Early 2017/2018 Winter Season Biking...in Minnesota

 The first three days of riding after the first real winter storm of the 2017/2018 season.

Tuesday, 12-05-17: The morning after getting 2 inches of snow on top of ice. The Seven Evergreen SL is ready to go...

Decided to stop and take a picture. I normally don't ride this road in the summer...usually only in the winter.

I'm finally going with the wind on a gravel road. The temperatures were in the teens with a very strong NW wind.

The Seven Evergreen SL

Wednesday, 12-06-17:A short section of a gravel road in Coon Rapids connecting the route

The Seven Evergreen with the "Stone Structure" that Taddeus Giddings built in the 1920's. This is the last of three "stone buildings" on the Rum River in Anoka, MN. I've taken other images from this vantage point, but the snow adds to the image.

A road in Anoka. Many of the side roads were mostly ice/snow covered after the storm.

I had to get off my bike a walk a short section of this sidewalk along Ferry St. in Anoka. I try not to ride this section of the road north of the Champlin/Anoka Bridge over the Mississippi River because of some bad experiences with motorist in the past.

Thursday, 12-07-17: Another cold day. It was 10 degrees when I started and only went up a couple degrees. Today was a 25 mile ride.

On a dirt road

No flowing water here...ice covered

Photos taken with my iPhone.

FB: Charles W. Ryan II 

Chuck Ryan

Winter Bru Ride 11-25-17 / "Elements" Ride 11-26-17

On Saturday, 11-25-17, I led my new Winter Bru Ride which was a 32 to 50 mile ride. We started from Dunn Brothers on Lake St and the River Road in Minneapolis. There were 9 of us for the 32 mile loop with only Paul and I doing the full second loop giving us 50 miles for the day.

We took our break at the Bru House Coffee Shop in New Brighton. Nice little neighborhood coffee shop.

This was before Saturday's ride at the Dunn Brothers. Starting on the left...Liesa, Nelson, Paul, me and Mason.

Bru House Coffee...Liesa jumped out of the picture :) That's her muffin next to her water bottle....

That's Mason looking at his phone. He signed up to join the club just before the ride. He was looking at his phone and realized his phone stopped tracking the ride.

Our bikes lined up in front of the Bru House Coffee Shop.

 On Sunday, 11-26-17, I led another ride from Trailhead Cycles in Champlin. This was another newer 43 mile route going north into Anoka County. Rick and Peggy showed up for this ride.

Rick and Peggy at the Coon Rapids Dam on the Mississippi River.

Me and Peggy

Me and Rick

Rick and Peggy again...

I decided to stop along the Rum River in Anoka to show Peggy and Rick one of the stone structures that Thaddeus Gidding built in the 1920's. This is the last of three structures standing. It's above my Seven Evergreen in the middle of the picture.

We got stopped by the train just before the old Anoka Asylum later called the Anoka State Hospital that first opened in 1900. It's now closed and boarded up.

The trail along Trott Brook ended because of the housing construction taking place. 

 Chuck Ryan

Winter's City of Lakes Ride

 Today, 11-18-17, I led a 30 to 50 mile Twin Cities Bicycle Club ride around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Ten riders showed up for the ride this morning.  Thank you to everyone who showed up to ride.

Description of the ride...

Shelby (L), Bicycles in the background, Liesa (R) at Carma Coffee

Carma Coffee

Peggy, Tony, Ann and Paul in line getting something warm to drink

Looks like Ann's hand and Tony

Carma Coffee

We came across this on our way back. I don't recall the restaurants name, but I used to stop at this location on other winter rides in the past when it was a coffee shop. We started looking at the human powered vehicle when Doug Carlson came out and said I've rode with you this year. He was on one of my randonneur rides out of Osceola in September. This wasn't Doug's "vehicle", but he knew the owner and took the top off for those who wanted to take a peek inside.

Tony in the background

Random Biking iPhone Pictures... from the past couple weeks

 Here are some random iPhone pictures I took during the last week or two that I haven't posted on this blog, but I have posted them to my FB page usually as I ride.

These aren't high quality images that I would watermark, but they document some different things on my rides.
 

Getting ready for my ride, A Ride of Two Cities, on 11-04-17. There was about 2 inches of snow at my place, so I was surprised there wasn't any snow in Minneapolis. There were five of us riding this day.

The other four riders did the short route and I continued on to ride the rest of the basic route (37 mile) and the additional loop making it a 50 miles day.

Taken 11-04-17

Taken 11-04-17

 

I stopped in briefly at Freewheel Cycle on 11-04-17.

Another image from 11-04-17.

Riding on Park Ave with Mpls in the background. Stopped at the traffic light.

Taken on 11-07-17 at Carma Coffee on Pete's, Fall Warmer Carma Coffee ride.

Taken on 11-07-17 at Carma Coffee on Pete's, Fall Warmer Carma Coffee ride.

Carma Coffee

Carma Coffee

We were done with the break now about to head back to South Minneapolis.

Pete's Fall Warmer Carma Coffee ride...

I put together a new 41 miles route , Cold Weather Ride North, for Wednesday, 11-08-17. Jim and Katie showed to do the ride. Katie about 4 or five miles in got a flat tire. 

Some optional finger warmers to consider when riding in colder weather.

Taking a break at the Elm Creek Chalet on Mike's, Trailhead Night Riders, ride on Thursday, 11-09-17. They were making snow and the park road had a good 2 to 3 inches in spots from the drifting snow. I don't know what the windchill was during our ride, but with the NW winds it was making its presence known on the exposed skin. I got home and the actual temperature was 12 degrees. Nelson next to his fat bike. 

Steve said he was posting a picture to FB having people guess where he was at....

Mike (L), Nelson (C), Steve (R)

Changing tires the morning before my, A ride of Two Cities, ride on 11-11-17.

Some snow before the ride on 11-11-17. There was more snow on the side roads and trails, but most of the snow would melt away during the day.

Paul was the only other rider on 11-11-17. This was this first time riding on the snow. I thought I better get a picture of the snow before it melted.

This was on the Stone Arch Bridge on 11-11-17. I changed up the additional loop from the Saturday before. We got in 51 miles today.

Many of you have passed this near the Bohemian Flats area in Minneapolis.

Riding along the Hiawatha Trail.

I put in a new ride from Champlin to Carma Coffee in NE Minneapolis for Sunday, 11-12-17. The ride was called Carma Coffee Run. No one showed up to ride, but I still ride the rides I post. Here I'm stopped in north Minneapolis. It was a long train :)  

Heading across the 42nd Ave Bridge on 11-12-17.

A little further across the bridge looking toward downtown Minneapolis

Taking my break with some coffee at Carma Coffee on 11-12-17.

Carma Coffee

Carma Coffee

Making my way back north...

While taking the above picture another train came under the bridge I was on....

Short trail linking one road to another in Fridley. The bridge is over Rice Creek.

Rice Creek

Subway to go... close to home so I decided to get a Subway sandwich.

 FB: Charles W. Ryan II 

Chuck Ryan Photography

Chuck Ryan