Biking Before Breakfast

It was very tempting to turn off the alarm that went off a little after 5:00 a.m. I didn't want to get up. The motivating thought however, was that Annika, and all the other kids (and adults) with type one diabetes probably didn't want to wake up and still have diabetes either. That worked as impetus enough to push me up and out the door, albeit a little groggy and sleep deprived and with a deadline to get back in time to get ready for work.

Today I decided to head back to one of the trails where my training started about six weeks ago (and I didn't drive there either). And not that this is new news but as I studied the bike map to plot my route it really became apparent that I live in a hub of bike trails. Yeah, tax dollars! From the LRT trail by my house I rode through Hopkins and caught the Cedar Lake LRT trail which heads east through the 'burbs and into south Minneapolis. The Cedar Lake LRT trail is asphalt and the rhythmic cracks that run perpendicular to my bike tires compelled me to fine tune my seating position and locate the posterior sit bones in a hurry as they are able to take the bumps, lessening the need for all the wincing.

The plan was to zip around a lake or two and then head home. However, there is bridge construction going on on the trail and I unintentionally rode past the turn off to the lakes as its usual landmarks were obscured by orange pylons and fencing. Going straight on the trail quickly hooked me into the Midtown Greenway portion of the path, which was new territory. The Midtown Greenway runs through Minneapolis down a former railroad corridor. It is pretty cool as you ride at a subterranean level.  This path is well-used, even in the early hours of the morning, and a lot of bikers with fancy clothes and bikes whip by at high speeds, never once saying "on your left". (I only heard that once today by a fellow cotton shirt-wearer. Although, truth be told, all the other cotton shirt-wearers didn't say it either.) The Midtown Greenway, if taken due east, leads to the Mississippi. I got awfully close to that today but had to turn around as time was not on my side. However, riding today felt almost easy. I zoomed (for me) into Minneapolis, helped by a tailwind that I discovered upon my return trip. But even then it felt as if I was a well-oiled machine...although my knees could still use a little more oil. Whatever the circumstances that led to that feeling, I hope they repeat themselves for each bike ride. True, I was back on turf that didn't have hills, just gentle rises and falls, but everything was working well, more or less.

This past weekend Terri, the coach, had talked about figuring out a riding cadence and which gears to be in to maintain that cadence. Today's ride may have been improved as that notion of a riding cadence was starting to sink in and the gear placement was matching, and the lungs were working, and the legs were pumping. And not to be undone by a hill, as I had made it to the top of that dastardly bridge in St. Paul during the weekend training ride, I made it up both hills at the end of today's ride that lead to my house. It wasn't pretty, and I was almost undone by a giant pinecone that tried to throw me off balance, and my lungs were about to burst, but I made it...24.0 miles.

All of this craziness is being done in the name of raising funds for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), in which I have a vested personal interest in the form of an eight-year old, as they work towards the cure for type one diabetes. The La Crosse Ride is August 13th and my minimum fund raising goal is $2000. If you or anyone you know cares to donate any amount that you are able to help JDRF please go to http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/gjengdahl