Red barn

After yesterday's both ways into the wind ride I was extra vigilant today. The cable TV weatherscan station said winds light and variable one minute and actually claimed calm the next.

As is my custom I took a couple of turns around the cul de sac to feel the full 360 degree effect of any breezes. Not very much to my surprise, northwest was a clear winner. I set off towards the northern routes.

But what a beautiful, beautiful day it was out there. The winds were as advertised very light and to be fair varied a bit now and again over the course of the ride but not enough to be much of a hindrance or assistance. It was summer like conditions out on the bicycle. To this point in the year I have been wearing a light weight liner under my helmet, mostly to limit heat loss. Today at about mid-point in the ride I had to stop and remove the liner, mostly to facilitate cooling. It was summer like conditions.

I was just riding north intending to just let the bicycle take me where it might, thinking it might be a good day to deviate from the regular traveled routes. But I ride those routes because multiple repeats have shown me that those are the most comfortable and most entertaining routes to ride. Even so, no ride is EXACTLY the same as any other, today's ride led me into North Oaks and down the road to James J. Hill's red barn.On a horticultural note, I CAN successfully identify the yellow flowers in this photo. As for the buildings, well, barn is easy. Those brick buildings though? I am going to guess milk storage building and . . . and . . . pump house? More on horticulture in a bit.

First, today's bicycling note: I was riding down the hill off Victoria down to Snail Lake. This is a one long block descent of a steep hill. The street there has fog lines painted on each side, leaving plenty of room on paved shoulders for a bicyclist. Under normal conditions this hill is an exhilarating high speed coast. Today there is construction going on on that street. Cones have been placed on the bottom half of the hill limiting the road surface to just wide enough for two cars.

There is a four way stop at the top of the hill. I made the right turn onto the hill as a van coming from the opposite direction turned left. I looked over my shoulder to see what the woman driving the van intended to do. She was obviously disinclined to pass, apparently taking the pretty common Minnesota Nice approach that the bicyclist should go first.

Well, she was accommodating me, I wanted to try to return the courtesy. I swung out into the middle of the lane, the only safe place for a bicyclist to ride under these circumstances and started to pedal. I quickly spun out in the gear I was in and then went into the lowest tuck I can maintain, chin nearly on the bars and blasted off for the high speed coast.

The speed limit on that hill is 30mph, I assume that van observed the law. As for myself, my cyclocomputer reports that my top speed was 32.8mph.

That's not the fastest I have ever gone on a bicycle, but it is the fastest for a while. Exhilarating.

Today's zoology note: On the way home I spotted this specimen on the west half of Lake Vadnais. This is my first sighting of the year of the Great Blue in any place other than Florida.OK, horticulture time.

First, I concede. Daffodils it is. In my defense I never got really close to either planting and they looked like tulips to me.

And then, of course, there is the fact that there ARE yellow tulips.And orange ones. And some other completely unknown to me yellow stuff.

I wish I had thought of this before yesterday's post, but the truth is, I thought of it later. Still, I am not going to ruin a good story just for the sake of the truth.

As reported first by Newsweek, Minnesota's Governor has made a mighty flip flop on health care. Don't you think that viewed in this light the alliterative and suggestive "T-Paw has tulips too" is more interesting than the horticulturally correct "T-Paw has daffodils".

Anyway, that is now officially my story and I am sticking to it.

In any case, the flowering crabs are now demanding that we STOP and take a good look (and smell) as they are about to burst out into colorful glory.That's all I am going to have about tulips for this year (I think).