One-fourth of my genetic material comes from north of the Arctic Circle in Norway. I have very fair skin, the kind of skin that the sun can and will, if given the opportunity, brutally torture. I have to be careful.
Yesterday I rode with a jacket on but I forgot my helmet liner. I came back with my legs a little red and an itching sensation on my scalp. My legs are fine, I have been outdoors with bicycle shorts on enough to have at least the beginnings of a base layer. But this scalp thing, while not yet a problem, clearly called for a strategy to minimize direct sun exposure for today's ride. This was especially true considering that the departure time was approximately 1pm Central Daylight Time, also known as high noon, sun time.
I have three summer weight helmet liners, two blue and one white. It was going to be warm today and the sun was out in its full glory, I needed the white one. I found it with only a minimum amount of searching. While searching around I also came across my SPF 45 sunscreen. This is, I believe, industrial strength sunscreen. I went with bare arms, helmet liner and SPF 45 on all exposed epidermis, including skin that only became exposed when my helmet straps pulled my hair down off my ears. Side note, what is the approved strategy for applying sunscreen to your ears? Just the tips? Or do you have to rub it into the entire ear? And how do you do that?
The temperature rose into the 80s and I extended the range of places I have ridden this year by riding the full southern route. This is the general maximum southern extension of my more or less regular rides, as far south as I regularly get. I had not been there previously this season but today I rode to the River Road overlook above one of the candidates for the spot of confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.
That's Pike Island on the left and the Fort Snelling mainland on the right. That channel between them connects the Minnesota and the Mississippi so this CAN be considered the confluence.However, I believe the generally accepted confluence is at the tip of Pike Island, another mile or so downstream. I know that the tip of Pike Island is much more visually impressive. There is a path to the end of the island, I know that one of the more or less regular readers of this blog has taken that hike within the past several weeks. However, as is perhaps evident from this photo, although barely, the path is a dirt path for which I would need a mountain bike, although perhaps I could do it on my cross bike. In any case I was on my LOOK, and furthermore I was on the wrong side of the river.
Therefore I am posting this picture and I am calling it "Confluence". Those with better photos of the real confluence are invited to respond.
2 comments:
Your confluence is as good as the end of Pike Island. The waters mingle in both places. Nice photo.
There is a sign at the bridge to Pike Island that says that bicycles are not allowed. It's a dirt path, but even mountain bikes are verbotten. TT
Nice ride report.
It is also considerably windier mid day than it is in the evenings, most days.
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