Northward

I woke up to my alarm at 5am this morning. That was about the time that Sheena had told me she would be leaving, but as it turned out, her alarm wasn't set right, so it was the time she got up too. She got around in a hurry, and before long I was giving her a hug and telling her farewell and good luck. Because as I was off to do my 70 miles today, she was headed out to do 100 mile gravel race (though mostly just riding it rather than racing), because she's way crazier and more badass than I am. I ate breakfast, got around quickly, and then was on my way myself.

It was cold this morning. mean see your breath, fight off numbness in your extremeties cold. I wore my jacket and my thermal tights and undershirt, and I even started the day with my thermal balaclava (before switching to my ear muffs). I wasn't too happy about that cold, and in fact I called Thomas at one point to bitch about it to make me feel better (while walking as I called, because standing still would make me freeze). But hey, it did make me motivated to keep moving all day, so there is that.

Of course, as per tradition, the first thing I did in getting out of the city was to promptly take a wrong turn go the wrong way for awhile before realizing, consult Google to get back on track, and then get even more confused by its directions through the suburbs. It was embarrassing. If I knew what was good for me, I wouldn't mention that it happened. But hey, it's tradition. I crossed the Coon Rapids Dam one more time (and at that hour of the morning it was totally dead), did a little more city navigating, then was soon well and gone from the Minneapolis metro. I was doing well, making good time.

Then as morning turned toward afternoon, the wind really started to pick up, and progress slowed considerably. It's out of the North and the West, and I have to say I really wished I had the option of turning East today. But I didn't. So I just kept my gearing low and tried to maintain a slow but steady pace (which wins the race, right?)

And then, about twenty miles out from my destination, I suddenlu heard that dreadful "pssh" noise I've come to know all too well. I had a puncture, the first I've had on my Race Kings (after closing on 1300 miles put on them overall). It's also my first time getting a puncture with a tubeless set up, so I'll admit I was nervous as hell. I saw the sealant foaming up, all orange and gooey, and after a brief moment of panic about what to do, I realized the best thing I could do was just keep riding and let the sealant do its thing. And you know what, a few nerve wracking minutes later, it did. The leak sealed, the sealant stopped foaming. I lost some pressure, but best I could tell it was holding.

I had to piss like crazy, so I stoppee in at a gas station in Mora, relieved my self, got a couple candy bars, then chilled for a moment, checking that my tires still seemed to be holding. Then I ventured back into the wind to make the last ten miles to my stay. Being as its in the middle of no damn where the almighty Google actually steered me wrong, taking me to a place a mile past it, making me turn and go another mile, on gravel, to get here (when I could have turned a road sooner and come straight here). Google is rarely wrong, but with places as remote as this, it does happen.

So, my stay tonight? I messaged a lady through couch surfing and she confirmed a stay for me. But with a few catches. One, that she's not actually in Mora, but 6 miles north in a cabin in the woods by the Snake River. Two, it has no running water of any kind (where there was once a shower, she has clothes hanging, which amused the hell out of me), but I could get some from the neigbor if need be. And three, she's not actually here, because she's hiking in Nepal right now. None of those catches bothered me much. So here I am.

The front tire is still holding it seems. So consider me still on team tubeless for the time being. I got in before 3 today, and I'm going to try to get to sleep real early, so that I can get up as early as possible tomorrow. Because I'm doing a damn century tomorrow, with the wind against me at that. The earlier I can get going in the morning, the better. Let's hope the tire holds, the winds don't pick up until late, and that I'm feeling fresh in the morning. I'm back to life on the road.

One Week Off

It's crazy to think that about as much time as I spent getting to Minneapolis (or rather, the suburb of Champlin), I have now spent here in it. The time seems like it will last forever as it's passing, then once it's done, you suddenly wonder where it's gone. I've had a good time here with the Christiansen's, a nice break from touring, from life. But tomorrow will be here soon, and with it will come time to get back on the road. There are a lot of miles left to cover on this adventure after all, many more things to do, and many more people to see.

I don't have too much to account of my time here, really. It's been fairly rainy and Brad and Sheena, being normal, not vagabonding folk, have still have had to go to work, so I've spent a lot of the time hanging out the house, reading, binge watching the most recent season of House of Cards on Netflix, taking little walks around the neighborhood, and then playing some Elder Sign and Munchkin with the family in the evenings. I can't say I've disliked the change of pace.

I have done a few things while here though. Sunday I went for a little ride with Brad through Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park. It was crazily busy on the weekend. Getting over the dam both ways was a matter of slow weaving around pedestrians and snail-paced bicycling families. It reminded me a lot of crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. The dam is gorgeous though, and so it's no surprise it draws such big crowds. And the park itself has some fun trails, with a few even funner "trails" blazed by other bicyclists through the grass (likely in part to get around all the people).

Then on Monday Sheena took me on a ride around Elm Creek Park Reserve. It was a fun ride. Sheena is my favorite person to ride with, always consienscous of who she's with. I would race to keep up with her on every downhill, and then be able to catch up on the climbs. It was windy and threatening rain, but as Sheena reminded me, I actually like that kind of ride when I'm not laden down and fighting those conditions for hour after hour without end, without certainty of some place to get dry and into clean clothes. When it did start raining, lightly, I was able to just enjoy it, soak it in, in a way I just don't get to do while touring. I told my sister yesterday that I realized what I miss most while riding my bike day in and day out while touring is...well, riding my bike. There's no carefree, unloaded riding while on the road; touring is its own kind of biking.

Tuesday I did a lot of the aforementioned, "not much". Wednesday I got to see the machine shop where Brad works, which was quite a learning experience for me. While I have no doubt that running one of those machines for 8 hours a day, every day, it would quickly become awfully tedious, getting to see the full process through just once was definitely interesting. He showed me the process step by step to make a (rather large) Wolf's Tooth chainring (as his shop manufactures a number of their components). The machine does a lot of the work, very fast, very precise, but the operator still handles some of the details, especially the removal of any burrs left by the machining, as in the case of the chainring Brad was working on it all has to be accurate to within 4/1000 of an inch. We're talking human hair width here. Brad has primarily been working as a machine operator at this shop because they don't take on enough new parts to facilitate him working as a programmer full time, but actually designing the code for the machines to run is what he's most good at and most interested in doing. And he showed me a little bit of that side of things too, what the software to build that code looks like and a little of what's involved in using it, as well as some of the parts that he's made the code to produce. It's all way beyond me, but I enjoyed getting to see it.

Wednesday I also got my warm weather balaclava (a uvx buff) in the mail, so I hopefully shouldn't have any more sunburning on my face. ...Though cold and cloudy as it is now, I might not be needing it for awhile, and might actually be wearing my thermal balaclava instead these next few days.

Thursday, since it finally wasn't raining, I decided to take a little ride along the river toward Minneapolis proper. It was a lovely, cloudy day, and it was good to get off the couch again and start ramping back up for adventure. I stopped just short of downtown because the road I was taking with a nice bike lane was closed and I really wasn't too keen on needing to do any navigating. I had also been assuming that I was going to get to see downtown anyways because Brad had an event to attend that evening. Sadly he ended up having a killer headache and it ended up being another night in. But that's alright with me. As far as I'm concerned, most big city downtowns are all the same. What makes Minneapolis special is its bike trails, and while I only saw the tiniest fraction of them, I got enough of a taste I think I can say I saw something of the city in my time here.

And speaking of which, the riding I did since coming here has officially put me at more miles traveled on this bike frame since starting this trip than I had in the months before it; the odometer is at over 1200. Of course, that's only for the frame, tires, and chain, as everything else got swapped over from my original, defective frame that got warrantied. I have no clue how many miles were put on it; didn't have the bike computer before then.

And today? Again, not much. I got my shit together. I enjoyed my last shower for a couple days. I watched some Daredevil. And now I'm going to hopefully hang out with Sheena and family for a little while here before bed. Because morning will be coming, bright and early, and I actually have to get around when it does.

It's bittersweet. A week is long enough to completely adapt to a situation, to have it become normalcy, to have it seem as if that's how it's always been. It's like leaving home all over again. But the road is calling, and I have to answer. ...Even if it is going to be a chilly 50 degree high tomorrow (when it was in the 90s the day I got here!) and the wind will be fighting me every inch of the way...that's just how it goes. I just hope I don't get snowed on. ...Because it's snowing right now at the state park I plan on sleeping at in three day's time. Don't anyone tempt me to turn around and head south instead of north, because it's already on my mind. Ready or not, I'm Canada-bound tomorrow.