Thanks to the great weather and a relatively open schedule, I managed to do two long rides this weekend. (Long for me, that is.) Both were fantastic fun: tiring, sweaty, scenic, occasionally tough, satisfying. The new Surly bike is acquiring a nice layer of grit, but rides wonderfully, especially on gravel roads. On Saturday, I rode west and north away from town, on flat or gently rolling country roads.
On Sunday, I headed east and south, over some significant rolling terrain toward a notorious hill near the hamlet of Sogn. (It’s supposedly a mile long with a grade of 8% or 9%.) I’ve long wanted to try to climb the hill, but never had the bike for it.
Today, I did finish the climb (that is, I rode from the first spray-painted “KoM” line at the bottom to the second one at the crest), though my runners’ legs didn’t like the new challenge. I’m sure I looked more lanterne rouge than polka dot jersey, but I enjoyed it anyhow. I also enjoyed – in a Beavis-and-Butthead way – riding through this place, which isn’t much more than an intersection and a township hall. Heh heh heh.
Next time you’re going to be riding by Wangs Corner head north on 56 for ~1/3 mile. The roadcut has exposed fossils.
Take this with you:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~brams006/mnpaleo/Mn_Fossils.pdf
I know the area well. We travel it everytime we head to Iowa. But not on bikes, but rather in a dirty van.