Thanksgiving ride.

I decided to earn my Thanksgiving dinner this year by biking to it. I wasn't interested in the standard guilt of having over-indulged in food on a day spent on sedentary activities. And since the weather has been incredible for November in MN (payback for a horrible October filled with cold and rain and gloom), biking to dinner seemed like an idea that would be silly to pass up.

Coon Rapids was the destination this year (yes I know my bike ride would have been way more epic if I was traveling home to ND :) ). My route took me down Summit Ave in STP, then pretty much followed the Mississippi River the entire way to the Hovde home. It passed through the U of M area, industrial gross-ness by I-94, then through a few suburban river park areas, finishing by crossing the Coon Rapids Dam and rolling into my in-laws place just in time for a shower, then dinner. Alison met me there with our pickup for the return home. If I had packed my bike light, I would have actually considered riding home at night fall too. Next year I guess. All in all it came out to be just over 25 miles; considerable less than I'd estimated, but still a haul considering I was riding the fat-tired Karate Monkey into a northern headwind the entire time. I really need to invest in a pair of cross tires to make that bike more commute-friendly and efficient. I tend to ride bikes that weigh a million pounds. I guess we'll call it training.

We'll see if I ride to Christmas Dinner too. Don't know where it's gonna be yet.

Leaving STP...

Passing through MPLS...