Crown Jewel retirement ride

Honest to god, the last two days were SO hard that I was seriously considering whether I could even continue with this bicycling thing. Suddenly the act of riding was making me feel really, really awful, almost physically ill.

Today I rode in the late morning with a starting temperature of somewhere in the low 70s and with breathable air instead of pea soup. The last couple of days have taught me again about the universality of human experience. When they say that at my age I should expect decreased lung capacity and lessened respiratory efficiency they do, in fact, mean me. I am not immune.

But today was better, I felt strong, I felt (sorta) fast.

I am putting the steel bicycle away for now, perhaps permanently. It now has 10,000+ miles on it, that was one of my major goals for this season. I really like that old bicycle but today as I was preparing for tomorrow's ride (by getting NewLOOK down from the garage rafters) I was reminded that I really like most all of my bicycles. NewLOOK is scary, scary light and has less than 10,000 miles on its odometer. I can see a clear path ahead and on that path I am riding NewLOOK.

There is some street sealing going on out in Shoreview which has caused me to very slightly realign my northern route. At the corner of 96 and Hodgson Road instead of cutting back to the south and riding through the neighborhoods to reach Sucker Lake I have of late been staying on 96 and riding on down to the entrance to North Oaks and accessing Sucker Lake from there. So I haven't ridden past this place very many times at all. Today it caught my eye.

What with the recent wildlife photos from Tanzania perhaps wild birds aren't exotic enough.

I rode down to the beaver dam and while there had a really fun moment. The water level is dropping slowly. It appears to me that Bob has to bring his shovel over and cut down the gap in the dam to let more water out. It has been a long time now and there is absolutely no sign of the beavers.

I was taking this all in when a couple of roadies passed me going the opposite direction from my facing. The wind was from behind me and one them had a voice that carried well so I overheard a snippet of conversation. It was clear that they were discussing me. I suspect that the one fellow said he had seen me out there before.

"Unmistakable", said the other, "what with that moustache".

Gzmoohoo is way more famous than I am.

I rode on down to Lake Vadnais to discover that I may soon be cut off from that route, too. I don't know for sure but I am pretty sure I can guess what this giant piece of equipment in the Vadnais parking lot is for.

As soon as they start removing the road surface out there this fall they are going to use that machine to grind the surface into bits, the conveyer on the right will deliver the ground bits into dump trucks which will haul it all away. I suspect that it will be recycled, perhaps even recycled for use in the new construction out there of a multi-use trail (10 foot wide sidewalk).

All signs indicate that construction should begin soon, I doubt that I will be able to ride there after construction begins until after it is fully completed. Every ride I take to Vadnais now has the potential to be my last ride out there until next spring.

Here's the big news from Roseville over night.

The newspaper reports that a neighbor says there was a small barbecue grill up there previously. The newspaper also reports that the building is at least temporarily uninhabitable. When I rode past the front of the building there was a large gaggle of folks clearly representing ownership, insurance and construction talking about what had to be done. I heard one fellow forcefully state that you will never get rid of the smoke smell without a complete gutting and rebuild.

After being ready to give this bicycling thing up just yesterday I am today energized for perhaps a nice ride tomorrow. I had a big month, the most miles in any month so far this year, the first month since March when I had more miles this year than in the same month last year. I am way behind my mileage goal but I am getting close to being back on track for my fitness goal. Why wouldn't I keep on riding?

Don't hurt yourself

It was pretty hot today, record or near record heat. But I convinced myself that it is near record heat for the end of August which seemed to me to be considerably less daunting than near record heat for the end of July.

Near record heat for the end of August is now officially daunting enough.

TOPWLH wished me a safe journey and counseled than I should not hurt myself. Excellent advice which I came a little too near to not taking. It felt towards the end like I was going to hurt myself.

But not, I am OK, at least so far.

Tomorrow if I go I am going early.

Do you see what has happened here? This is the residue of the new sidewalk project along Fairview.

They added the sidewalk on the other side of the road and also added a couple of feet of pavement on either side of the street. Up until now it was a little uncertain exactly what the purpose of the slightly wider shoulders was. The master plan has become clear.

Look closely, what they have done is scour off the old lines, moved the center line closer to the opposite side of the street, moved the shoulder line on that side to the edge of the new pavement, moved the shoulder line on this side nearly to the edge of the new pavement, all of which leaves room for, eureka, a bike lane.

So sidewalk/bike path on that side and a bike lane on this side of the street.

Today's mileage milestone is 1,000 miles this bike this year. Here's where I was when I reached that number.

I knew Ray Bissonnette, he deserves to have those tennis courts named in his honor. He lived in the house across the street and provided excellent service to that recreation center in the area of his interest, tennis.

I remarked a couple of days ago when the corn was last featured that it looked about ready for harvest.

This is at the end of the ride and as I mentioned above, I was feeling pretty used up but I still had enough left for a little road bike cyclocross out into the grass next to the corn patch to get a decent sun angle for the photos.

One from the front, one from the back.

Any questions?

Off the beaten track

Fall is coming to the lakes too. This still looks a lot like summer but I notice a subtle change in the shades of green, just a tiny bit more towards the yellow end of the adjacent to yellow green which I guess makes it closer to the red end of the spectrum(ROYGBIV).

I received a report earlier today about the relative lack of security at this intersection.

I ride through there a lot so I rode over there again today to check it out. My intention was to declare that this is a nice suburban neighborhood well on its way to growing new trees to replace the ones lost 40 years or so ago to Dutch Elm.

Then I noticed that the house immediately to my left as I took the photo (not visible on frame) is the home of the dog that I ran over a couple of seasons ago.

Ran over with my bicycle.

So I guess I agree, that isn't a very secure intersection.

I rode nearer to the Fair than I had been earlier so far this Fair year. I got close enough to be reminded that the Fair is a pedestrian event, lots and lots of people walking.

Most will know that I consider pedestrians to be a more likely danger to a bicycle than a car. True, a collision with a car would cause more damage but a collision with a pedestrian is much, much more likely.

I rode away.

Which meant that again today I rode some stuff that I haven't been on for a while. I used to ride through Reservoir Woods all the time when my long ride was 15 to 20 miles. I haven't been through this tunnel for years.

I had pretty much scrubbed that hill from my memory banks. I remembered that it was steep and that it had lots of turns that disguised the steepness. I fixed that today by reopening the subdirectory where information about that climb is stored.

That hill is hard.

There is a short ramp up to that tunnel, then after the tunnel a right and then a left and the start of the real hill. It keeps bending to the left with a couple of false flats but always more uphill around every little bend. Then a steeper section and past the deck over the ravine that marks the halfway mark of the climb.

Geez, I thought to myself, I can't still be only halfway up this thing, can I?

Next comes a steeper section then a bend around to the right and there it is, the longest section and by far the steepest, at the top. The cherry on the top is that even after beating that last section the trail still continues uphill, albeit gradually at the end.

I won't forget.

There used to be a huge old concrete reservoir up there. They tore it out a couple of years ago. This is my first look at the quite a bit smaller tank that is up there now.

I noticed that steel has taken the lead as the frame material on which the most miles have been ridden to this point in the season. More on that later.

Avoiding the Fair

I rode on Friday but didn't blog about it. I rode shortly past noon when it was TOO HOT. It didn't seem that bad while I was out (miracle of evaporative cooling) but when I finished I had no recourse except to admit that I was used up.

I took some pictures that didn't get posted so I will throw them up here today, maintaining a chronological order. It is easier for me to keep track that way.

Here's a sign I never expected to see, over near the under construction light rail on University.

University used to be two lanes and a shoulder. Now it is barely two lanes although it does now have train tracks. I guess the traffic control people felt compelled to say that bicycles can still ride there.

I dunno, you'd have to be braver than I am to try to convince an aggressive SUV that a bicycle may use a full lane, particularly when one of the two lanes is closed.

I got all the way over to the Falls again.  A couple of things, the sun angle has changed enough now that the ride I used to take because it was mostly in shade is now mostly in sunlight.

The other thing is that at long last the water level in the creek and over the Falls is starting to look more like August than April.

But it is August and summer will soon be over. Someone should tell this tree, however, that it isn't quite over yet.

I ride enough to know where the trees that surrender early are. That's one of the first to go.

It is right across the street.

Today's ride took us north again as that Fair thing is in full swing. I understand that Kiss and Motley Crue will perform on Wednesday night. I doubt not that I will be able to hear just fine from my yard. The problem is Kiss and Motley Crue is probably going to have much more interesting visuals than the sounds. Not only will the bands be a spectacle, I am betting that a good portion of the crowd will appear in somewhat out of the State Fair ordinary costume.

Over and under on people in Kiss make-up: 15 percent of the crowd.

We got out to Vadnais. There is going to be a major repavement project out there this fall, I hear. I suspect this snake like boom deal is being stored in this parking lot for use when the construction begins.

It looks a tiny bit threatening in a movie special effects sort of way just sitting there.

There's a new bench in town.

The new sidewalk on Fairview went in mostly last fall but there was some additional construction over there this month including this "trail amenity".

The corn looks ready for harvest.

This looks familiar

Here's a story recently related to me by a family elder, apparently an observation by one a generation removed from the two of us:

If you have a cold you can expect a recovery time of about two weeks.  Unless you see a doctor.  If you see a doctor you can expect a recovery time of about 14 days.

I have work to do, I don't really feel physically up to it, but I have work to do.

As most will know, I don't actually have a job.  My work is daily exercise.  Today I did the necessary work.

I really didn't intend to picture the rain garden again.  The deal is that the atmospheric conditions today were mostly cloudy.  When I rode past to see how the cardinal flowers are doing the sun suddenly appeared.

Most of those plants are pretty clearly at or beyond maturity.  Pretty clearly summer is at its very end.  We all know what that means:  State Fair.

The Fair started today.  That means I can't ride the usual southern routes that pass what would be too close for comfort to the Fairgrounds.  But I did get over into the general area of the Fair and found this entrepreneur trying to make something out of pretty much nothing.

He's about half a mile from the gate.  Recumbent triple, a rig made for hauling but clearly never, ever going to be a factor on even the slightest of climbs.  It is completely flat between where he is parked and the gate.

A lot of people would consider that where he is within fairly easy walking distance.  But on the other hand once you reach the gate you are facing a day of lots and lots of walking.  I don't know what this guy is charging but there are plenty of people who probably consider his services to be a bargain.

Bicycle note:  Never ride to the Fair with a guy who prepares for the haul by burning a heater.

We had a fairly amicable chat.

So here is the big news.

I had to ride a bit farther today than I am really comfortable riding, particularly considering my recovery status from upper respiratory infection.  I reached a yearly total for the Crown Jewel of 878 miles. Nothing much there, right? But I have been working for the past two years to get the Jewel to this point, today I passed another goal.

I extended the ride today to be able to post this out of focus photo of my odometer at the end of the ride.

I thought I had that focus thing figured out but clearly I do not.

It is clear enough though, to illustrate that I have expanded the family group of persons who own more than one bicycle on which they have ridden 10,000 miles. I now own two.

I think it is a little interesting that I have just over 50,000 miles ridden since 2001 and exactly 30,000 of those miles are on just two bicycles. I am fairly comfortable in identifying my two favorite rides: the 20,000 miles FirstLOOK and the 10,000 mile Crown Jewel.

Homebody

Very special thanks to our hosts in Michigan.

We exited the state through the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

The question came up, international? We checked the departure screens on the airport information system and while this is a limited sample, we can state that there was a departure listed on Air Canada for Toronto.

That seems pretty international to me.

I found the background details of the mural to be interesting.

But there's no place like home.

This has been for me a very unusual run. I am at my core a guy who likes being home. With that in mind here is a look at my schedule for the last slightly over four months.

April 13: Vancouver
April 20: home for 23 days

May 13: Las Vegas and later Arizona for the Grand Canyon and then Utah.
May 25: home for 45 days

July 10: France
July 27: home for 14 days

August 11: Michigan
August 23: home

I will be hunkering down now and may not for the next 90 or so days stray any farther from my home base than Lake Vadnais.

It's been a great run, I wouldn't trade it for anything, I wouldn't trade it for having been at home.

But now I am home.

Here's a numbers note of some note. When I got home today I entered into my bicycle log the numbers for the rides I took in Michigan. A fairly significant note about that is that this year was the 10th year that the miles I rode in Michigan were on a bicycle that I own (a repeat special thanks to the person who stores my bicycle during the 50 and a half weeks of the year when I am not there). But the most significant number is that since I started keeping track of miles in 2001 I have now ridden 50,022 miles. Somewhere early on in that ride yesterday, probably somewhere around 168th and Quincy I rode past 50,000.

That seems like a lot to me.

Heinz

What I really wanted to do was get myself downwind of the Heinz pickle factory. Teresa and John were nowhere to be seen. Eventually we achieved the overwhelming scent of pickling that we sought and it WAS good. It didn't last long though. But it WAS good. Unfortunately (or not), despite the olfactory brilliance (of the factory) the pickle factory did not present a good photo opportunity.

We were out on our own today looking for miles. We came to this spot which will confirm for most what we already know. Yes, indeed, we were 5.7 miles into the ride.

What?

You thought there was something else?

Venturing outside of my usual area of expertise I note that there was a vacant Tennis Court over there near the lake.

After we got past the pickle factory we were not exactly lost although we were in unfamiliar territory. The streets over there are numbered though and I knew that 16th was a key one, so after a bit of wandering on 24th and 26th, with a shunt down Washington, we eventually came to this bike rack, a good place to pause.

We noticed not a single other thing about our surroundings.

Honest.

Tonight's sunset was bland but at least it featured an interference with the image.

Back to the Borgias.

Landmarks

Today I rode the triangle route, north to the PSPS, then the diagonal down to the bike shop, then back to the dunes along Ottawa Beach Road with an excursion through the Woods. It was coolish for August and lots of the riding was in the shade, a perfect antidote to the days of riding in too much heat.

Riding this route gave me a chance to visit several of what have become landmarks for me during the now 10 years that I have owned a bicycle in Michigan.

Here is the ancient abandoned stone gate north of here on Lakeshore. I long ago took to calling this Stonehenge.

A little bit farther along that way is the Port Sheldon Party Store.

Something that I noticed this year that I have never noticed before is that they are not just selling gas up there, they are selling "Fuels with an Attitude."

Gas was selling for $3.82 per gallon out there today. For anyone keeping track that's about 81 eurocents per liter. Some will recall that we recently paid 1 euro 62 per liter for gas in France. Those two numbers make a nice, useful comparison, I think. Gas costs twice as much in France as it does at the Port Sheldon Party Store.

A trip down the diagonal leg along Butternut led eventually to a passing of the local bicycle shop.

I made it back to base in plenty of time for dinner at Turk's (a local joint).

And then there was only today's sunset to complete yet another nice day in Western Michigan.

And I know there are lots of you who have been waiting with baited breath for this report: Ligue 2 football is underway for another year in France. Today FC Nantes scored a 0-2 victory of Tours in Tours, for the always gratifying full 3 points on the road. Filip Djordjevic scored both goals. Four games have been played by all of the contenders except Monaco and Auxerre, both of which could move ahead of Nantes in the table with a victory. But for today FC Nantes sits second on the table with 8 points on two wins and two draws.

Rain man

Morning: Interesting view of the thunderstorm coming across the lake.

Afternoon: Bicycle maintenance.

Sunset:

Another nice day in Western Michigan.

25 words or less

Definitions are funny things. For example, everyone has a definition of what it means to be "open" as in "open for business". This place has both a flag and a large sign outside this door declaring the business to be open.

Putting completely aside for now Americans with Disabilities Act concerns and the state of repair of that staircase, I personally do not expect to find open for business fresh produce marts to be quite so heavily barred.

That's Tammie's Produce Mart in West Olive.

Photo opportunity

Yesterday was not a bicycling day.  What with water aerobics and a persistent all day sprinkle it just wasn't the sort of day when you could start a bicycle ride.

Today was better and included a photo opportunity.

I was busy slightly off frame but even so managed to participate.

Sketchy

Sketchy:

The sign says this way to West Olive.

But new next door and not sketchy, a bicycle garden:

Travel day

So, let's see.

A "mechanical issue" after the plane was fully loaded, a delay of about 25 minutes, not really a very big hassle.

Unwarned about strong cross wind buffeting plane in the minute or two after take off, not really a very big hassle.

Bumpy weather related descent into Gerald Ford International, not really a very big hassle.

Arrived in time for dinner, good news at last. There is lots and lots of beach here this year.

And the sun still goes down every day.

Travel is never easy, even a short trip. Today's travel made easier by our arrival at a place we both know that we both like.

I voted today

I'm going to be out of town for the really important primary election voting day next week so I voted absentee today at City Hall.  The person who helped me fill out the application there was a mother of a couple of girls who played on a few of our softball teams.

Hardly anyone is going to guess her identity based on the clues I am going to give but I suspect that if she thinks about it carefully TCWUTH already knows.

So here's a few more: two girls, one a year older than the other, never both on the same team together, the elder only a couple of times, the younger several times.  The younger also enjoys the distinction of having appeared at least once to play softball wearing jellies, which girls of a certain age, and their mothers, will be able to identify as cheap, soft plastic sandals, clearly not appropriate foot gear for the task of, for example, running to first base.

I know, I know, the jellies clue makes it way, WAY to easy.

Anyway, it was nice to see a familiar face, we had a nice chat while the other lady who was working there today was preparing the actual ballot.

I voted pretty much according to the desires of one of my neighbors.

Actually, not all of those races were being contested in the primary, but I did vote for Betty and Mary Jo.  Alice, John and the constitutional amendment were not on my ballot this time.  I also voted for Karen and Lorie.  So much for secret ballot, I guess.

Today's trivia for Minnesota residents only:  identify Lorie.

I wanted to get a picture of the road at Lake Vadnais.  The road will disappear after this year, next year the route out there will be a multi-use path, a bike path/sidewalk.  So there won't be cars at all next to the lake, people will have to walk in to fish.

A result of the change is that the road is not being maintained at all this summer.  There are a couple of quite bad spots.

There are at least half a dozen other holes in the road which are less severe, almost of no import for a car, but matters of considerable consequence for an inattentive bicyclist.  You could be very sorry for riding into any one of those very many road hazards.

50 percent chance

A couple of days ago I complained about riding 3 miles in a light rain.  Today after watching weather radar most of the morning, I had lunch and then announced to TOPWLH that I was going to get dressed and just pretend that I was going for a bicycle ride.

I got dressed but soon faced the necessity of giving it all up or actually going out the door.  I told her I might be back in, oh, two minutes.

I rode zero miles in light rain but two hours in 50 per cent chance.  It was actually fairly pleasant about 25 per cent of the time.

I wanted to get this published as I anticipate many opportunities to compare our local dune grass to the grasses at someplace that actually has sand dunes.

This just heading out stand is near the shores of Lake Owasso.

I knew something was wrong when I rode past the Fairgrounds the other day.  I don't remember it closing this much before the Fair actually begins in the past.

Completely off limits for an entire month.

Which is the reason why I couldn't get a better angle on this never previously seen (by me) cow sculpture.  It was (can you tell?) inside the fence.

So there will be no reports until after Labor Day about temperatures at the Cattle Barn.  At times today it was genuinely cool, still too early to think autumn but definitely not hot, steamy middle of July weather.

A look back

Today the two hour ride took one hour, 58 minutes and about 32 seconds. Any sign of actual fitness in this season of not enough riding is welcome.

However, when one rides with that much single mindedness one doesn't really actually pause for any photo opportunities.

I have about 4 or 500 pictures of France. Here's one that hasn't been published here before, a look at the beauty of Omaha Beach.

The ravine which US forces forced open by 3pm on D-Day is below the brow of that hill in screen center, leading off towards the left.

Omaha Beach is really pretty.

But really what today's post is about is gas mileage and the price of gas.

I had a rental car, a 5 speed straight stick medium size Opel.  The last time I rented a car in France it used diesel, not the case this time, I was using gasoline.

I drove 1,201.3 km before the final refueling at the base of the hill in Rouen (the train station car rental return was at the top of the hill).  I filled up twice, a total of 85.45 liters.  That works out to about 14.06 kilometers per liter.

Don't worry, it gets slightly more interesting.

Converting to miles I drove about 746.5 miles.  Converting to gallons I used about 22.57 gallons.  That works out to about 33.07 miles per gallon.  So that part is pretty good.

I saw gas for as low as 1.57 euros per liter and for as high as 1.72 per liter.  Both times I bought gas I paid 1.62 euros per liter.  That works out to about 6.1333 euros per gallon.

I haven't seen the bill yet so I am unsure of the exchange rate but I was usually acting under the assumption while I was there that the exchange rate was approximately $1.23 per 1 euro.  That works out to about $7.54 per gallon, a new personal record.

Gas in Roseville is still under $4 per gallon and looks more like a bargain now than it did a month ago.

Advantages of not being employed

I tried an afternoon ride today for the first time in over a week. It was hot again but only in the temperature. The killer humidity receded and all it was was hot.

Even so staying in the shade seemed like a good idea and my personal favorite route for staying in the shade involves riding over to the Falls.

The water is EXTREMELY high for August, almost spring-like in its flow.

What we learned today at the Falls is that I am a sucker for a video with running water as a soundtrack.

I took two videos. One had the M family as a soundtrack exhorting the youngest members of family to say "cheese". I deleted that one and waited around for a couple of minutes and got this one. This one is better.

Anyone who didn't get a chance to see the women's soccer today missed out on something special.

Deer agree to pose

I didn't get in a ride yesterday despite several hours when riding seemed not only possible but also like a really good idea. Instead the two of us scheduled activities together.

She has had a very full schedule since arriving back in this hemisphere. By her calculation she had not been on a bicycle since early July. Today we fixed that.

Today for some reason the deer agreed to pose.

Mama and baby showed only a tiny bit of caution at our presence, keeping their distance but never really bolting for the woods.

Junior put on a display of leaping and cavorting that was pretty entertaining.

The GRider also agreed to pose. In case it is not obvious this whole shot is a complete set up.

She said, give me a "hello" and I will look over my shoulder like I am surprised.

It was a beautiful day out there.

We rode out to Sucker Lake and checked in on the beaver.

An older gentleman on foot, I am pretty sure his name must have been Bob, stopped to chat. He said what he has heard is that the trapping program has been successful and the beaver population has been reduced to zero.

On the other hand he knew nothing about the earlier back hoe attempts or the efforts being exerted with a hand shovel by his fellow Bob.

I figured out how to edit the HTML to center the video.

This seems ambitious

I ride past Langford Park at least a couple of dozen times a year. Today I was taking the easy way around the Saint Anthony Park loop by ducking down past the park instead of riding all the way up to take on the highest hill in StAPk by taking the left turn at the Speedy Market.

Lots and lots of really local references there, no one from outside the 551xx zip code has even the slightest chance of knowing what I am talking about.

The street had one of those road closed signs and this time they meant it. Often a bicyclist can go ahead and ride through a road closed because they usually mean cars. This time they had road furniture and warning tape stretched from curb to curb so I had to head up the hill after all to get to where I wanted to go.

I didn't have my StAPk alley guide with me (shout out to Roy) but I have been on every street over there lots of times, I wasn't even vaguely disconcerted. Still even though I have seen this before today it struck me.

That seems really ambitious to me. It is perhaps worth noting that it is at the intersection of Hillside and Knapp.

So I have known who wins the 100 fly since about 1:45 this afternoon (a couple of minutes after it was actually held) and yet I find myself waiting around listening to the TV running in the other room to see the race. I want to see it, that's why.

Insulting, that's what it is.

I am plenty OK with the idea of an evening highlights show, especially for those who, unlike me, have a job or something and are not available to keep up with events live as THEY ACTUALLY HAPPEN. But the coy way NBC pretends that you are going to see it and discover it for the first time? It's just really annoying.

Insulting, that's what it is.

At least the track meet has started.

Dirt report

Stopping by the beaver dam has become an important part of my northern rides.  I realize that most have probably reached the boredom threshhold with the doings out there.  I am not bored yet and I like riding there because it is an excuse to stop at a really pretty spot, a spot that is also usually shady and cool.

Well, the road workings out there have me a little hesitant to ride on the usual main streets.  Today I settled on a different idea.  A couple of times a year I cyclo-cross my road bike through the dirt path and Grass Lake park.  It isn't a good idea to do this if it has rained recently because dirt paths can produce lots of unpleasantness for a skinny tired road bike, particularly if muddy.

I decided that yesterday's very brief shower wasn't a hindrance and, voila, a plan had formed.

I deviate from the usual path at the Shoreview water tower and head down toward the pedestrian/path bridge over the freeway.  Everything there seemed in good order so I plunged down off the bridge into the woods next to the lake.  I was riding the brakes, preparing for the necessary loss of speed and downshift that always accompany a ride in the dirt.

No dirt.

The path has been paved.

So today's ride is at least in part another new pavement report.

Some years Grass Lake is more grass than lake.  This year there is quite a bit of lake.

So I rode out to the full northern route.  There is nothing new to report at the beaver dam.  Even I couldn't summon motivation to take yet another picture that looks pretty much exactly like several others only with a slightly different water flow.

I did find Vadnais to be pretty interesting, that is a very unusual occurrence, particularly in the main fishing months.  There was not a single car in the main parking lot, nobody fishing at the usual fishing hot spot.

I think the picture does illustrate that it was a pretty day yet again.

By the time I got home it was getting hot.