Post a Comment On: A Nod to Nothing

Yesterday, I biked 107 miles. I've been telling Ming I wasn't tired at the end of our 60 mile MS ride and 63 miles into the second day of Bike the Border, but it was just talk. I couldn't prove it. So I figured I'd go out and make sure I wasn't lying to him or to myself. Additionally, I wanted to break the 100 mile mark, something I haven't done since I was 15 and biked to northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota with classmates. So I got up and hit the road by 6:00 a.m. and aimed for the north shore of Lake Minnetonka, where there was a trail (Dakota Rail Trail) I wanted to try. My first stop was at The Depot in Hopkins for a depth charge and a piece of banana bread. Looking at the GPS, with the break, I was averaging only about 10.4 mile per hour. This was sort of expected. There are a lot of stops in the city, and I didn't have the GPS in front of me (the back for mounting on my bike didn't fit, part of my neverending odometer woes). So by the time I got to north Lake Minnetonka, I was looking for any way to force myself to go faster. The answer was two guys on road bikes who were spinning along at about 17 mph. I vowed to keep up with them, despite the embarrassment it would cause them being shadowed by a mountain bike. By the time I got to St. Bonifacius, I'd moved my average from 10.4 to 14.5.

That was part of the point.  To a.) use a mountain bike, not a road bike, as I'd always claimed I wasn't tired on the mountain bike, b.) to get a variety of terrain, hills and flats, c.) to get a variety of surfaces, dirt and tar, and d.) to average at least 11 mph.  I managed all of those, as Highway 7, which attached St. Bonifacius to Victoria was seriously hilly, the Minnetonka LRT was dirt (and mud...it was raining for my last 50 miles), I was on the mountain bike, and I averaged 11.4 mph, including a stop for breakfast at The Depot and lunch at Chipotle (13.3 average moving speed).

The most important things I learned on the trip were, 1.) there's a restaurant called Maggie's in Wayzata that's 30 miles from my house, perfect for meeting Kyle and open at 7:00 a.m., 2.) there's a bike/coffee shop in Wayzata,  3.) seriously hot joggers average one every 33 miles in the further burbs, 4.) there's a bistro to try in St. Bonifacius, 5.) the Dakota Trail doesn't stop at Waconia, as it does on my map, but continues to County Road 25 in Mayer, MN, and will eventually continue until it joins with the Luce, 6.) 107 miles is rough and makes you feel like you're getting a spanking the next day when you bike to ice cream with your daughter.

A memorable point of the ride was when I called Pooteewheet at the 75 mile mark to tell her I'd be home sometime around 4:00 p.m.  For a moment, while lying on a bench south of Lake Minnetonka, I felt like I was passing out because there were so many spots in front of my eyes.  Then one landed on me and I realized it was a gnat, and I felt much better.

Given the trend, I shouldn't have to do the next 100 miler until I'm 69.
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