Night Wade-a-Bike

Jared and I went on a fat bike ride along the Minnesota River between Jordan and Belle Plaine.  We knew the river was up, but thought we might find dry trail.  About 200 yards in to the first trail a puddle became unexpectedly deep.  Once shoes were saturated, there was no point in stopping.  We sounded like paddle-boats as we spun through comfortably cool water.

When the trail got too deep to ride, we carried bikes by grasping the down tube.  The buoyancy of the fat tires pushed the top tube into our arm pits.  After a few sections of pedal-boating and wading, we came to a deep section with noticeable current. Not sure if we could ford this section at all, we re-positioned electronic  and went in.

Diaphragm level was as deep as we needed to go.  The gentle flow of  current hinted at water's dark side.  My fat bike pushed into me making me step with care.  Next time I'll hold my fat bike on the down river side so it floats away at an angle instead of butting against me.

Jared saw and touched a large carp probably also enjoying a jaunt in this strange environment. Fireflies made the water woods sparkle and flash.This was a night of unexpected  good adventure.

Minnesota River Bottoms Wade-a-bike.

Went for a short ride tonight as the sun was getting ready to set.  I heard the river was too high to go west from 35W, so I headed east trying to stay higher up on the trails.  I, however, kept ending up in peoples back yards.  I did find a historic site with a tepee and a wigwam.  Not wanting  to be lost in the dark, I headed to the west side of the bridge to try it.

I needed to ride/wade through three sections flooded with knee deep water.  Made it to the functioning raft at Nine Mile Creek then headed for home.  Great fun exploring.

Won a Limited Edition Poster From Surly Bikes Today.

The contest involved sending an email and picture saying why you should win the poster.  I sent, "I love my Pugsley because I'm old and fat and can still go bike packing on the coldest weekend in Minnesota.  Some similarities between the two images may have helped too.  I'm most pleased to be the owner of #30/100.