Bikes and Guns and Fun (But not for Mr. Potato Head)

 Tom and I drove up to his cabin Friday after work anticipating a weekend of  biking in the Headwaters 100 bike race, shooting and hanging around his cabin.

We were up early, checked in and on the trail by 8:30 Sat. morning.  Weather was in the mid 40's with overcast skies and occasional mist for about the first 20 miles facing a 15-20 mph headwind.  The weather cleared about the time we made the turn and began enjoying push of  the same winds.

Here are our bikes and a big fish at the second rest stop in Nevis, MN.  Tom had ridden < 20 miles this summer prior to deciding to go for 45 miles on a bike he had never ridden before.  I thought brave; he brought up stupid.  Either way he was a beast accelerating up hills.

 Back at the cabin we watched a pair of trumpeter swans hanging out in front of the dock.  They had their "babies" with them which were now as large as the adults.  The only difference was the four adolescent birds donned mottled brown feathers.

 Next we headed to the woods.  We brought three guns out for some shooting.  The long rifle is Tom's Mossin Nagant, a WWII vintage Russian gun complete with bayonet.  We figured out how to shoot it and had fun unloading on the ultimate capitalist, Mr. Potato Head.

 Mr. Potato Head also felt the sting of my mom's old Hoban single shot .22 and a Springfield XDm 9mm pistol.

He ate lead while we enjoyed a pot of hobo goodness Tom cooked up with his Dutch oven.

 Potatoes, carrot, onions, sausage, chicken and sweet potatoes were simmered together over our campfire until tender.  Then Tom topped the mixture with Bisquick batter and place red hot coals on top browning the biscuit.  What a great meal to top off a near perfect autumn day.

 

Sunday morning we worked on a few projects around the cabin an headed home.  We may need to make this trip an annual event.

Headwaters 100 make that 45

Friend Tom and I are heading up to Park Rapids to ride in the Headwaters 100.  We've chosen the 45 mile loop.  The forecast is for sunny and mid 50's.  I'm looking forward to a beautiful ride around Northern Minnesota.  The photo below, taken on a tour a couple years ago, shows a section of one of the roads I'll be riding.  I'm ready for Fall.

Camping With the Kids

I think it's wonderful to spend time with both Harris and Claire.  Last night I took Harris camping; just the two of us.  We went to St. Croix Bluffs Regional park where swimming, cribbage and Jiffypop added to the fun of sitting around the camp fire.  A couple of weeks earlier Claire and I made a similar trip to William O'Brien St. Park.  I'm lucky to have two kids who still enjoy hanging out with dad.  

Playing with Bike Parts and Camera Apps.

Removed chain rings from old cranks today.  Not sure what I'll end up doing with them, but for now they are a part of this backyard sculpture "Old Bones."   The ring directly above the skull is a pre-war or skip-tooth Schwinn crank with hearts.  

Use the App Pencil Camera's "cartoonist" filter for the first one.

 HDR Camera+ for this one.

Use the App Pencil Camera's "crayon'o'matic" filter for the final image. 

Ride at the lake.

Perfect weather for a ride. 

County Fair

 Annual trip to the Dakota County Fair tonight.  Corn Dogs, ice cream, corn on the cob, funnel cakes and deep fried pickles for dinner is outstanding.  Animals and the old time village are always fun too.

More Fat Bike Tour Pictures

Happy Chinese Father's Day: Who Doesn't love a good Homophone

Happy Father's Day! In Mandarin father is (baba) 爸爸 and eight is (ba)八, hence August eighth is 8-8 or (baba) 爸爸. Sound reasoning for a holiday. The picture is an old favorite from living in Taiwan during 04 & 05.

The Right Tool for the Job?- 100 Mile Pugsley Tour

After a bowl of venison, tater-tot hotdish and a few shots puffed from Steve's competition air pistol,  a final check of our Pugsleys had us rolling down the trail to the droning music of fat tires.  My 30psi humming with his 20psi.  We left St. Michael, MN and headed south on hwy 19 via Baker Park to the Luce Line Trail west  & to our destination, a  snowmobile shelter somewhere past Winstead.  We weren't sure how far or if it was still there, but we had both used it on tours several years ago.

 Steve on Winstead Lake

 Our bikes were set up differently.  Steve's body position is upright & tight with J-bars while mine is more stretched out and aggressive.  Both felt great, just different.  The only thing that significantly affected ride was the additional 10psi in my tires which made them  roll better.  One of my goals for this trip was to tweak fit and get to know a bike I recently purchased from my brother.  Other than a loose crank-arm that we tightened properly at a Motorcycle shop after a quick trail fix, my bike was perfect.  Steve's did well do.  We stopped once and adjusted his panniers for more heel clearance then just pedaled.

 Wheelie practice for kicks.  Steve's were better than mine, but I had my best ever.  We realized that these weren't our most efficient bikes for this ride.  Tires measured in mm instead of inches would have handled the trails.  Steve has a couple of Rivendells and I have a Long Haul Trucker.  But they wouldn't have been more fun.  

 Feeling our efforts for the day we rolled into our destination for the night about 8:30pm.  At mile marker 40 on the Luce, we set up camp, made a fire, took a few shots at a Surly can with our wrist-rockets.  Dinner included tortillas, wood grilled chicken and beans.  

Rain started just after we went to bed.  My tent stayed dry and I slept well.  Steve's bivy didn't suffer the rain as well, so he took advantage of the shelter for the night.  The rain stopped in the morning and we had a good  ride back despite being tired and lost in Baker Park.  I doubt that I'll fat bike this trip again; 50 miles each way left me spent.  But, it was two good days of riding, a good night of camping and time spent with a great friend.  Pugsleys were the right bike for this trip.

Culling the Herds

Jared's Sette Reken and my Diamondback XR4 became part of the Craigslist food chain this week.  

Pugsley and Moonlander are now in charge.

Mt. Biking with Harris

More on Afton, July 11 -12.

 Here's a picture of my loaded bike.  Seemed like I traveled pretty light, but had all of my regular gear except for stove and bulky clothing.  We left late on Wed. and return early on Thurs.

 

Started rolling East to the park about 6pm.  Stopped at a butcher shop along the way for some sausage and eggs for breakfast.  My Long Haul Trucker above and my friend John's 1984 Trek 520 below.  Note his cooler and camp chair on the front rack.

 John and I often stand in the alley on warm summer nights and say, "it would be a good night to be camping."  Instead we arrange it so it was a nice night to be camping.  Arrive in camp, pitched tents, went for a swim in the St.Croix River, had ramen and instant mashed potatoes for a late supper followed by a night around the camp fire.  A group of coyotes howling reminded me we were out of the city.

4G coverage and a little phone Netflix in the tent just before bed reminded me of why I like modern things.   Eggs, sausage, granola bars and home roasted Aeropress coffee out of my bowl, forgot my cup, woke us up for our return ride.  I was up before my 5:30am alarm, but we didn't make it out of camp until 7am.

I took the video on the ride to the park.  Lots of corn.  The developed ears with browning tassels helped me appreciate this very quick summer trip.

Heading out to Afton for an Overnighter

Higgs Boson's Function in the Standard Model of Physics (This video helped me get why it matters.)