Marin Bikes - Sold

Well I like Marin bikes so I guess you could say I'm sold. But the fact is they just got sold. I was reading BikeRumor and noticed this article posted about a European based investment firm called Minestone Limited that bought Marin. I've always been interested in Marin because of there location in the heart of "where it all started". I thought it was interesting that their headquarters was once the recording studio of the the band "Greatful Dead". I also like how their bikes are named after trails on "Mount Tam" in Marin County north of San Francisco. Here is the Marin video...

Fat Bikes and Showshoes

The snow hadn't stopped falling when we got out to play over at Tranquility this afternoon. The wet heavy snow packed nicely but there was quite a bit of it to pack.

The long awaited arrival of Chris P's Pugsley is over. It's a beautiful thing and has a custom - one of a kind paint job. The green fading to black is really nice.

I started the afternoon out on my snowshoes. Jena and I helped pack down a loop north of the creek while Chris and Mike rode their fat bikes.

Mike and Jena were searching for sporting goods that will probably get found in the spring.

Mike's hands stay warm with mits that attach to his bars. After a while I couldn't wait any more and had to try riding my SS. It was challenging but fun. Great to get outside.

Chris is making it look easy.

Big Mike has to duck for the log arch.

Mr. Wong has a passenger of the abominable sort.

Chris and Mike packin it down.

Old Guy Yoga - Class Five

With temps close to 60 I decided to ride to Old Guy Yoga yesterday. I took the long way around and rode some Tranquility dirt before riding through Standing Bear Lake to get to the Saddlebrook Community Center. In addition to going through the Sun Salutation a few times, we talked about some ways that yoga can be done at your desk chair. Our homework this week is to practice the "x" poses, and movements for spine articulation: flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation (and drink lots of water).

In the video below Mark Wolgin, MD shows some Lumbar Spine Exercises. Even though he doesn't mention yoga, some of the exercises in the later part of the video are the same as what we are learning in the Wednesday night class.

THOR Annual Members Meeting

Date:
Saturday, February 11, 2012

Time:
9:00am until 12:00pm 

Place:
National Parks Service Office
601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE


Agenda:
- successes/challenges of 2011
- plan for 2012.


Other Good Stuff:
Coffee and donuts will be available. If weather permits, a gravel ride will follow.

Save Upper Hixon Forest - La Crosse, WI.

UPDATE - After hearing the public speak on this issue, the La Crosse City Council voted unanimously to recommend park status (no development for housing). The final decision will be made in a session closed to the public on today(1/12). At this time it looks like we will be able to ride and hike up there for the foreseeable future.

Hats off to the people of La Crosse and those that traveled from out of town to respectfully defend this open space.

Swooping Owl Trail Ride

Greg and I got together after work yesterday to go ride Tranquility trails in the upper 50 degree temps. We heard reports that the trail was 98% dry on Wednesday. But last night it sure wasn't. Since riding frozen trails early last Monday, the North Creek section heading north to kiosk was far from dry. It's severely rutted in places. So when we saw the damage we turned around and rode the trail to the kiosk backward. But even that was a bit soft. There were very ride worthy sections out there. New Trails north of Fort St. were fine. The south hill and creek was real good. We saw Cole S. and rode with him. He said the trees – nursery – fort st loop – and north creek had many areas that were muddy and loaded up his tires. So we avoided that too.

We rode up the meadows and stopped for a bit. Even though we hadn't seen owls last night we were talking about seeing owls on the trail in the past. This conversation must have been a premonition. Once we took off into the pine trees on the North Hill Descent a huge owl swooped down right in front of me. I've never been that close to a flying owl and it's quite a rush. About the time I regained my nerve another owl did exactly the same thing, The second owl was not as big but shocking just the same. We did also see the deer back on this ride. Good to witness the ecosystem working in full force at Tranquility. Great ride Greg and Cole.

Old Guys Yoga - Class One

Breathing - Yep, we learned how to breath again. There were five of us. Dale, Brian, myself and two others. I think this is also what we are learning to do. It's harder than it looks:
My daughter, also a yoga instructor, asked if we talked about our feelings afterward. I said no, we talked about how much our arms were shaking under the strain during parts of the class.

New Years Eve Ride

The forecast said to expect a warm New Years Eve day this Saturday. There was some talk at work last week about having a bike adventure on New Years Eve Day. We decided to meet in Mineola, IA @ noon and ride south to Malvern. IA and back. This would be about 12 miles each way.

Brian, Dale, Chris N and I met at Dave N's and we were able to save some gas and pile into his Honda Ridgeline with all five bikes.

Stop at Austin's in Silver City, IA.

Once the wheels were rolling, we found out that this trail takes longer than we thought to dry this time of year. It's not often that coasting a downhill grade on the Wabash feels so sluggish that you have to pedal. It was like a damp beach. The trail was not really muddy but just soft enough to steal your energy. We only rode half as far as we planned and that was more than enough in these conditions. We just couldn't make enough power. It was still a good adventure and bikes are powerful machines. They have the power to improve our lives, build friendships, and create good memories. This appears to be a shared understanding that bikes do this in a way that is kind to the earth and our bodies. I'm looking forward to new bike adventures this year. Happy New Year!