Oh Heck! I'm In

After four months of waiting, I finally made it to the top of the wait list and got the invite to participate in the Heck of the North, a hundred mile gravel race on the roads north of Duluth.
Had I gotten the email 9 days earlier I probably would have turned it down. Once I finished my first century last weekend, I didn't want nor need to participate in the Heck. I did of course change my mind the next day. It's amazing how just 1 day of rest can change the way you feel.
Even though it's called a race, I'm just going to consider it a ride (I'm kinda slow). The only thing I'll be racing is sunset.
I'll be riding my Trucker. It's a really good all purpose bike. All I really need to do is pull off the racks and fenders and strap on my handlebar and seat bags and I'm set. 
I plan on riding about half of the route (or at least the roads that I think are on the route) Saturday. I may still bale on the race if I don't think can ride fast enough on gravel to finish in about 8 hours. I'm pretty comfortable on hard packed dirt, but loose gravel (especially going downhill) causes me to be a bit skittish. I'll most likely post an update Sunday on how that ride went and whether I decide to stay in the race.

Century

This past Saturday I completed my first ever century. My previous best was 83 miles 4 weeks earlier, so I was pretty sure I had 100 in me.
I was really hoping to have a good story to tell when all was said and done, but riding the century didn't seem any more spectacular than any other ride, just longer.


One of my favorite parts of the ride was watching all the clouds. Despite the sheer number of them, they never seemed to block the sun. Good thing I remembered the sun screen.


I think I saw about 4 deer the whole day, which was 2x the number of bikes I saw. This guy was the only one who wanted to pose.


One of the best parts of living here.


After 20 miles of pavement I got to hit the gravel. For the first couple of miles the gravel was thick and loose. I debated turning around and going a different way, but I was pretty certain the county wouldn't put down fresh gravel along the entire 18 or so miles. Luckily I was right. It got much better (and faster) soon enough. I just wish the 10-20 mph headwind wouldn't have lasted the entire 25 miles that I was going west.


As per usual, I had to stop and take a picture of the Trucker on a bridge.
I decided to go with 3 water bottles today (96 oz total). There aren't a lot of places around here to get water. I didn't get to a store until mile 70.


At one point the sun had a halo. I don't think I've seen one in the summer before.


They don't make bridges like this anymore.


Back at mile 50 I decided to forget the century and just ride straight home. By the time I crossed this bridge at mile 63 I had changed my mind and decided to go for it. It's amazing what a nice tailwind will do to improve your outlook on things.



In order to get to 100 miles I had to go 4 extra miles out and back on a side road before hitting the final stretch home. Just after turning back around (into about a 30 mph wind) it started to rain. Needless to say, I was not happy. Fortunately the rain only lasted a few miles and I was rewarded with a rainbow to accompany me during the last few minutes of daylight.


The final tally. 
I've  reached a milestone that I've been aiming at for a couple of years.
I'm glad I finally got it out of my system. Now I can just ride to ride. 
I can just go where the road takes me.
(at least till the double metric century bug bites)

Rest Stop

Yet another reason I can't seem to get anywhere quickly around here. There are just too many beautiful places to stop.

Naked

Today was bath day for the trucker. I don't wash the bike as often as I would like, as I always find it to be a pain getting into the various nooks and crannies. Because the racks and fenders don't help at all in this regard, I thought I would remove them to make things a little easier.

Although it did end up being easier to clean bike without them. I don't think I'll make a habit of it. The hassle of removing them doesn't offset the ease of cleaning.

Another reason I had for taking them off was to see what the bike would look like without them.
It turned out as goofy looking as I thought it would. Between the 26 inch tires and the 62cm frame, it definitely needs the fenders and racks to help even things out.

I plan on riding it like this for a few days to see if I notice any difference in the way it rides. The weight went down from 36 to 29 pounds. That's quite a difference, although it's only 3% of my body weight, so I don't think I'll notice a thing.


 
A proper touring bike.


Goofiness

Weekend Pics

Scenes from the Minnesota Arrowhead










And the best for last....

Our second moose sighting ever!
They just weren't willing to stay and pose.

Beasts of Burden

I guess they don't really fit the definition, but they were just too cute to leave out.

Picnic Ride

Trish and I took advantage of today's beautiful weather and got out for a 40 mile spin with a stop for a picnic lunch.  Because it's been so hot lately, we hadn't ridden at all for over a week. It felt really good to get out and ride again.


The road surface wasn't the greatest, but the wall of trees on either side more than made up for it.


Caribou lake is always a good place to stop for a water (and photo) break.


In the end, nature always wins.


Those are some bad smelling plants behind the fence. I'd have collapsed too.


This could be confusing. Luckily, we've been this way before.


Ultra smooth road, fluffy white clouds, and beautiful scenery. What more could a person ask for?