,” said the man.  “Seattle?” asked the officer.  Some of the worst sex I ever had was in Seattle” “What did he say?” asked the old man’s wife”.  “He said he thinks he knows you”, replied the man.

The title of today’s post comes from the ear worm that made it into my head as we took pictures of the state sign.  Soundgarden’s “Outshined” with the lyric “I’m looking California but feeling Minnesota"  If you’re going to have an ear worm, that’s a good one to have. 

Out






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post #17. The Wrap

Image
 It’s done. Another epic 46-day bicycle ride.  21 riders, 5 guides, 15 states, 3,784 miles, 155,419 feet of climbing. As the only rider this year who had already done the northern route with Trek Travel, I was asked by several of the other riders to compare the two trips.  In conversation there’s really not time to come up with a detailed and thoroughly thought-out response.  For the most part my response might have been interpreted as a “been there, done that” answer but with more time to ponder, I will now provide a more in-depth answer. The people.  15 riders in 2018, 21 riders in 2022.  At the risk of sounding like the dialogue from the end of the movie “The Breakfast Club” I’ll say that we were techies, entrepreneurs, doctors and one total smart ass.   Could you insert yourself into a group of 21 randomly chosen people and expect to meld with all of them?  Probably not.  Fortunately, with 21 people there’s someone for everyone.  I still communicate with riders from 2018 and hope
Read more

Post #1 "Over the Bars"

Image
  As the self-appointed "Safety Czar" within my close group of cycle geeks I don't go into any ride thinking "I might crash today" but sometimes the bicycle gods intervene.  April 2nd, 2022 those gods turned an ordinary training ride into an ambulance ride 3 miles from the end.  Here's what I remember:  On a stretch of road we ride often I was hustling to regroup with my cycling buddy Marty after stopping to refuel.  He sailed by so I wedged the rest of my Clif bar between my teeth and clipped in.  This particular stretch of road happens to be old, deteriorated concrete with potholes and fissures but no shoulder to escape to.  It turns to asphalt and a has a shoulder that opens up about 100 yards from where I was but to reach that means navigating some bad road surface.  As I pushed hard to get to the shoulder my Garmin alerted me of multiple cars approaching from behind.  The next several minutes of the event can only be recalled in tidbits.  I have a vague
Read more

Post #16 You gotta be tough to live with

Image
 So here’s the thing about this trip….you gotta be stubborn.  To train for this ride you’ve got to put in massive miles, both flat and uphill.  Months and months of shirking responsibilities, declining invitations to do other activities, braving weather that you’d rather not brave and in general just checking out of everything non-cycling. I’m not the only one riding this year who is a “veteran” of cross country cycling.  I’ve done this exact route while Ian and Jacque have done the Southern route from Santa Barbara to Myrtle Beach which is a bit shorter in both riding days and total miles but is by no means an easy ride.  That means the three of us paid money to ride bicycles across America, did it, then paid more money to do it again.   We’ve gotta be tough to live with.      That’s Ian and Jacque in the picture above and me showing off.  Ian and Jacque look pleasant enough but t hey gotta be tough to live with.   Me?  Well, if you know me then you know when I start training for a bi
Read more