This brings up the important safety question of what to do when the sky lets loose and you’re on your bicycle. Generally speaking, if you know there’s tornado warnings, you shouldn’t be wandering on out to go for a nice ride. That’s [...]]]>

Last night, Minnesota saw some yellow-green skies and golfball-sized hail. Spring has in fact sprung.

This brings up the important safety question of what to do when the sky lets loose and you’re on your bicycle. Generally speaking, if you know there’s tornado warnings, you shouldn’t be wandering on out to go for a nice ride. That’s somewhere between ‘kinda dumb’ and ‘evolution failed,’ depending on the warning and the notice you have, and the sort of ride you’re about to execute.

However, there are days where rain is predicted for ‘after 3.’ You leave at 10 AM, knowing you have plenty of time for some good miles and a stop for a double-scoop waffle cone. You blow a tire, and have to spend a bunch of time stabilizing it with duct tape and a dollar, then you cut your scoop short to a single. And the storm, it seems, is showing up at 2, not 3. In these situations, you need to have a duck-and-cover protocol.

As the sky starts turning green, consider your strategy. Do you know the area? If you’re in the country, is there a town or a gas station nearby? Even if it’s not necessarily in the proper path of your eventual destination, start heading towards the nearest source of shelter. If the sky is putting lime in its coconut, it’s not the time to be concerned about progress to endpoint.

In general, once the sky opens up and is pounding, let alone emitting hail, you should get off the road. There will be some cars who continue in the weather; depending on volume of downpour/hail and visibility, they are dumb. As far as you, on a bicycle, are concerned, the visibility factor is giant. You won’t be able to see or be seen, which can end badly.

Look for some form of cover. In the city, bridges and overpasses can work pretty well. If you’re fortunate, you may be near a shop — or better yet, a cafe. Nearby homes with garages or car sheds may also be an option. In the country, you may have some bridge or overpass options, but often you end up needing to show more creativity. A culvert won’t keep you dry, but it’s a safer place to be (short of flash flooding). I spent one hailstorm in Wisconsin hanging out in a crop-duster shed. If you’re really fortunate, you’ll be near the rural center of action and be able to get in to the town bar. While you may feel weird showing up with your bike and little bike shorts, the locals will typically be welcoming and nice about the fact that you don’t want to be hailed on. Stay away from metal objects, like metal picnic tables, and possibly your bike if you have enough space to put some distance between you and it.

Don’t decide the storm is over too soon. If you have been unable to get into a building situation with wether radio or TV, this can be a challenge. In the situation with the crop duster shed, I was a mile from the rest stop for the event, and I knew there were cookies there (cookies!). I was already soaked. The wind had eased off and the rain was much more sensible. I figured I could make a break for it. About a quarter mile out, POW. Got hailed on. Not recommended. So don’t trust me to give you tips on telling when the storm blew, just try to figure it out and hope.

Be safe out there.

While there are [...]]]>

Spring is here, and thus the season of Minnesota bicycle event rides begins. The traditional season-opener, the Minnesota Ironman, is coming up May 1, slightly later than usual this year due to the lateness of Easter. Thus, it’s an ideal time to review how not to be a jerk when riding at an event.

While there are events that really do tilt to the very experienced cyclist, like randonneur events, the bulk of big bike rallies are what many call t-shirt rides — they offer multiple distances, participants get t-shirts, there are rest stops, hooray. Depending on the event, the mileages can attract a very wide range of riders — Ironman gets many kids and novices for the 17- and 30-mile routes, but the metric and the century attract dedicated and experienced cyclists. Some metrics will also pull in the less experienced looking to make the leap, although Ironman hasn’t traditionally been a strong event for that due to the season.

Events tend to have a broad draw, though, so it’s important for newer cyclists to try to get the hang of things and not create problems for others, and for experienced cyclists to behave in a way to not make novice or less accomplished/ambitious cyclists think they are spandex-clad jerks. There are a lot of cyclists for whom the 25-mile supported ride is the apex of their ambition and ability, and that’s fine — these recreational cyclists can help advocate, can share the roads when they drive, and represent a bigger chunk of the population than the cycling fanatic.

Here are some tips for everyone so we can all just get along and get to the rest stops like civilized cyclists:

• If you’re a fast rider or doing a long distance, start early. Many events have a 2-4 hour registration and start cycle. Even if you are a fast rider who can do the century in 5 hours, it will benefit everyone if you start on the earlier edge of start times. That way you can get OUT of the registration zone without having to weave and be irritated by the slower/more novice/indecisive riders.
• If you need to adjust your bike, your layers, find a water bottle, scratch your ass, whatever, get off the road. Don’t care how experienced you are, the people who stop in traffic and stand around in the lane doing whatever it is they need to do are an irritant to all, and it’s often unsafe as well. Get out of traffic, including the traffic that is other nice bicyclists wanting to bicycle in the nice bicycle event.
• Allow room for other cyclists to pass. Even if you can really pound and hold a good pace, make sure there is passing room around you. The need to allow passing room increases as your speed decreases. If you are a family riding 8-10mph, do not ride four abreast, I beg of you. Be like the ants and march two by two (hurrah, hurrah).
• Allow room for motorists to pass. Pay attention to the course. A lot of people assume “This is a bike event! This is safe!” Not every road at every event is closed to traffic, and not every event has dense groups of cyclists and a lot of notice for people using the roads. Watch for cars and allow them passing room.
• Know your road closures. As stated above, not every road at every event is closed to traffic. I have seen people on roads open to traffic cross center yellow lines in areas with hills and blind curves, and it makes me very, very nervous, especially in rural areas. (Getting run over by a logging truck would ruin your day, and it’d ruin MY day to see it happen.) Even when roads are shut down for events, in many cases the closure is one way, and traffic is allowed in the opposite direction. Maps and signs from organizers should give you guidance. Take it.
• Don’t take piles of food at rest stops that you won’t eat. Seriously? Just rude. Many organizations, if they have leftover food, either carry it forward to other events if the food is suitable for such things, or they give the leftovers to battered women’s shelters and the like. Take what you personally will need.
• Don’t leave junk on the route. Carry your wrappers to the next proper trash container. Blow a tire? Bring the bad tube to a trash can if you aren’t going to patch it. Litter is a nuisance for residents near the routes and make them think worse of cyclists and the event. Litterbugs are a thorn in event organizers’ sides.
• Don’t be a snob. I’ve seen a bit of this from the more experienced cyclists on some of these rides. There’s some element of treating the novices like something nasty stuck to their cleats. Don’t. Really, please don’t. We were all newer at one time. You can either be nice, and maybe help people be better cyclists, or you can be a jerk and make them think everyone in spandex is a twit. The former is a lot better.

When everyone tries to share the road and the event, everyone has a better time. Give it a try.

The Ironman is a typical one-day event ride with the mild twist of offering a metric century and a century route early in [...]]]>

The Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride – a 45-year spring tradition in Minnesota – is starting a new tradition this year by adding a Gran Fondo (the Minnesota Gran Fondo) to their already solid event.

The Ironman is a typical one-day event ride with the mild twist of offering a metric century and a century route early in the season. Given that some years it has been snowing during the event, and the weather is always unpredictable, some of the ‘iron’ of the event is hauling out of bed and putting butt to seat. (True fact: The nicest weather for this event in recent memory occurred in 2007, a year I was unable to attend.)

A gran fondo is a timed event, but not a race. It’s a mass start event for all ages and abilities, and allows individuals to measure their own time more formally. Ironman will be offering this option on the 68- and 100-mile routes. Participation will require showing up and checking in at Lakeville at a proper time – although, really, to hit the rest stops on the 100-miler, this was always an unstated requirement of Ironman participation. Riders not participating in the gran fondo will likely want to start earlier or later to avoid the mass start!

Adding a gran fondo to this event is a great enhancement that fits well with the routes, and also with the sense of achievement shared by those who complete the longer routes. The mass start will also be an exceptional opportunity for cyclists to create community and meet other riders of similar ability and ambition. While I don’t always see it happen, I find large community events such as the Ironman are a great way to network with other cyclists and meet people outside your normal circles.

Selma’s has traditionally been a popular stop in Afton for cyclists and motorcyclists, ith a large garden and large ice cream portions. For a biker, regardless of which direction their journey will take them, the coffee, cocoa and cones are a fine bit of fuel for the [...]]]> The revolving door of ownership at Selma’s in Afton continues.

Selma’s has traditionally been a popular stop in Afton for cyclists and motorcyclists, ith a large garden and large ice cream portions. For a biker, regardless of which direction their journey will take them, the coffee, cocoa and cones are a fine bit of fuel for the coming climb out of town. (The climb is more considerable for those going south, but going back towards Hudson or Woodbury isn’t exactly flat either!)

It went through some flux starting in 2007, when longtime owner Laine McGee sold it to Joe Farrington. He was adding a pavilion, which created new regulatory requirements for the 19th century building. His death later in the year started a process of ownership changes. In 2008, it was purchased by the owners of the local Panino’s restaurants, and began to serve the sandwiches alongside the traditional ice cream parlor treats. However, this spring the restaurant didn’t reopen.

Now, it’s owned by a bank after a foreclosure sale. There is no word on the bank’s intentions with the building or business.

With Selma’s closed, one of the best bets for cyclists coming through Afton is now the Afton Bean. It’s 2 blocks further up St. Croix Trail, but before any popular turns to go towards Stillwater, Woodbury, or other points north for those going northbound; southbound, there aren’t any typical turns for 3-4 miles.

As such, it’s always nice to see new rest stop opportunities open up along the route. Yesterday, near Raymond and [...]]]>

The St. Paul Grand Round is probably one of the best-known and best-mapped routes in St. Paul. Pieces of it show up in many routes through St. Paul, including several in the maps area of Ride Boldly!

As such, it’s always nice to see new rest stop opportunities open up along the route. Yesterday, near Raymond and Territorial, just north of University, a great new cookie shop opened up. The St. Paul Classic Cookie Company is just a half-block west of Raymond on Territorial, and serves up a variety of homemade cookies and muffins, and offers old-fashioned cups o’ joe too.

I sampled several flavors of oatmeal cookie there last week, and I will be plotting bicycle routes that go through this stop, particularly when riding with my son. Delicious!

Officials do think he’ll need to be cleaned and repainted when construction is complete.

My tax dollars at work. It warms the heart.