Goals

150 miles so far in March. Hopefully another 25-50 before the end of march (aka wednesday). Shooting for 3000-3500 by the end of the season. :)

First Ride of the Season...for Liam

This past Sunday I did my first ride of the 2010 bike season. I went riding in St. Augusta with Ann and my mother, Jeanne. We first met at the St. Joe trail head, having heard a rumor that the trails were clear. However, this proved to be false and the trails weren't ride-able, unless we switched to snow tires. So, disappointed, but still hopeful we ventured forth to St. Augusta, where wide shoulders and relatively little traffic awaited us. We got on our bikes and rode, sailing down roads, over great hills, and through great valleys. We battled many great dangers, such as sand-swept sides, careless chickens, and a crushed peanut shell. However, though these many dangers we prevailed and our trusty bikes carried us back to the shelter of our cars, which were parked, probably illegally, in a lot off the road. This ride was a great first ride and I hope starting the season this early will yield more miles cumulated and more stories told while sipping cappuccino at the Local Blend. So, here's to the first ride of the NFBC season and may there be many more to come!

Are NFBC bikers real Minnesoootans? You betcha!

I hear that Ann went biking early this year. I don't mean April. . . or March. I heard she went biking in. . . wait for it. . . FEBRUARY. Okay, Ann, we get the point--it is clear to us all that you are hoping to get the "Most MINNESOTAN Biker of the Year" award. I hope you get it, Ann, but you never can be sure. Perhaps I will go for a ride across one of the polar ice-caps, or maybe Andrew will get the idea that eating a tub of lutefisk while riding his bike to an ice-fishing hole somewhere in 'da boonies will snag him the award. I don't know what will happen in the future, but for now I want to say "congrats" to Ann for being the most minnesotan biker i know. Way to show those snowmobilers how us NFBC bikers do things, Ann!

Biking in the Texas Hill Country

I went to San Antonio on Feb. 7 for a conference. The hotel was right downtown, with the Alamo directly across the street. The weather during the conference was very nice in the 50's and 60's, needing just a light jacket in the evening. Unfortunately, it was a skills conference, which meant that there wasn't even the option of considering whether to miss a session during the day.

The conference ended at 1:00 on Wednesday. The Texans in attendance were all leaving early because of the ice pellets which were being predicted. The temperature was in the high 30s or low 40s. I went to pick up my bike. The bike shop guy was surprised I showed up and asked if I had heard about the weather.

I drove north of San Antonio up I35 toward Austin until I saw signs for "recreational area" and found my way on to the Texas Hill Country Trail, which actually had signs saying "watch for bikers." I found a hotel, but it was about 5 p.m. by the time I checked in, so didn't get to bike with the ice pellets.

The next day, Thursday, it was in the 30s when I got up and drizzling. I decided to wait to see if it would clear up. At about 1:00 it was pouring rain, though it had warmed up to the low 40s with a wind chill of 30. I decided I didn't need to revisit the Ironman in Texas.

Friday, I went out to get my bike ready at 9, and my hands were getting numb so I took the bike inside and got it set up. I hit the road at about 9:45. The people at the check-out desk thought I was nuts, but they thought that already as soon as they heard I live in Minnesota. Fortunately, I had brought some cooler weather clothes. I headed west which was into the wind. There were some nice hills and long inclines. After about 2 hours I reached a café, and needed to get my feet warm. So I stopped for lunch. Cafes in rural areas are apparently the same everywhere, as I listened to people talk about how it was too wet to get into the fields, the price of hogs, and the challenge of shipping hogs to California.

Heading back was much easier with the wind at my back, so I made good time, and took a detour to add some more miles. I noted that cattle in Texas must not be used to bikers as they actually looked at me as I passed by. There were cactus along the way, and the buzzards that did not look up as cars passed by all flew up from what ever carcass they were eating when my bike passed. Normally, not a big deal, but 25 of these large birds flying up at once is a bit disconcerting. I stopped to take a picture of a cactus, (not to catch my breath--which I could see) and within minutes a sheriff's car had pulled to a stop across the highway. I got back on the bike, and he turned around and left.

Lots of good hills, some deer, and about 40 miles. There was one dead armadillo along the side of the road. All in all it made me wish I had one more day to bike again. As I drove my route to track the miles, I passed the only other biker I saw the entire trip. The day I left it got up to the 60s.

It was a nice location to ride, I highly recommend the Texas Hill Country, though would do it in March rather than February.

Fat Cyclist

If you havn't heard this story before you should watch a bit a this video. It is about how the blogger who write the fatcyclist blog wrote a letter to the manager of Team Radioshack and it ended up with him raising over $130,000 for charity and a chance to ride with the team during a training camp. It is a great video and an inspiring story. Just copy this URL into your browser's address bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLy0tAe8mTg

Meeting with NFBC is almost as great as biking with NFBC

The New Friends Bike Club (NFBC) held its winter meeting at what has now been renamed "the Party House," (to the great shock and amazement of its owner.) After sampling a wide variety of blue cheese selections, washed down with a beverage of choice served in a wine glass, the members sat down to a meal of lasagna. Dinner was followed by team building exercises which involved a melting elephant and a martini hat.

With the preliminaries aside, the meeting itself commenced. NFBC President Liam Cofell-Dwyer guided the members from agenda item, to agenda item, ensuring that much was accomplished. The NFBC will be taking part in a community education session at Revolution Bikes which will provide training on changing a tire, cleaning a bike, and other basic bike maintenance. An ambitious schedule of spring and summer biking was also established. NFBC will be scheduling a regular ride for Wednesdays and Saturdays until school is out, at which time an additional ride will be added. There will be a banquet and awards ceremony at the end of the season, so riders are urged to keep an eye out for efforts which will merit recognition at the banquet.

NFBC has also opened itself up to international membership, with strong hopes of securing members from Germany and Paraguay. Plans are in the works for a European Tour including Austria, Germany and France in 2011. International tour members will be welcomed into the homes of US members and tours will be planned for them.

The good company, good cheer, and great leadership provided by President Cofell-Dwyer ensured that this was a successful meeting.

Dreams about the NFBC European Tour

I have been dreaming up a wonderful three week long tour around Europe that will be accomplished with several modes of transportation, including biking and trains. As has been discussed previously within the NFBC (New Friends Bike Club), we would all enjoy taking a trip to Germany to bike for a while. well, i was thinking that this dream European Tour could start off with a stop in Austria, then a train ride up to Bremen in northern Germany, where we would do a five day bike tour. after enjoying N. Germany we would all hop on a train to Paris, France, where we really wouldn't bike, but I'm not going to Europe without spending at least a day in Paris! we would continue on train to the French Pyrenees. These mountains are renowned for some great rides and have been biked many times throughout the Tour de France. i have read about some great houses in the mountains that have been modified into really nice hotels. from one of these hotels we could do numerous different day trips of varying difficulty. if we are in the mood for some really challenging rides we could tackle some of the famous Tour de France peaks.

Tour Destinations:

Austria: 2-4 Days
Melk
Salzburg
Vienna
Germany: 5-6 Days
Munich ?
Bremen and surrounding area
France: 5-6 Days
Paris
Pyrenees Mountains



A trip of such magnificence would most likely take place in the summer after i graduate from St. John's Prep. This would allow the participants ample time to save up enough money for ticket, housing, transportation, and food costs...as well as a brand new carbon fiber bike to propel us up the mountains. This would be the summer of 2011.

Spring Fever

After buying a biking magazine about health and fitness i am really ready to get back out on the trail and ride for miles and miles into the sun and with the wind. i am really inspired to get in as many miles as possible this season. hopefully 3000 or more. i want to bike some centuries and maybe even ride in a tour or race. i want to take a trip and ride new terrain. new territory. a new world. i want to don a bike jersey and get out on my jamis ventura bike and ride. the problem being we have snow...a lot of it. and the trails are buried deep. true, there is such a thing as a turbo-the stationary bike thing that you can set your bike in and bike without moving. but who wants to do that?! wheres the fun? true, i should mount that bike on the turbo if i want to get in shape so when the real bike season comes i can start out strong, but why cant the magic sun fairy come and sprinkle some of that magic, inspiring warmth all over the trails? i want to ride with the sun, the wind (although it is troublesome), the world, and my team mates. is that too much to ask? please, summer! Wipe this spring fever away!