Sunday, January 06, 2008

A Fantastic Weekend of Riding...

Heading out Saturday morning -- photo: CVO

Man, it was an incredible weekend of riding... We got about 60 super high-quality gravel miles in Saturday, backed up by another 50 + miles this morning. It wasn't exactly the same crew each day, but many of the characters were the same -- mw, dk, -kw, pc and myself, plus each days' unique mix of riders -- cvo, cornbread, b. kelly, schlake, butchie, rokke, paul's neighbor john... it was sweet.

Thanks to everyone who made it out with us this weekend!

Cheers,
MG

10 comments:

GNAT said...

MG, you suck. I'm so jealous. I got only about 25 miles on the road yesterday.

Glad you guys are getting out.

MG said...

lol... i know, i know. i've heard it before.

but seriously, at least you were able to get out for a ride, jason. it's january, and you're in minnesota, after all!

the way i see it, any day we get with spinning wheels right now is a day we're stealin' from our skis. my wife is bummed, 'cuz she hasn't been able to try out the sweet new xc skis i bought her for christmas yet! she's just been staring at them, all clean and shiny in the basement... it's almost like having a shiny new bike with a foot of snow on the ground -- in reverse! HA!

cheers,
mg

GNAT said...

LOL for sure, but since you said you are longing for skiing, I sent you a pic! Ha! Take that!

MG said...

Ouch! That's a stinger!

... but a damn cute picture. Nathan and Natalie are gonna' grow up to be amazing skiers if you have 'em planked up already. I suppose it's like riding a bike, but here in Nebraska, to learn to xc ski isn't something that's nearly as universal as a kid as learning to ride a bicycle, for example.

MG said...

[10 hours later, at work]... but you know, now that i think about it, in today's day and age, to learn to ride a bike isn't exactly universal anymore either. to learn to play an x-box 360 might actually be arguably more universal than learning to ride a bike.

that's a sobering thought... or perhaps inspiration to start programs that give kids more opportunities to experience cycling and the outdoors... through school programs perhaps.

but it really starts at home, with exactly what gnat and his wife are doing with their kids -- taking them out and showing them how they love the outdoors.

as i look back on my own childhood, one of the best gifts my father gave me was the example of how to love the outdoors. as a child, i had an innate respect for the wild, but i was not afraid of the wild. we did not have cable television. my cable television was exploring every cubic inch of branched oak lake. those were the good 'ol days... before mountain bikes even existed, when the only things riding trails at branched oak were snowmobiles and horses.

Guitar Ted said...

Wow, wheres the ice and snow? Heh heh! We had a ton of fog up this way and I just didn't feel comfortable riding in it at a time when the average person doesn't expect anybody out there. Plus, I almost always ride solo, so it would have been easy to not see me.

Spent a weekend with the family instead.

Nice that you have so many like minded folks down there. What a great motivator!

MG said...

Thanks Mark! Hope the weather gets its act together for you and you're able to get out and pedal this week.

Cornbread said...

Nebraska gravel rox!

MG said...

so true... you were rockin' it saturday cornbread. it was nice pedalin' with you buddy. i hope we get a lot more of that in '08.

cheers,
mg

Cornbread said...

That ride had a couple of classic gravel moments...sneaking up on the two large adult foxes playing in the corn field and then an hour later the spunky farm dog that lead us south for a couple of miles. He was kicking our asses up the hills and into the wind while keenly marking his way on mailboxes. Cool dog.