Stats for my longest ride this year (to date):

5 hours
80.7 miles
half a gallon combined of electrolyte drink and water
2 clif shots
1 pkg of clif blocks margarita flavor

Accomplishing nothing else on Sunday: priceless

I took my usual route through St. Paul to the Gateway trail and along the way discovered signage for the Red Ribbon Ride http://www.redribbonride.org/site/PageServer . Having done three Mpls to Chicago rides I got nostalgic for days linked together of nothing but myself the highway, and my bike, 5 gallon pails of butt balm, and weary but smiling faces. It made my heart swell that this kind of thing still goes on. People challenging themselves while also challenging others to make a difference. *sigh*

But as it was, being that I wasn't involved this year, I kept on my way to Stillwater via the Gateway trail. My plan being to leave the trail and try out some of the highway loops Washington Co marked out on it's website. I was concerned about shoulder width and traffic volume, but all in all it wasn't bad, even for a Sunday late am.





And there is a killer (no pun intended) sculpture on hwy 95








And a nifty view of Stillwater as seen from the St. Croix bluff




The highway loop was nice, not having to slow down and stop every mile or so for road crossings made me happy, and it bumped my average speed up a bit. It would almost be worth driving up there and doing my whole ride on the highways, but that just seems silly when I feel guilty about driving 5 miles to work instead of biking. Meh.

Coming back through St. Paul I heard thumping bass and looped around the capital building to see the celebration for the Red Ribbon riders who had just completed their last day of the 300 mile journey. Congratulations riders! Keep the rubber side down and maybe I'll see you all out there next year!

Ok this has to be one of the best ideas in a long time!



http://blogs.jsonline.com/offthecouch/archive/2008/07/16/can-anybody-change-a-5.aspx#comments


I can think of a number of places that this would be welcomed in the Twin Cities area.