Upping the Mileage

I'm very close to a 1,000 mile goal on my bicycle.  It's the third goal I've set since I got back on the bike around the August last year, for a total of 1,800 miles in under a year.  So I'm feeling solid.  Last weekend, I did a very aggressive 64 mile ride up to Maple Grove to have breakfast at the Original Pancake House with Kyle.  I got cocky.  Stomping on the pedals up and down hills almost had me bonking with only four miles to get home.  I'm glad I wasn't further afield, or I wouldn't have made it, because I was chewing through the gears trying to find one low enough to let me spin up the final hills.  I'm supposed to do a 100 miler with Ming if it's not storming tomorrow, so I'm hoping he won't be going full tilt the whole way.

I got lost several times, including losing the trail and the road in Theodore Wirth Park.  They're serious about their trail closed signs in Theodore Wirth.  Perhaps because they found so many bodies in the woods there back in the early 2000's and late 90's.  My wife and I lived in St. Louis Park in those days which wasn't a distant ride from our apartment and I remember avoiding the park for a while before they caught this guy.
 

I had the coconut pancakes and thick bacon. I could have had a meal just eating the breakfast condiments.


This was parked in the lot.  I sent Eryn a picture on Facebook to see if she thought I should tip it over, ala Mr. Bean.


After breakfast, I hopped on my bike and discovered my second flat front tire of the year.  This time it was a piece of glass embedded in the tire.  I felt very fortunate avoiding the dog poop when I laid down my bike.  I felt less fortunate when I pinched my hand in the pump.


A picture of the Mill Museum on the way home and the Guthrie's bridge.  There were a lot of people around for the Stone Arch Festival, including a woman who was walking her bike and talking on the phone and rolled into the bikeway perpendicular to the path and stopped to talk.  I came to a halt and just kept looking at her until she finally realized she was in the way.  Which was good, because the other guy came around the blind corner from the other direction doing about 20 mph.  See all those areas where you could stand, talk on your phone, and not get killed by a head on collision with a bike?  Apparently they have bad reception.