Another side of Turtle River State Park

I experienced another side of Turtle River State Park after the usual Sunday evening mtb ride; before I get to that I have to give HUGE props to Kim for taking things in stride after an AMAZINGLY WICKED crash yesterday! We dedcided to head out to TR a couple hours early to put in some extra ride time and miles as last minute preperation for a extended 4th of July weekend biking trip to Medora ND where we'll ride sections of the Maah Daah Hey Trail! Kim has not been out to western ND so she is pretty excited, and worried about being able to take on the rugged terrain...after yesterday at TR I can tell you she is gonna ROCK the Maah Daah Hey....she was BIG RINGING it all over Turtle River, rock on girl! I was feeling a bit meek riding the fixie.....things were going great, she was in her groove and had the flow goin on a new sextion of trail when all of a sudden, as I watched in amazment, she kissed the trail HARD!...her left cheek was covered with dirt.....I was admiring her bike handling skills as I rode behind her; she was coming out of a little left hand dip/turn in the trail and faster than a blink of an eye her bike went to the right, and she to the left, it looked like she caught some loose debris as she leaned into the corner....after the initial shock, I was stunned that I had just seen what happened, she rolled over, checked to see if she had broken anything, took a deep breath, dusted herself off and we continued on.....I suggested we take a break, but she wanted to keep on biking.....WHAT A TROOPER!......she did develop some bruising on the left side of her jaw after "making out" with the trail, both her thighs had minor scrapes....a couple of tylenol, some ice and things were good! What an inspiration! We chilled out for awhile as she recouped listening to some Black Eyed Peas and talking with Steve and Sonya as they were out biking also; anybody ever heard of Fringe Fest? S&S are from Winnpeg and were talking about this, sounds pretty cool...check it out http://www.winnipegfringe.com

Another side of TR: When Kimmy Ru recovered enough she suggested an easy road ride around the park, as we rode over the bridge at the bottom of the big, turning, downhill paved road I made a comment that I'd like to go walking in the river sometime and she said "how about now"....good call, it was so invigorating....the water wasn't to cold, as we were walking and watching all the minnows swim around a GIANT carp came swiming by, so cool, and as we walked further back we saw a mama deer and two fawns crossing the river, they stopped and stared at us as we stared back...it was so beautiful.....the sun was going down, casting shadows, listening to the water rush by the rocks....peaceful and relaxing.....dare I say IDYLLIC? it was!.....a perfect end to an event filled day!

Beer Prayer

Our Lager
Which art in barrels
Hallowed be thy drink
(I will be drunk)
At home as in the tavern
Give us this day our foamyhead
And forgive us our spillages
As we forgive those who spill against us
And lead us not into incarceration
But deliver us from hangovers
For thine is the bitter & lager
For ever & ever
- Barman

Maah Daah Hey Trail here we come!

Plans have been firmed up for a trip to ride sections of the Maah Daah Hey Trail.....we'll be heading out there from June 30th thru July 3rd or 4th....can't wait, I never made it out there last year so I am excited.......it will be a good workout and is helping get me excited about riding with the 'Zen Renegades' at the 24 hours of 9 mile race in Wausau Wisconsin July 29th-30th

Sunday TR ride

Well, tonight it seemed the weekly Sunday night Turtle River ride wasn't gonna happen...really windy, cloudy, rain predicted....and I have school work that needs to be done.......so, when Randy L. called and asked if I was heading out I did the responsible thing and said "yes"....the heck with school work.....well it started out nice, I did a little pre-lap ride waiting for others to show, when Randy and Steve showed up with the dog Bailey it started to sprinkle lightly......as we rode on it started to rain a little heavier.....and then it stopped......a little later it was a DOWNPOUR.....the rain was coming down so hard I could barely see, thought I lost a contact even!.........it was FUN!!!......when we decided to call it good and got back to the vechicles, sure enough, the rain stopped and the sun started to peek through.........we were soaked and muddy, but enjoying a cold beverage(gotta love the Surly tuggnut chain tenioner/bottle opener)....people missed out!

The Monocog and I

Well, here is a picture of the Monocog 29er..........adorning the cheap, already bending, Redline seatpost is a Brooks Conquest saddle, a Thomson seatpost is on the way, along with a "Rasta" Chris King headset, a Salsa "Rasta" Flip-off front skewer, a Surly Tuggnut (equipped with bottle opener) chain tensioner, a Surly Torsion Bar handlebar that is 666mm wide and has 15 degrees of bend, as well as several Surly track cogs.......so much for not Blinging the bike, but then again, it's not that much bling right?

50+ miler today on my fixie 29er

Crazy; Nathan, Simmons and I hatched a plan to bike out to Turtle River State Park, enjoy the Sunday evening ride, then bike back to GF....my nipples are raw, dang bike jersey.....now I'm HIGH on life, what an absolutely wonderful HIGH I am feeling, starting to come down not though, getting tough to keep my eyes open.......one other rider met us at the park, she hung with the guys, good job lady!.........This is quite possibly the greatest experience I've had an a bike, well, a couple of weeks ago was was quite possibly the best, but that is neither here nor there......as far as actual bike riding goes, this is possibly the best.........the fixie rode wonderfully, Simmons suggested some Ergon grips, I likey!!........I am really looking forward to the rest of the summer, we think we'll ride out to TR again in two weeks.......hopefully I'll be out in Medora the first weekend of July, then, the end of July will put me at the 24 hours of 9 mile race in Wisconsin(go team), end of August will be the return of 24 hours of Afton....and now, I am seriously contemplating the 300 mile Endurosnob "ride" the first weekend of November.......the fixie makes me feel like a kid again!!.........looking forward to riding next weekend, planning on biking so much I 'blow up' because I'll be able to drive home after!

Can you say Monocog 29er!!!

The monocog arrived at the shop on Friday May 26th, and it was built up ASAP(including a Brooks Conquest saddle)....and was going to be promptly christened with a night ride at Turtle River State Park along with riding partner Kim R. .....those plans were halted by Ranger Steve when he informed me that the park is closed to riding after dark.....so, we headed back into town and proceeded to ride around town and across the bike bridge; since the bike path was washed out we got to partake in some "off-roading", the 29er rode like a dual suspension bike, poor Kim was getting beat up on her 26 inch wheeled bike, but she was a trooper, smiling and laughing as she almost bit it a couple of times......then the lightning started and we hussled to try and get to shelter before the rain....didn't happen....but, thats alright, we had fun being kids and riding in the rain!.....so the 29er got a good introduction during its maiden voyage.......The monocog was introduced to the HUB BAR on Sat. evening during a group ride and then to J. Fox's garage for socializing and beers.