Thursday, May 5, 2011
Northern Tier Ride Preparations in April and May
The Minnesota winter seemed to never end this year! Outdoor training was sporadic in April, interrupted by late season snowfalls, sleet and rain!
I took my bike over to Erik's Bike Shop for a major tune up and replacement of the cogs and chain. Penn cycle offered a class for on-the-road bicycle repair which I took. I was hoping that soon I would be on the road!
However, April was also the month I discovered the Twin Cities Bicycle Club! The weeks in April and May have been filled with rides every day the weather allowed. I have been working my way up from C-rides (10 mph average) to B rides, and even A-B rides where my personal best of 18 to 22 mph for 25 miles! Don't think I would have had this much progress if it weren't for the encouragement of the other TCBC riders! With over 1700 members and 200 rides per month to choose from, I have been on trails I never knew existed!
Karen Cooper, aka "Coop," is flying in from the west coast on May 17th. Coop is one of the riders I met on the Southern Tier last year, and it will be fun to see her again! Mary Drennen will be coming in from Wisconsin, staying with Amy Derwinski, another Southern Tier rider. The four of us are planning a mini-reunion the day before we leave. Mary, Coop, Dave and I will be driving the four hours to Fargo on the 19th.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Rita,
ReplyDeleteI'm your sister Terri's coworker at St. Stephen's. She has been talking about your great trek for awhile now. Your ending point is in Bar Harbor and my sister lives in Maine so it's been fun hearing about you. I asked if you had a blog to follow and she forwarded it onto me. I hope that is okay!
I'm wishing you good luck and will pray for a safe arrival for you and your co-riders!!!