It is truly summer in Minnesota and like all good Minnesotans I like to talk about the weather. My brother Mark and I talked about the brutal weather conditions for this morning's ride and still we hopped on our bikes. Trust me, I checked the local and regional radar, twice, hoping that there were some incoming storms that would prevent us from pedaling. No such luck. When we hit the trail at 6:30 a.m. it was already 78ºF, the dew point a sticky 75, and the humidity was 93%. The air was thick with moisture and all was hazy. In that kind of heat it is easy to break out in a sweat with no effort.
We rode on the crushed gravel L.R.T. trail which had many wet areas due to last week's generous rains. Riding on wet gravel is like riding through melted butter, a bit slippery and sluggish. Whose idea was it to ride on that trail today? Besides the damp trail our biggest battle was the overbearing heat and humidity. It felt like we were riding in New Orleans not Minnetonka. It was tough going. We made it out to Victoria before turning around and had to stop for more liquids in Excelsior. The poor woman that was working in the little gas station there looked worse off than we did. The air conditioner wasn't working and she was miserable. She suggested that we not touch any of the candy bars as they were no longer solid. Mark kept pouring water through our helmets to try to cool us down. I was pretty sure my brain was frying. We had to walk our bikes a couple of times on the return trip as it was just too hard to pedal any longer, but we made it 31.25 miles.
At the end of the ride, Mark made it up the last two hills and flopped to the ground in the front yard. By the time I rounded the bend and was heading up the final hill the neighbor across the street was asking Mark if he was okay or needed help. It must have been a dramatic flop to cause the neighbor to be concerned. I told him we were just going to turn the hose on and everything would be okay. Hose water never felt so good!
It's a good thing that misery loves company and that Mark will do just about anything to get out of studying for his biochemistry exam. Dear God, please don't let it be nearly this hot on August 13th in La Crosse. How about 60º instead and tailwinds both ways?
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Well, I hear you about the heat - it looks like we finally got summer here. Although it still seems strange to put on a sweater to walk the dog at 11 p.m. in July! Don't get heatstroke!!! I'm rooting for you.
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