Pic dump

 I am really excited about gravel road riding and enjoy it a ton every time I get out.  I have developed a nice course starting at the Fleet Farm by my house.  Great climbs, quiet roads and just the right length for an evening ride.

 I have been making kale chips from my garden's kale supply.  Just rub some olive oil on and a little salt.  Bake in about a 400 degree oven for 5-15 minutes depending on how crispy you like them.

 I did 2 1/2 hours of fat bike exploring on the south side of the river at the old Bloomington Ferry bridge road.   Lots of side trails to explore.  I had Bud and Lou on and love them for slow speed exploring.  Logs hidden in thick brush are much less of a problem as these tires just roll up and over most things hidden.  Also the fat footprint makes extremely slow riding very stable.  Almost like walking in the thick brush rather than riding.

 In the middle of seemingly nowhere with no sign of vehicle access I found this thing shooting out water near this old set of stairs.  Note the large tree in the background that would have been inside the house suggesting the house has been gone for 50? years or more.

 I eventually made my way west by Blue and Fisher lake.  I have been trying to make an off road route from Sibley house by Heath's house all the way to my house in Chanhassen.  As a result this stretch of that route from just west of Savage to Shakopee has been on my to do ride list for some time.

 I found myself in some great trails back here.  These are when I was getting close to the Valley Fair Grounds.

 Sadly I will have to go up onto paved trail and highway 101 for about a mile when I go past Valley Fair and by The Landing old time pretend town thing.   At the end of my ride I talked to two other riders up on the Bloomington Ferry Bridge Road.   Josh is the author of the blog Full On and his friend who is the main man behind athletic architects.

 My dad talked me into driving his 1941 Model D tractor in a Dilworth MN parade.   I resisted fearing I would have a slow motion crash where I would not remember how to stop the tractor.  I would then slowly careen towards and squash some old parade watcher who could not get out of his lawn chair to walk to safety.

 The 45 minute 6 mph drive from the Probstfield farm to Dilworth was some good practice time.

 Troy drove this old car of Howard's with his kids in the Rumble seat.

 Ella and Maya rode in the back of the 1946 truck Howard drove in front of me.

 I think Howard has 17 tractors.

Not sure if I am the first person or not to do this or if I should be proud or ashamed but I was texting while driving a 72 year old tractor in a parade.

North Shore Trip

Trip to Duluth and North Shore with most of our time at Blue Fin Bay.   This first pic is just to remind future me to stay in cabin 69A.  We apparently got lucky and called just when the owner opened it up for the time we needed.  It is furnished nicely and is on the end so you have great views of the lake.  It is also close to the outdoor pool, Coho Cafe and the little General store.

We saw a cool moth.  Luna moth?

While leaving in my car just after a ride on some remote trails  this big wolf crossed the road right in front of me.  He then dropped his head and stared up at me through the brush for a while before running off into the woods.  This is a terrible pic of his hind quarters.   If you could see it the head is on the right.  

While driving to the Trestle Inn for lunch we also saw the biggest black bear I have ever seen.  Looked like a grizzly bear wearing a black bear costume.  It also ran away.   All the wild life we saw on the trip looked remarkably healthy for some reason.   Big in size, healthy fur and lively behavior.  

One of the hikes we did was up around Oberg Mountain.  I love the views found on that hike.  On a later day I decided to try to ride the Cross Country Ski loop next to Oberg Mountain on the  Moonlander.  It was a super fun, memorable boggy death march kind of ride.  My Cardio Trainer app says I was out for 95 minutes and covered 3.3 miles.  That is about a half hour per mile.  

This pic is a big part of my slow speed.  The trail would look normal but was liquid mud just under the surface.  Very weird especially since I was climbing much of the ride.  Kept thinking I would climb out of the wet but never did.  Lots of big moose tracks around but didn't get to see one.

More pics along the ride.

Should have used the bud and lou wheels.

Ferns are surprisingly easy to ride over.

Trestle inn is a fun drive up a little ways from the lake.  Both times we have been to it we have seen our best wild life in the area.  They are isolated enough that they have no phone so cash only.  They do however have satellite based free wifi.

Back side of Oberg Mountain.  In the pics above I tried to ride around this lake but only made it less than half way.

Lots of fog on the trip kept the temps very comfortable.

That sail boat is part of the Blue Fin Bay world of activities and is actually quite large even though it looks like a floating toy.

Whale rider revisited

I have to believe I have blogged this gif before but I love it so here it is again.   It is endomorph old yet the guy has front suspension and what looks like a big disc on front.  

In think I read that the new Moonlander has gone up to 180mm disc's in front with 160's still in the back.  That's nice to hear since I just happened to ordered a new 180mm bb7 brake and rotor and should be getting it in the mail today.  I found the brake, rotor and mounting thing for about the same price as a rotor and mounting thing alone so now I have a spare brake.  

I can't believe the whale just keeps sleeping the whole time he is riding over it.