Birthday # 26

My 26^th birthday went pretty darn well. I spent most of the day riding- no surprises there. I hadn’t ridden a century yet in ’07, and I skipped riding one at all in ’06, so I decided to celebrate another year with some big miles on the Lemond. 109.4 big hot miles. The temperature along my route (the Hovde house in Coon Rapids, MN to Taylor’s Falls, MN) was around 95 degrees most of the day. Sweaty. Not sure how many bottles of water I went through. It was definitely one of those outdoor adventures where you push right up to the line between what you can and can’t handle. So far in my adventurous pursuits, I’ve been cautious enough not to cross the line many times, and yesterday went well. I took a lot of breaks in air conditioned gas stations where the teenage clerks wondered what kind of freak I must be in my lycra attire and funny shoes, as well as an organic grocery store in Chisago City, MN, where the owner would have joined me for the rest of my ride if he didn’t have to finish the work day. I also spent a lot of time in shady ditches pouring water over myself to cool off. I kept looking for a lake to jump in, as we apparently have 10,000 of them here in MN, but all of the ones I passed were surrounded by a 1/8 mile of cat tail populated marsh that would be miserable to pass through to get to the actual dipping water. Shady ditches and a/c’d building worked fine. I’m also going to give a quick saddle and short review. I just bought a Specialized Toupe Team saddle for my road bike, which is a very minimalist racing saddle, and I was hesitant as to whether or not it would be appropriate for big miles, but I’m going to give it my approval after yesterday. The saddle was pretty comfy, supportive on the sit bones, and stays out of areas where it is not invited, preserving future young cyclists’ chances of being born, if you understand. My shorts, Pearl Izumi Attack’s, however, are clearly a horrible item to own. The chamois is tolerable, but not impressive. The stitching is where they enter the classification of a miserable cycling product. It is way to raised and overdone, and leaves an impression on your bum that none will enjoy. 109 miles of pedal strokes will guarantee that you wear the markings of such bad design for several days afterwards. Do not buy these shorts. Save up the money for something nice. But the ride was still a success, despite the heat and terrible shorts. The next century I see myself taking part in is the Headwaters 100 in September, which I missed last year while living in beautiful UT. I didn’t mind that much. J But it will be nice to ride it again.

In other birthday news, I need to thank all of you that contributed to my gift, which is very much appreciated. Alison got several relatives together to pick up the tab of what I was missing to pro-form a new mountain bike from the shop after the sales of a couple of my older bikes (the 8000 and the fixie have moved on). So the result was a ’07 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp showing up mid last week, and I’ve already enjoyed a couple great rides on it. Thanks all!! I posted a picture of it for all to drool over. I also posted a picture of the above mentioned Toupe saddle. Enjoy, and thanks again!