For all of the weird variety of weather that we’ve been having this spring, the one missing component has been humidity. As I mentioned in a previous posts, it has felt more like late-September than mid-May during each ride. It feels a little wrong to work so hard on a bike and come back with little outward indication.

That changed on Sunday morning when a series of heavy rain showers moved through in the morning and left a mid-day window to get some riding before an expected afternoon of showers will return. I hit the road but also hit a noticeable difference the ride quality. The humidity was back and offered a near match to the temperatures at over 70%.

The return of the humidity was not a problem. Actually, it just seems “right” to have some stickiness in the conditions during the ride. I ride in Minnesota, after all, and have an expectation that each season will actually behave like the season that it is.

It’s springtime in Minnesota – so it should act like springtime in Minnesota.

The ride was good (as they all are) and was done at a speed that I am satisfied achieving. I am nearly a month behind in my outdoor riding this year (as are most Minnesotans), so I am not where I should be in terms of strength and stamina. But, those characteristics will come if I continue a steady 4 rides each week.

The recently arrived humidity will only make it feel like those miles are hard-earned.

The weather continues to behave normally for the time of year and offers good cycling conditions. Wednesday’s environment had a gentle breeze, mid-70s temps, and clear skies. The only weird aspect is that the air was very dry. Instead of the usual springtime high humidity, if felt more like late-September. It’s strange to work hard on the bike and not sweat – especially in May.

Out on the road, I ventured a little farther south than normal and hit the shores of Long Lake. The narrow road that borders the lake is terrible and seems to only have faint memories of being paved with smooth tarmac. But, the view was good and the shore lined with fisherman. The trees were budding and offered the hint of green against sky-blue water. It’s as Minnesotan as you can get. It’s also hard to imagine that a few short weeks ago involved blowing 6+ inches of snow off of my driveway.

Working my way to the north, I encountered several group rides. One from the Tonka Cycling Club and another from Lifetime Fitness. It was pretty easy to pick out the experienced from the unexperienced. The Tonka club was tight, coordinated, and keeping a steady pace. The Lifetime group was scattered, broken into two separate sections due to a headwind, and made of a large range of riders.

Both represented aspects that I don’t like about group rides. The Tonka group – while made of good, quality riders – looked like everyone was posturing and worried more about who had the nicest bike. The Lifetime group clearly did not follow the etiquette of any reasonable cyclist – each looking ready to knock each other over in a mad dash to avoid the wind.

I’m more of a fan of the small group ride – just two or three of us. It allows us to have a reasonable conversation, manage the pace for everyone, and avoid the large range of capabilities. A work-coordinated ride several years ago was committed to be a “no drop” ride, but that meant that I had to hang back when one of the riders bonked on a steep hill. It was too much drama to result in an enjoyable ride.

I guess that sometimes, company on the road is a good thing. Other times, I am glad to be pedaling away (by myself) going the other direction.

There is something about living in Minnesota and having a close relationship with the weather. We deal with such extremes – both hot and cold – that the real perfect days are far between and need to be experienced and appreciated.

Friday was that type of day. Little wind. Pure Sunshine. Temps in the mid-60s.

A bike ride was a must-do event.

The ride itself was uneventful – but that is often how they should be. I left work a little early, so I was on the road with a lot of people traveling home for the day. Thus, it was busy with traffic but a distraction that was easy to ignore.

The farmers are finally out working the fields. There was the smell of freshly-turned earth and the move to the edge of the road to allow a large all-wheel drive tractor + chisel plow pass me by. I am lucky to be quickly riding through the quiet farm hills of Minnesota within a few short miles from my house in Plymouth. It keeps me grounded to my roots.

The weather has finally broken and offered a hint of what a true Minnesota spring is all about. Monday’s after work conditions were nearly perfect. Temps in the low 70s, not a hint of wind, and the smell of spring in the air. The only obstacle on the roads were the steady patches of dried mud, as the farmers have been afforded the conditions to finally work their fields.

It was good to get out for both physical and mental reasons. Although I should have ridden the past weekend, I ended up focusing on my bathroom project – which includes a full tile tub surround. Plus, I wasn’t mentally excited to ride – which I don’t really know why.

But Monday was a different tune – as they say – and offered a chance to get back on the bike. Instead of watching my speed for the duration of the ride, I turned my focus to my heart rate. If I have learned anything from the heart rate monitor in the few rides this year, it’s probably that I am working my self too hard while on the bike. I ride to the point of being out of breath for most of the ride. This is OK for short bursts, but does not have build a solid aerobic base that I really need.

Thus, I targeted to keep my heart rate in the mid 150′s range for most of the ride. Even that is a little too high, but I just feel way too slow if I drop below that average.

That whole 150s thing was working well until I had another rider pass me at about 13-14 miles into the ride. I instantly picked up my pace to match his for a few miles.If you look at the chart on the Garmin website, it is pretty obvious what I was caught and the change of pace that I made.

The ride was enjoyable – even when I did not get home in full exhaustion mode. I could stand to slow down a little, ride for endurance and longer durations, in order to improve my overall stamina. I’d eventually like the ability to handle a 3 hour ride later this summer with minimal struggle. The slow, steady rides are the best approach to getting there.

Before I start to describe any details regarding Saturday’s ride, I need to say that Elvis Costello is the PERFECT music along which to ride.

The plan for Saturday’s ride was to venture south and ride along the shores of Lake Minnetonka. I am fortunate enough to live within a reasonable distance from the lake – making it an early part of any 20+ mile ride.

My legs were feeling yesterday’s effort (even though it was short) and weren’t up for a hard pull. Plus, this past winter I purchased a heart rate monitor and have been using it on the recent rides (when I remember to put it on). I notice that I am probably pushing too hard and often ride well above my aerobic zone for most of the ride. I need to learn to back-off a little and focus on steady effort at a sustainable pace. Thus, Saturday’s ride didn’t need to kill me.

With the 2nd straight day above 70F, people were outside in droves. Part of my path to get to the lake involves a heavily used bike path leading out from Wayzata. I’m sure I did the classic “on your left” at least a dozen times over the path’s few miles. Even though it was great to see people enjoying the outdoors, it was also nice to leave the path and hit the regular roads.

The north shores of Minnetonka are full of high-end homes – with many in the several million dollar range. These beautiful homes are in such high contrast to the condition of the road that leads right past them. The road is junk and filled with pot holes, massive cracks, and disintegrating shoulders. I think they keep the roads this way to discourage the “riff-raff” from cruising along the shores of this famous lake. Whatever the reason, it makes for lousy riding conditions.

While avoiding all of the various road obstacles, I observed that the lake is still very frozen. It will need many more warm days for the ice to break up and leave the lake. I’m sure that most of Minnesota is in this same situation, as the prolonged winter has extended the more typical spring events by several weeks. Growing up on a lake in central Minnesota, “ice out” was also topic of local conversation was a a regular feature in the local paper.

My time with the lake was short-lived and I climbed out from its shores and looped my way back home. In passing several golf course on the return (I bet I pass at least six different courses on this short ride), I noticed that people were trying their hardest to play the sport. There is probably a rule to follow when you ball lands in a snowbank that is sitting in a low area in the shade – remnants of last weekend’s snowfall.

All my ambitions to get into the cycling rhythm and embark on a steady program of afterwork rides was derailed these past few weeks due to the unseasonal snowfalls. It sucks because my riding has been sporadic – at best. This makes me farther away from my yearly milage goal and reduces any base building to my stamina that will help me achieve the longer mile rides later this summer.

I took this past week off from work to tackle some big projects around the house (new refrigerator, gutted/tiled bathroom) with some additional hope to get some miles into my legs. It wasn’t until Friday that conditions finally broke to support a decent outdoor ride. Thus, I finally hit the road and got a some miles into my legs – even though the ride was a little short.

This was the first ride of the year that did not involve my cycling lights. That means it was also the first ride of the year that my hairy, pale-white legs were exposed to the sunshine in nearly 6 months. Needless to say, I didn’t require any special bright colors or reflective gear, as my glowing legs along were enough to give fair warning to any motor vehicles on the road.

The ride was nice – as there was a 10 mph wind from the NW that caused some headache over the first half, but gave me a gentle push for the return home. This is always the most favorable situation, as the early struggles to battle the wind seem to be rewarded. It also gave me some speed in the last half and brought my average speed up to a respectable 18.2 mph (which says something – for the complete lack of rides so far this year).

Here’s hoping that Minnesota completely skips spring and moves right into summer. After having to endure one of the longest winters of my adult life, I am ready for some warmth and time in my saddle that doesn’t involve “layering”.

The weather forecast provided a glimmer of hope against the recent snow falls and cold temperatures which left every Minnesotan with a sense that winter would never relinquish its icy grip on the state. Tuesday’s prediction was for sunshine and temps in the high 40s. Perfect for an after work ride.

As is typically the case, the forecast wasn’t quite right and the temps on Tuesday stayed in the low 40s. I think the existing snow pack just won’t let the temps migrate toward the 50s until most of the residual snow melts away.

It was still worthy of a ride, even though I had to bundle up for the cold.

I hadn’t been on my bike for nearly two weeks. After my first attempt to start the season in late March with a steady week of rides, the bike went back in the basement to sit out the winter mix that plagued us for nearly two weeks. Between the freezing rain, steady snowfall, and temperatures in the 20-30F range, it was never friendly enough to retry outdoor riding.

Plus – brag as I often do about being a hardy rider – I still look for favorable conditions (little wind, mild temps, not too wet) before I jump on the bike. Battling 15mph winds while its sleeting and temps in the low 30s is NOT the type of cycling that I enjoy.

The fair weather will come eventually. And when it does, it will be appreciated all that much more by every Minnesotan. It is the very nature of living in this harsh climate. Cycling may just have to wait.

I think my body is trying to tell me something. Today, I was presented with a massive craving for anything to do with vegetables.

This longing probably stems from a complete lack of vegetables that I have been subjecting my body over the past few months. My recent eating habits have gone against every nutritionists’ recommendations and focused mainly on sugary carbohydrates and fatty proteins. It has manifested itself into a case of the “blahs”, which I hope to break with a little green and a fair amount of fiber.

Let’s hope an injection of veggies breaks my funk.

Saturday really warmed up (after an evening of heavy rain showers) and presented a great afternoon for cycling. The temperatures were in the low 50s and there was a mild wind around 10 mph from the west.

Of course, this was the first time riding with any measurable wind in my face which made the first half of the ride a major struggle. Combine the hills around Loretto and Medina with some wind and if felt like I was pulling a boat anchor behind me.

Right around the halfway point in Loretto (while stopped and waiting for a train) I noticed that my average speed was only 15.7mph. I could have walked faster to get to that point. The only positive thought I had at the time was that my headwind was done and I could reap some of the rewards by having the wind at my back for most of the ride’s remaining miles.

Due to the evening’s rain and finally hitting temperatures above 50F, the water was flowing everywhere you looked. All of the ditches were full and rushing water could be heard around every corner. This also meant that the roads warmed up and started to shift. If you are aware of those various gaps in the tarmac when riding in your car (thump, thump thump), they are compounded on the bike and send shocks through the saddle and right into my body. Add the soreness due to using a new saddle, and it was not a comfortable ride.

But the nice weather could not be missed and there were people milling about everywhere I looked. I encountered four or five other cyclists on the road (finally) and gave out my share of friendly waves. Each cyclist looked like the serious type and (like myself) were probably a little over-dressed for the actual conditions.

The Minnesota spring is unpredictable when it comes to the proper dress. Since the lakes are still VERY frozen, a quick dip in the road near a lake could result in a 10deg drop in temperatures. From there, you can move up in elevation, find the sun, and suddenly be extremely hot and removing clothes. I usually take advantage of my cycling jacket and am continually opening and closing my zipper as the conditions allow.

It’s a small price to pay to ride outside.

Apparently, Scotty has jettisoned my warp core because Thursday’s after-work ride was all about the pain and suffering due to no power.

Or it may be due to a steady group of rides at the beginning of the season.

Either way, it was a tough ride and not very enjoyable. I wasn’t all that sore, but just couldn’t get any thing out of my body. At 18 miles, it was my farthest ride and was inline with my averages this week (a humbling mid-16 mph). It just felt slow.

With the weather calm and temperatures in the 40s, it would have been more emotionally devastating to NOT ride than to suffer the pain of riding. Having about 65 miles in my body over the last 6 days, I am ready and in need of a rest. Friday will be a forced rest day, but should prep me for two rides this weekend, if possible.

Let’s just hope that Scotty has the warp core back online by then.