another wonderful day - but a bit colder...

dont worry - i wore a helmet...this was after the ride.

36x20 today
Good gear in this stuff - no need to blast that fast. The snow on the outer loop was not bad - hit some of the snowmobile/horse trails here and there. Turned out to be 20 miles all in all per the map thing online. Took a while in that gear but it was still a great workout. I really like biking outdoors in the winter - it is fantastic. Its quiet, smooth, solitude....but man, the cold...my body has NEVER done well in cold. Its like I am in slow motion.

By the time I made it to the ski chalet - I was huffing pretty good. High rpms kept me warm. The snow machines were at full tilt today at Elm Creek. There was a point where it looking like a white out snow storm coming off the trails - then poof - clear. Weird.

Got home in time for about 2 lbs of spinach, protein supplement, lasagna and orange juice...and a warm shower. Hope you all had a good day.

ac

wonderful day

heading out - new bluedog jacket from Borah

navigating the loop twice - the snow barriers are all up now - save a few. be careful!

stop at the ski chalet thing at elm creek for some water - lots of skiers out there and a one puzzled guy who was blown away that Colnago made a steel frame single speed. LOL

Map quest said 40 miles outer loop twice and urban riding in Champlin. Nice day for riding and I will remember to put a bit more air in the tires next time. Got home in time to play uber Uno mania, movie with the kids, legos, dinner out with the kids...Tina had to work so I turned into a 5 year old....gosh, I love being a kid!

The route. I did the outer loop twice with brief stops at the ski area thinking i would for sure see Neil or John or a Loon State jersey - I thought I saw their cars there but didnt see them. There is only a small section of the ski lanes open so I was sure I would at least run into them - no dice. Each loop consisted of riding to the shop on 109th and into Champlin and up w.river road and back into the park - it was a nice change up. the snow barriers are up and I ran into one of the guys on the north end putting them up - he said to be careful..no kidding. they really dont mess around - lots of them and they make it really hard to get around them - I guess thats the point.

I had some new Puddle of Mudd playing and kept my pace medium with high spin and sprinted all hills - so I got a good burn in. I left with no food in the belly so I was seeing stars about 2 miles from home.

All in all - grrrreat day and wish all winter days were like today...but Jan/Feb will not be so forgiving. Enjoy the week and the rest of the weekend.

spin class

did a great job last night for the 4 of us that were there. we did the spinervals that incorporated the squats and isometric holds - my legs BURN. had a nice time with John at moonrock and headed home to catch up on needed family time. I got there early and had 1.5 hrs of spin.

ac

Pass along of cyclilng quotes I found funny and true

"Cats don't like riding on a bicycle....no matter how much duct tape you use."
-- Anonymous

"What's with these recumbent bicycles? Listen, buddy, if you wanna take a nap, lie down. If you wanna ride a bike, buy a >#*%^* bicycle."
–- George Carlin

"The world is my church, the wind in my ears is the choir and my handlebars are the alter I pray at."
-- zcubed

"Cycling is just like church - many attend, but few understand."
Jim Burlant

"My favorite courses are nasty, technical downhills that frighten my mom."
— Josh Ivey

Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.
--Grant Petersen

thanks A.Anderson

crazy stuff...scary.

Rick Warren - pretty amazing to say the least. this is a spiritual opinion post so stop reading if you dont want to read on.

I was reading through a pass-along of information by a linguist friend of mine who was a convert from islam to Christianity and had to flee their former country as a result of their choice - in fear of their life. this linguist called me up and was livid about this guy named Warren and what he was doing to promote the union of islam and Christianity. I really didn't know what she was talking about so I read through the info - checked here and there etc....it was not good.

Here is an evan. pastor of a mega-church asking Allah for forgiveness, citing Syria as a peaceful moderate nation etc....at well, it is NOT at all. there is NO connection of islam to the gospel of Jesus Christ and in reading through - you can search it out on your own as it is not that hard to do so - the material - i was disgusted that a pastor of the gospel of Jesus Christ would promote the union of islam/Christianity.

so - here is another fine example of the truth be distorted, twisted and tucked away. spiritually speaking - there is a vast difference between Christianity in the born again sense and islam - there is a reason why in many muslim countries that one would be put to death for converting to Christianity - they know the difference....where did Warren get messed up?

never have been a fan of Warren in the past - this really set me off - why is this nation and/or its people continually blurring the line of right and wrong? this is another prime example of infiltration.

interesting site...

another one.....

feel free to vent any personal opinion - bottom line is even our churches are being led down the path of compromise and being told to be tolerant of false doctrine.

cold...

enjoyed 1.5 hours in the park. outer loop with a shot out to the shop and back and a loop each in the n.lights and the diytt mtb loop. by the way - the snow machines are putting snow down already - climbing that hill from n.loops up to the warming house by the snowboard hill is tough on a single speed in the snow...max heart rate in about 30 ft.

note to self - once that sun goes down behind the trees - start to hurry home...it got wicked cold really fast tonight and I was about 60% ready for the climate drop.

enjoy the week

ac

from cycling news

kinda chuckled when i read this. though not a big fan of Armstrong - he does have an amazing ability and this was kinda funny.

Who the hell is Linus Gerdemann?

Recently, German rider Linus Gerdemann said that Armstrong's return may not be in the best interest for the sport's credibility. "He's right, I am older. I raced with Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Miguel Indurain and Greg Lemond of all people. I have been around a long time and I don't know who the hell Linus Gerdemann is, but I know that when I rolled up in 1992, I started winning races. And when I roll up in 2009, I am gonna be winning races. He better hope he doesn't get in a breakaway with me because I can still ride hard," said the Texan.

Thanks Guys

I had a blast today - 3.5 hours with the guys in the cold/sleet and snow at times. mainly urban ride today and we visited the cyclocross race in blaine - got some coffee and had fun. I was chilly but the new duds were just fine. Me, Neil, Jay H and Dave G. Thanks for the ride guys - good times, back in time for the wife, hope you faired well Neil on the 144 loop...

i almost forgot how slow things can get when its cold outside. think i will hit some single speed mtb tomorrow...and i will have the foot covers on for sure.


enjoy the weekend.

I find great humor in this..

Know the source - the Onion.

Land of the Free.

this has sparked in me a re-newed determination to care more about what we do as a nation - just for the record - it wasnt McCain that i voted for - as many have made comments here and there. Not that anyone should give a rip what i think anyway. i am excited for change - and i am not hating that word. it was going to change no matter what.

I work in a place where people show and tell me of their former country - and all it takes is a few moments to realize that America is blessed and wonderful. I fear for what lay ahead in the area of National identity - I fear that this country will slip through the fingers of rational thinking (Erik - i know you will disagree on that) - i do hope that I am wrong - i really do.

Change for the sake of change, something hip, young, inexperienced, questionable background and associations is, in my mind, a bad idea....but i am just Andy in Minnesota and no-one reading this is an expert either.

I believe, through the people I have talked with as friends and family, that many think that Obama is the black knight saviour that is going to bring stability, jobs, money, lower taxes - heck there were people out there saying they are glad b/c they "wont have to worry about paying for gas in their car, paying their mortgage.....we helped him [obama] and he will help us." i have the link. amazing - is this what he instilled in people is the image of - "gov will take care of everything?"

Again - i do hope things improve but he will fail like all have. He will dissapoint like all have - he is human. the supporters of obama have put in their minds a level of expectation that is so high - even he stated that this will take a LONG time - opposed to the campaign of " I will change the white house overnight."

Oh well, off to the bike I go - going to watch either braveheart or gladiator on the spin bike and enjoy every moment of it. and if it matters to anyone - i have been in contact with the person that posted on the comments about abortion and mends are made - she is a good friend of mine and dear to my heart - enjoy the day and pray for this nation.

My Hats....

Off to the people of America for their turn out in this election and making their choice - the people have been heard. May God bless this great nation.

So many ask...

So, who you gonna vote for?

Well, seeing that so many in politics are of the same ilk - with no grasp on the middle class no matter what they say - i have to boil it down to some basic key points that means something to me. After all - it is my vote - my opinion etc.... looking back after writing this - it is more like free-association more than collected, organized thoughts. feel free to criticize.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Declaration of Independence - 1776

Life - point one for me. This is simple to me and complicated to others. I have a real problem with baby killers - thats right - abortion. Anyone that promotes this - especially partial birth abortion as it is wicked and evil - God pitty their soul. black and white to me - and i think that all that are reading right now are glad that they were not aborted.

Liberty - the freedom to act. Go to a third world or socialist nation - heck leave America and see what life is like without Liberty. We have been blessed in America with Liberty and our fore-fathers died for this right against the guns of Brittan. We have liberty to live without the government paving each step we must take. we have free enterprise to ensure good services rendered....let gov take over sectors of private life and then we can belly up to the government trough...not my idea of free...it is bondage.

Pursuit of Happiness - not the promise of happiness but the ability to pursue a dream. tough to do when your daily and life's work is being undercut. free market enterprise vs. socialistic ideals....create a more socialistic nation and you squash the very happiness out of most. I fail to see the advantage of letting gov control and govern over the daily on-goings of private enterprise. I am not an expert at all - just fed up. do i think its perfect now? Nope...just saying to promote more control by gov...take more from us to pay for such things "charity at gun point (socialism)" is not my idea of what is good for the people. just me and my untrained thoughts.

Other than the these - and I may have miss-represented them - is the character of the person and their background. In my line of work - this means EVERYTHING as it is a measuring stick for ones intent or long term goal. I am actually surprised that Obama has made it this far to be honest. there is no way in God's green earth that he could be hired in our circles yet he is running for office? i wont get into this. ... ok a bit... a good friend mentioned - in so many words " so he had a wacky pastor in the past..." well, this wacky pastor was about as un-American as it gets and very vocal about it...this alone would in any other security cleared environment - exclude him from gaining access....I guess being a God fearing - Christ loving man - the litmus test is the Bible and in the case of "that" church - for this thoughts sake - I would have to say - yikes.

Aint to keen on McCain either as he is pretty liberal for republicans sake - so where or where is Ron Paul? At least he stood on the Constitution and the founding principles by which this nation was built. I dare say that this is becoming American the Unrecognizable.

I think we all know that once in the office - not many have been able to make the changes they "say" they are going to make - we have checks and balances to even the power and not have one sided options. What I would say is 'what has this person done with what is lay before him? ' I love the ads about - Bush being so horrible - ok...you try leading a nation in the face of attack on our own soil...have we forgotten this already? oh, and the one about how the economy is horrible? really? the stock market turns south - its a gamble anyway - and all of a sudden, Bush is the martyr hung out to dry? You could have had Gore in there 8 years ago...and would it have been different? sure, either good or bad. would we have had more attacks on American soil? who knows. Good thing for the employment of spooky intel operators that protect our boarders. shoulda, coulda, woulda....

Change will happen no matter what - which is why I didnt understand O's campaign. Geez - McCain is pretty far to the left as far as Republicans go....now, if we could have another Reagan - that would be worth a thousand elections. This nation is slipping away from its identity and former self - its like people are following the yellow brick road to Oz to only find that the dream they were following was just a normal person with smoke and mirrors.

The next 4 years should be interesting and I fear that we will be the next Canada, Sweden or KSA...

For Sale - Vintage Groupo.....a craigslist parody

I love craigslist - I really do. We have all gleaned the c-pages looking for that nugget of gold/unobtanium alloy do-hicky we cant live without....in the world of cycling however, there sure seems to be a lot of mindless crap being pawned off as being much more than it really is....such words as vintage, classic, timeless, single speed and Italian are being mocked in every way possible.

So to add to the mix of the worthless being marketed as something you just might see Sotheby's, I give you my old groupo of rare parts - "much like what Greg LeMond used"...but not so much.

Avoid scams and fraud by dealing locally! Beware any deal involving Western Union, Moneygram, wire transfer, cashier check, money order, shipping, escrow, or any promise of transaction protection/certification/guarantee. More info

Dia Compe BRS Blaze brake set - complete with OEM Suntour Vintage DT Shifters (North Metro) $175

Reply to: sale-Isellcrap@craiglist.crap ^[?]
Date: 2008-11-02, 10:37PM CST

I recently upgraded my out of date but highly functional Cannondale (circa 1990) with STI shifters and new dual pivot brakes. What this means to you is that you have a chance to bank on some classic components for that long overdue frame-off restoration that has been looming in the dark corner of your garage. For sale - Dia Compe Blaze brake set - both front and back - single pivot with heavily worn pads and matching brake levers - I will throw in the orig cable guides for an extra $5. Perfect for completing that perfect old-school look. If you look at old pics of Greg LeMond - you will see similar style of components used. Also for sale are the original DT shifters - these are a beauty...Suntour levers that have seen better days. Index shifting at peak form - good luck finding a matching cassette. If you are building that single speed of dreams and need to add in a front or both brakes - these Dia Comps will fit the bill and retain that vintage look that so many are paying top dollar for.