City of Lakes

Dopamine must have been working today as riding was not as difficult as a couple days ago. It was another early morning ride and I think I rode by every major body of water in the city of Minneapolis, starting with Cedar Lake, then Lake of the Isles, the Mississippi River, Minnehaha Creek, Lake Nokomis, Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. Part of my trek was on the Grand Rounds and it was quite nice...love the smooth pavement to ride on!

It must be said that Minnesotans seem to fully utilize the offerings that the Park and Rec Board have made possible. There was some sort of organized walk going on, a run, a canoe/kayak race, a giant tent was being assembled by Minnehaha Falls for an event, sand volleyball was being played at Lake Calhoun, and this was all before 10 a.m. There were numerous other bikers, walkers and joggers using the trails too. My new pet peeve is joggers that use the bike trail instead of the well-marked pedestrian trail. Honestly people! They don't move as fast as bike traffic so become obstacles along the way.

My route ended up being 35.5 miles today. I think I am at the point where my legs could take me farther but other parts are too uncomfortable to continue on, such as numb hands and feet, sore neck and crushed tenders. Perhaps those will be less of a factor as I continue to ride but for now they make going the long distances a challenge. Maybe if I took a pain reliever before I started it would help. I guess a little balance between the naturally produced dopamine and some man-made drugs might make long distances a reality.

Since the ride is now out of the way for the day it is time to go enjoy the rest of my Saturday.