River Trail Ride

We inducted a new member into MORBID tonight. Kris wanted to test ride an '03 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR that someone at his work is thinking about selling. We did a little bike path riding along Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Creek over to the Mississippi River to test out the bike with a little off-road. I have been on a few of the trails near the dog park but haven't explored the full extent of the trails on either the Minneapolis or the St. Paul side.

They were fun, not manicured like most of the trails around the metro and you could tell they weren't ridden too often. Most likely they are hiked on more than anything else. The trails are pretty rooty and have quite a few chunks of limestone and some big rock outcroppings. I think Kris got a good idea of how the bike handles so we headed back towards Minnehaha Falls. There were quite a few people out around the falls, it was really nice out.

When we got to the falls we decided to stop at Sea Salt for some tacos and a beer. We hung out on the patio and had our dinner. After we finished I turned the light on and we headed back home.

Once home we packed up the test bike back into his Jeep and had another beer on the deck while the dog took a dump in the yard. Good dog.

Holzinger and Bubs

Location: Holzinger Lodge, Winona, MN
Time: 11am
Bikes: Check
Lungs and Legs: Must have forgot them in MPLS
Beers: Bub's (pronounced boobs)
MORBID Members: Pete and lots of MORC Members

9am: I had a car load of people and gear and met Scott at Salem Hills off of 494 and 52.
Caravan we did down to Winona, MN.
11am: We arrive and unpack the bikes and gear.
11:30am: Depart.
11:33am: Gasping for air, legs hate being attached to me and want to leave. After this point I loose all track of time and try not to a) black out, b) puke, and c) fall off a cliff.



We climb, I climb slowly for quite a while, gain around 500 feet in elevation and get an awesome look at the surrounding bluffs, the river, Winona, and a chunk of Wisconsin. Notable happenings while climbing, I cranked my bars on a nice little tree V and fell down about 10 feet of drop about this \ steep. I would like to thank the saplings that caught me and saved me from falling the other 100 feet. I also think I lost at least one lung and possibly most of my leg muscles. I faintly remember it being called Wildwood something. I think there was a sign there too but I might have hallucinated that.

Once we got to the top there was a nice loop of single track with some small log piles and little jumps. It was a big change from climbing through a ton of rock and roots. Most of the bluff is the chunky Minnesota Limestone and someone mentioned it was quarried almost 100 years ago. A part of the trail is called "The Quarry Trail" so yeah, it was a bit rocky. Back to the top. We stopped up there to gather everyone and rest up.



We did another loop up top and then down. Wow. It was fast. We were cruising down the bluff and flying over roots and rocks. It was a little trickier of a decent than anything in the metro. A few of the roots and rocks caught me off guard, Scott's wife caught a rock and tree the wrong way and snake bit the tube. I hung out with her, Scott, and another rider while she changed her tube. We flew down the rest over rocks and roots at speeds closing in on 30mph. Going that fast you could get some air if you tried on the last few rollers. It was great.



After the ride we headed over to Bub's(again, pronounced boobs) for some food and beers, oh and popcorn. I had the Bub's Red at first which was great. Josh who helped organized the ride was sitting next to me and suggested the All American Burger. This was no burger, as they say, it is breakfast lunch and dinner all in one. Let me tell you a little more about it, I will work my way up from the bottom. It starts with a normal bun, then a nice slab of beef like a normal burger, add some cheese, a thin slice of ham, some bacon, and topped of with an egg, then the bun. It was awesome. I want another now. I think I saw 7 of them delivered to table. There was a little beer left in Scott's pitcher at the end of the table so I gladly accepted some Oktoberfest which was really good. We let that settle and walked over to Adventure Cycle to check out their wares.



We headed out of town and picked up some Culver's for the ride back. It was a great time, I just need to find my legs and lungs before I head back. Thanks everyone!

These great pictures are from Scott Haraldson and I totally stole them.

New Member Of The Family

I picked up a Specialized Rockhopper at Eriks Bike Shop warehouse sale yesterday for Aimee (#4). It also seems I got an even better deal since they mispriced the bike by $50 bucks. I think the only thing that needs to be replaced at this point is the handlebar. It could use a bar that is a little shorter and rised up a little more like her last bike.


-MikeyB

:::UPDATE #1:::11.07.2007:::

I put some new 5050XX Crank Brothers pedals on Aimee's bike. When I ordered them the description was Silver/Black, to my surprise the black can be switched out with a candy apple red. Next will be some BB5 mechanical disc brakes.

:::UPDATE #2:::12.04.2007:::

Houston we have a problem. While installing the rear disc brakes it seemed that the caliper mount needed to be faced. I brought it to Eriks and found out that the mount was welded on to the frame incorrectly. This flaw caused the caliper to not mount properly. Eriks called up Specialized and explained to them the situation. It ended up Specialized did warranty the old rockhopper frame. For a replacement they sent Eriks a 08' Rockhopper Pro M4 frame. Kick Ass!! Eriks swapped everything from the old frame to the new one. It looks awesome! That was one hell of a free upgrade!

On the Trainer...Again...

Fucking rain. More trainer time. More Kettlehouse, this time the IPA. At least the beer flows well and stays in the cage without exploding. You ever tried pouring beer into a bike bottle? I have never burped so much in my life.

So what do I think about the Floyd thing? Honestly at this point I don't really care, it was fun to watch. Does a person ever win the appeal? No. The only team I care about now is Chipotle/Slipstream. Hopefully they maintain a clean program. Will I watch the tour next year? You bet. Can't wait to see Andy Schleck tough it out.

Over and out.
-pete

Drinking on the Trainer?

Raining out side, trails are closed, what is a boy to do? Hop on the trainer I suppose. That means I have retired the roadie to trainer duty for the next few months unless I get motivated to ride on road, but with such nice trails why? So until then the carbon bottle cages on that sucker are going to be used for beer can holding while I am on the trainer.

Only spun for an hour today, I can't do much more than 2 on the trainer without going a little nuts.



Another note:
This would look oh-so good on me.


Ladies, need The Mistress?


Oh T6, why do you make it so tough on my Visa? Fuck, now I have AC/DC "Mistress for Christmas" stuck in my head...

-p

Salem Night Riders

Location: Salem Hills, Inver Grove Heights, MN
Time: 6pm
Bikes: Check
Lights: Check
Beers: Check
MORBID Members: Mikey, Pete



She was a good ride, a warm day after the recent cold streak. Two laps around, one with daylight, one without. Lights were charged and ready to go. Lap one was quick, the rocks were loose and there is a ton of sand on the trail, but it was fast as all hell.

Wheelie practice was held until the sun went down and lap 2 was started. Another fast lap was done since there were beers waiting. No injuries tonight but the boys were spent after some heavy riding the last few days...

Some Rouge Mocha Porter, Spotted Cow, Mothership Wit, and Paulaner Oktoberfest-Märzen were consumed. There was talk of The White Castle but that was called off since one of the crew had it for lunch. (Dick!) If only The Castle made wool jerseys...

Murphy Trail Work & Ride

Pete & Mike did some trail work at Murphy-Hanrehan today. A couple trail areas were fixed and a new trail was opened located on the west side of the park next to the log ride. The new trail is located at marker 80 & 81 on the trail map.

After the trail work a ride was in order as Kris & Aimee joined the group for a ride. Pete & Mike conquered the up hill rock garden on the advanced loop. Aimee was triumphant up the steep hill switchback and Kris, well Kris made it through the trail in one piece on his bike. However we did have to make a couple emergency stops for Kris to put in chain back on and to bike back to his car to grab his keys off of the car roof.

Alcoholic beverages after the ride consisted of New Glarus I.P.A., Hometown Blonde and New Belgium 1554 Brussels style black ale.

Biking With A Punch

Todays ride was from Lake Nokomis to Theodore Wirth Park and back. 32 miles total with 13 of it at Theo. Lunch was at Punch Pizza in Calhoun Village where delicious pizza and Summit Oktoberfest was served.

Here's The Skinny

New Belgium Skinny Dip quenches your thirst after a hard day on the trail.

Ride/Beer Photos

Brought some Kettlehouse brews back from Missoula for some post ride options. Really tasty after rides. If you are in Missoula, hit the Kettlehouse, skip Big Sky Brewing and spend your time and money there.

The ladder bridge is from one of the best trails in MN, Murphy Hanrehan on the Savage/Prior Lake border. Ride a bike and drink a brew sucka.