This isn't Bob Dahl, but it could be!

Definitely not a fair weather rider.
Thanks for the photo, Bill.

XC in EC

24 degrees, fresh snow on the ground, and I'm feeling fatter then a Christmas goose. What to do? Drag out the waxless wonder classic skis! After all, this is fair weather skiing, right up my alley. Called Bob, he said he was heading out too. What a winter wonderland. To have a park like Elm Creek (EC) one mile away is pretty incredible. The use we get out of the park in remarkable. 18 miles of paved trails for road riding when the weather is questionable or time is a factor. Not sure how many miles of mtb trails are in there, lots of new stuff, as mentioned here previously. The XC trails are fabulous. Plenty of long distance training trails and of course there is the lighted trail for early and late skiers. The pics above were taken 12/27. I wasn't smart enough to bring a camera on 12/26 when the fresh snow on all the trees was so beautiful. Only in the low lying areas did the snow remain today in the trees. I had two great days and plan on going out again tomorrow. It feels good to get some different muscles sore! Spinning has been good, but you can't beat being out in the fresh air. The sign in the photo above is a biking sign. Even on skis, we can be reminded of all the times we've ridden there in the summer.

Merry Christmas

Yeah, I've been way too busy and there's not much cycling to write about. Thanks, Madonna for giving me the business in not keeping up the blog. I figured this would happen as soon as my fair weather cycling ended! I'll try to get better for 2008! That's not a New Years resolution, or is it?
Please check out Martin Dugards blog. He has a very touching one under the heading "Christmas Cheer," dated 12/21, regarding his brother's death several years ago. Very honest writing.

Merry Christmas to all of you! Thank you for a great year of cycling. It was far and away the best season of my life. It was all of you riding, laughing, sweating, and pushing each other that made it so great. I can't fucking wait till spring!!!

Well, that's certainly not me in the photo! It could be Bob or Neil or Hogland. I came across this picture and story in PEZ Cycling news. It's Andy Hampsten in the '88 Giro. I've heard of this stage and how he made his reputation but I didn't know the story. It's an interesting read, here's the link: http://pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=5499&status=True

The picture did remind me of today's weather. I may have to get those waxless traditional skis out after all.

The Boss, sound check in Oslo

I stole this from Marty Dugard, who is probably the biggest Springsteen fan I know.

http://atvs.vg.no/player/?id=12958

Boobies

This is from my friend Bill, a 5th grade teacher:

All right, you will all love this one. We have a 1:1 computer program in our 5th and 6th grade classes. Today during research time the teacher (not me of course) showed them this visual dictionary. Very cool stuff. Well, apparently half the class was busted for typing in the word "breast" and checking out boobie pictures. That poor teacher will be making phone calls for the rest of the afternoon. You just have to love higher education : )

Sunday in the park with Bob

The weather was fair enough (43') that riding the mtb with Bob was a good alternative to putting up the outdoor Christmas lights. There are lots of new single track trails in Elm Creek Park and I wanted to check them out with the master. I had never been to the "island", and I've been riding in Elm Creek for 15 years! Here's a shot of Bob crossing the bridge on the way out.

The island has a nice assortment of trails, similar to the Hillside park at Elk River, not as long, but, a nice variety. Bob also showed me some of the new stuff near the pond as you head to the ravine. I had looked for a trail down low about 6 weeks ago because I wanted a sunset photo. Now I know how to get there!

Whoever is doing all the work on the trails is doing a nice job. All a labor of love, I know. The log piles are plentiful and tricky. My comfort level with the log rolls decreases as they get bigger. I have found that after a few times of walking the bike over that you just have to do it! The photo at left is the biggest pile I've seen yet. It'll be a while before I go over that SOB!

This would be a good pile for Neil to go over on the Bianchi.

Bob had me huffing and puffing a few times trying to chase him up the hills. Spinning indoors is not the same as riding! I also have a nice bruise on my left thigh. Must be from when I damn near took a tree out with my face.

This is my usual view of Bob. Well, maybe not

that close, but when he waits for me to catch up....

It was a great day in the park!

First blog

My first blog. Kinda like going to the prom. All decked out, but not knowing if you're going to get anywhere. I'll try to keep it interesting for you. Don't be afraid to give me feedback. Lots of things I don't know how to do, so if you see something that could make the site better, let me know. Like trying to get my main page photo about 1/2 the size it is!