The alarm went off. I hit snooze. Then it went off again,
because that’s how it works. So, I hit snooze again…so I thought. It was 6:00am
the first round, then 6:08…then it was 8am! Just like that the idea of riding
the Dirt Bag gravel ride in Clearwater went straight out the window. A couple
profanities were muttered under AJ’s breath. Not because she was mad, but
actually more out of disappointment and maybe a bit of relief.
Rosemount to Clearwater is 86 miles. 6am comes quickly after
an eventful Saturday. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sweating this at all.
We quickly sent out some messages to the few who we were
maybe going to hang out and ride with. They all sent back their version of ‘LOL’
and we moved on. Turns out it was a chilly morning, but shaping up to be a
pretty kick-ass day over all, wind and all.
Lying in bed for a few more minutes, AJ decided she needed
to get up and go for a run. Legs feeling restless, mind always moving…it wasn’t
a bad idea. So off she went and I was left with a fresh cup of coffee, a bowl
of fruity pebbles and Apple TV. So, I sat, sipped, ate and watched. I was in
heaven. Life is all about the simple stuff and being comfortable in your ‘right
now’.
As the morning moved forward and AJ returned home from her
run, we decided that later in the day we would grab the Krampus and the
Superfly and head up to the Riverbottoms for some scenic single-track. Since AJ
is thinking about buying a fat tired bike, it only makes sense that she gets
really familiar with this place…and, since she has never actually ridden there
before, it made more sense to pop that proverbial cherry.
I mapped out our course starting at a small trailhead in the
middle of a Bloomington neighborhood right off of Old Shakopee Rd. We headed
over there a bit after the Vikings game had started, parked, unloaded, and got
clipped in. I put AJ on the Krampus (Swamp Thing) and I rode the Superfly SS
(Deep Purple). As we entered the woods we were quickly greeted with a stream
crossing and a rugged grouping of rocks and concrete. Right off the bikes, we
meandered our way through rocks, mud, water and fresh fallen leaves. I was
delighted, AJ was wondering what the hell she signed up for.
Now, keep in mind, I assured AJ that the trails at the RB’s
were pretty flat, wide-open, and on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the hardest…these
were a 2. I lied, not purposefully, but she didn’t know that. If you’ve ever
ridden the RB’s east of Lyndale then you know that, although the trails are
better on that side, they are not easy by any stretch. So, she was a bit
deflated at the beginning, but held it together very nicely and by the time we
made it to the 35W/Lyndale trailhead she was feeling pretty good.
Getting off topic for a moment to set up some generalizations about
certain people and groups or people based on what we’ve experienced. Keep in
mind, this is a generalization, mild judgment, and likely true whether you like
it or not…mostly because collectively AJ and I are right majority of the time
when it comes to our world and perception being reality.
Before we get to the Lyndale trailhead we encounter a few
walkers coming at us (easy enough to navigate) and some ‘fast’ bikers bringing
up the six. The biker that came up behind us was one with a bleached blonde
topical Mohawk, large gauges in his ears, on a CX bike with no helmet, and
wearing a full on race kit. Is any of that bad? Absolutely not, that’s rad
(almost all of it). We pull over to allow him to pass, he says ‘no you’re fine
I’m waiting on a few others’…so we continue forward. Then in a blaze of glory,
all 4 riders pass us on the trail without too much a warning and they are gone.
Up ahead in a clear, straight area of the trail we see them leap of their bikes
in CX style, shoulder their bikes and leap over the downed tree in the middle
of the trail. They actually did this very impressively, but as we got closer to
the tree we realized it was only about 6-8 inches in diameter. It would have
been way cooler to bunny hop. I digress…
We hit the parking area which is drowning in vehicles,
bikes, photographers, fisherman, boaters, runners and spectators. There are
people everywhere. We head toward the next section of the Riverbottoms and ride
up and over a curb to get to the trail. On
the other side of some brush and tree’s is the Mohawk guy doing a ‘in the
middle of the field’ track stand. Just practicing his balance and kind of being
in our way as we traverse through the multitude of people, and things. You
could just feel the cool-meter going out of the roof. This guy was like the
Billy Idol of cyclocross at the RB’s. He owned it. Pint is, this guy thought he
had the right of way for life…on a bike.
So, we continue on, down the wide gravel fire road which
eventually leads into the wooded floodplain of the Minnesota River. Again, AJ
on the Surly me spinning out on the SS. We dive right in and traverse through
to the small stream crossing. At this point you have 3 options:
1)
Turn around and go back
2)
Cross the river by walking yourself and your
bike across a big, robust fallen tree that has some 2x4 ‘aids’ nailed to it for
footing purposes.
3)
Take the little floating trolley across (i.e.
load bodies and bikes onto the floating raft, use ropes to pull yourself across,
exit raft on other side of stream.
I’m fairly sure-footed. AJ will tell you she is not. And the
idea of crossing this natural bridge and falling off for whatever reason could
be a season ender. So, we opted out on that. Turning around and heading back
was not an option, well, not for us anyway. So the floating raft was what we
would choose. And what a hoot that is.
We got to the other side and now were feeling pretty
adventurous and having fun. Just a quick
fact; from the Lyndale bridge to the Access point at Bloomington Ferry Rd is
approximately 6.75 miles. We already had about 4 miles under our belts since we
started at the 11th Ave access point way back by Mound Springs Park.
We continued toward BFR where we would turn around and head back. Keeping
in mind that the River Bottoms is 2 way traffic the whole time, we encountered
a few other riders going both directions…but the next guy, rolling solo, was
coming at us (AJ in front) and he was not messing around. Because we are
courteous to all, we move to the side of the trail. This guy didn’t flinch, say
thank you, or move off the single-track trail one bit. AJ says as he passes “you
apparently have the right of way!”…to which we got no acknowledgement, not even
a ‘screw off’ or, God forbid, ‘sorry’. What a tool. Did I mention…CX bike, full
kit…!
You have to stay focused, you have to be courteous to others
and you have to pay attention down here. There are walkers, runners, dogs,
animals, crows calling, eagles flying overhead, and dumbshit people who think
they own the woods…on their fancy bikes in their racing kits, and showing zero
emotion but the only important one…that of pain. Gawd, get over yourself. The
really fast guys are racing right now at Green Acres…mmmmmmmkay.
We make it to the trailhead at Bloomington Ferry Rd. and it’s
a quick incline to get to the lot above. The Krampus lost traction, AJ went
down. No one was hurt and she was very graceful in her fall. We went across the
walking bridge, took in some of the sights then headed back onto the trail to
head back to where we came from.
A few more bikers on the way back, mostly fat tire folks
(who by the way, do move out of the way, or give you room) and back onto the
floating ferry boat, and we found ourselves back at Lyndale and the 35W bridge
overhead. Instead of taking the single-track home, we decided to get on the
pavement and take a little pressure off of AJ’s mind. So, we started our climb
out of the river valley, headed to 101st and made our way to the
car. We got there in one piece, loaded up the bikes, gave each other a hi-five
and drove our way back toward Rosemount with a little detour to Chipotle before
arriving home and devouring the Mexican goodness (not derogatory).
What did we learn from riding the river bottoms today?
I learned to be patient with Angela. This was new to her,
she was on a new bike, and I wanted nothing more than this to be fun and
adventurous.
People are funny, and dick-ish. On bikes and off. Just because
you ride a bike doesn’t mean your cool, or not cool or have the right to do
what you want.
Be courteous and say hello, or at least give a thank you to
someone who step out of your way to let you by safely. If you’re a dick to
someone who is a dick, they will still be a dick, then you are also a dick….see
what I did there?
Enjoy these days. We don’t get younger, we just don’t.
Winter is coming, embrace it, but take advantage of these good days.
Be thankful. We get to do things, buy things, ride things,
and eat things that most people in the world have no concept of.
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| p.s.-- I like this shirt |
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