Off the grid

I had completely forgotten that sometimes it feels really good to stretch.

I felt pretty good this morning and when I got out there the day seemed really quite nice. Monday is the day with the fewest other bicyclists out and about so I decided to take advantage of the weather and the relative solitude and ride a bit farther than what my usual ride has been.

With only light winds from the southwest I got all the way to Saint Louis Park. I checked the map on the kiosk board there and the vous êtes ici shows west of France Avenue, that makes across the city limits, Saint Louis Park.

It is also worth noting that the name of the trail as indicated by the kiosk has changed from the Greenway to a regional trail of the Three Rivers Park district. That whole three rivers thing is a west suburban park and trail system. So I have ridden all the way across Minneapolis and out the other side. I was about 15 miles from home at this point.  At that point I am completely off the normal ride grid.

I turned back.

And still ended up with my longest ride so far this year.

For example, this picture was taken on the way back. It is the channel between Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun, taken from the Greenway facing towards Lake of the Isles.

The winds were quite light when I started out but strengthened some while I was out. The light wind at the start enabled me to ride fairly hard on the outward leg. When the winds increased on the return trip I found myself feeling really, really strong despite the extra distance.

I had completely forgotten that sometimes it feels really good to stretch.