{
  "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
  "title": "Cycling on Jamie Thingelstad",
  "icon": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2025/14/1545.jpg",
  "home_page_url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/",
  "feed_url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/feed.json",
  "items": [
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2026/06/12/beautiful-day-to-bike-along.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Beautiful day to bike along the waterfront!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2026/4bb1dba289.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"\">\n",
        "date_published": "2026-06-12T10:44:32-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2026/06/12/beautiful-day-to-bike-along.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2026/05/24/sakatah-singing-hills-state-trail.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail with our niece and nephew.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2026/1ed537ac2d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Man in white helmet and sunglasses takes a selfie on a paved trail while three cyclists ride behind him on a sunny day.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2026-05-24T18:45:33-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2026/05/24/sakatah-singing-hills-state-trail.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2026/05/16/evening-bike-ride-to-dairy.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Evening bike ride to Dairy Queen for ice cream!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2026/d561dc5eb6.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people smiling and holding Dairy Queen Blizzard cups in front of a DQ sign on a sunny day.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2026-05-16T18:26:18-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2026/05/16/evening-bike-ride-to-dairy.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2026/05/10/mothers-day-bike-ride-along.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Mother&rsquo;s Day bike ride along Minnehaha Creek to <a href=\"https://lynettemn.com\">Lynette</a> for brunch!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2026/4514869093.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Man in white helmet takes a selfie while three cyclists follow behind on a sunny paved trail through a park.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2026-05-10T12:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2026/05/10/mothers-day-bike-ride-along.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Restaurants","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/10/12/tooling-around-in-duluth-on.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Tooling around in Duluth on bikes a bit.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/eb81757be1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Seven people with bicycles pose in front of a large red heart and Duluth sign on a waterfront boardwalk with the Aerial Lift Bridge in the background.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-10-12T12:28:27-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/10/12/tooling-around-in-duluth-on.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Travel","Cycling","North Shore 2025"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/08/30/all-seven-bikes-we-have.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>All seven bikes we have at home out on a bike ride around Lake Harriet.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/381b98f472.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Several bicycles including a yellow Cannondale road bike leaned against a tree in a grassy park, with helmets hanging from the handlebars.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-08-30T18:07:17-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/08/30/all-seven-bikes-we-have.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/08/05/tammy-and-i-cycled-miles.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Tammy and I <strong>cycled 8.28 miles</strong> in <strong>49.7 minutes</strong> on the <a href=\"https://www.stowevt.gov/Departments/Parks-Recreation/Parks-Facilities/Stowe-Recreation-Path\">Stowe Recreation Path</a>. Ran out of time to do the last bit but covered most of it. 🚴‍♂️</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/193d9da53d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Satellite map showing a color-coded GPS cycling route along the Stowe Recreation Path in Vermont\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-08-05T17:47:58-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/08/05/tammy-and-i-cycled-miles.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","QMSB Trip 2025"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/08/04/we-all-rented-bikes-at.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We all rented bikes at [Local Motion](<a href=\"https://www.localmotion.org/\">Island Line Trail</a> in Burlington and rode the <a href=\"https://www.localmotion.org/island_line_trail_map\">Island Line Trail</a> over the Colchester Causeway. We took the <a href=\"https://www.localmotion.org/bike_ferry\">Bike Ferry</a> across &ldquo;the gap&rdquo; and finally turned around at <a href=\"https://www.localmotion.org/allenholm_farm\">Allenholm Farms</a> on South Hero Island and made our way back.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/1e5d88b222.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people wearing bike helmets pose for a selfie in front of the Local Motion Bike Rentals shop in Burlington Vermont.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/7f321c351a.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Man in white helmet and sunglasses takes a selfie on a narrow gravel causeway trail with three cyclists riding behind him and water on both sides.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/fb22f5ceb1.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Man in white helmet and sunglasses takes a selfie on a narrow causeway trail beside Lake Champlain with three cyclists riding behind him.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/e1b3a640c6.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Narrow gravel causeway stretching over Lake Champlain toward a distant tree-lined shore under an overcast sky\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/5d404d8943.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Cyclists with helmets wheel their bikes down a dock ramp onto the Local Motion bike ferry on Lake Champlain\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/28ebec8fc1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Dozens of bicycles packed onto the deck of the Local Motion Bike Ferry, with a dock ramp and rocky breakwater visible ahead.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/6a755fbf42.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Allenholm Farm roadside sign with apple logo advertising Maple Cremee beside a red farm stand building marked Since 1870\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/b10ddba084.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Accessible pier on Lake Champlain with people fishing and a small boat docked nearby, a tree-covered rocky island visible ahead\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/08a40034c1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Bike ferry boat approaching a floating dock on Lake Champlain, with a rocky shoreline and wildflowers in the foreground\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/ec5f66dafd.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Three cyclists riding along a narrow gravel causeway flanked by rocks and open water on both sides under a hazy sky.\"></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2025-08-04T13:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/08/04/we-all-rented-bikes-at.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","QMSB Trip 2025"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/08/04/riding-the-colchester-causeway-on.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Riding the Colchester Causeway on the <a href=\"https://www.localmotion.org/island_line_trail_map\">Island Line Trail</a> in Burlington, Vermont. The causeway itself is 3 miles long.</p>\n<p><video controls=\"controls\" playsinline=\"playsinline\" src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/24552ed1bb.mov\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" poster=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/uploads/2025/922d47cfee.png\" preload=\"none\"></video></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2025-08-04T12:50:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/08/04/riding-the-colchester-causeway-on.html",
        "tags": ["Videos","Travel","Cycling","QMSB Trip 2025"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/08/03/blending-my-smoothie-by-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Blending my smoothie by bike at the <a href=\"https://www.stowefarmersmarket.com\">Stowe Farmers Market</a> this morning.</p>\n<p><video controls=\"controls\" playsinline=\"playsinline\" src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/c246485d1f.mp4\" width=\"720\" height=\"1280\" poster=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/uploads/2025/2b19ba96ea.png\" preload=\"none\"></video></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2025-08-03T12:05:34-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/08/03/blending-my-smoothie-by-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Videos","Travel","Restaurants","Cycling","QMSB Trip 2025"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/07/27/our-plan-was-to-rent.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Our plan was to rent bikes from Local Motion and then ride the amazing <a href=\"https://www.localmotion.org/island_line_trail_map\">Island Line Trail</a> including the <a href=\"https://www.localmotion.org/bike_ferry\">Bike Ferry</a> but the rain was too much. We rented everything and started to ride and it was just a lot of wet. We will try again on August 4th!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/18107109fa.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Person in orange rain jacket giving thumbs down outside Local Motion bike rental shop in the rain, bikes parked behind her.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-07-27T09:15:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/07/27/our-plan-was-to-rent.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","QMSB Trip 2025"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/07/20/we-have-our-very-first.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We have our very first winner of the <strong><a href=\"https://612.poapchallenge.com\">612 POAP Challenge</a></strong>! 🎉</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://collectors.poap.xyz/scan/0x018a6cc8f0b0ae5a686f926b62a67bbdcab33c47\">0x018a&hellip;3c47</a> (aka <a href=\"https://micro.blog/quinntchrest\">@quinntchrest</a>) has just been <a href=\"https://collectors.poap.xyz/token/7393445\">sent the Collected Them All! award</a>! 🥇</p>\n<p>He and a friend “<a href=\"https://quinnchrest.com/2025/07/20/poap-challenge.html\">speed ran</a>” the 612 POAP Challenge in <a href=\"https://strava.app.link/HeEap2549Ub\">one go on bike</a>!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/6fc725eea1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two cyclists wearing helmets pose for a selfie in front of the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-07-20T22:49:24-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/07/20/we-have-our-very-first.html",
        "tags": ["POAP","612 POAP Challenge","POAP Claims","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/07/18/we-had-a-fun-afternoon.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We had a fun afternoon with <a href=\"https://www.madisonadventuretours.com\">Madison Adventure Tours</a> exploring a 9-mile loop around town and hearing the history of various locations. The e-bikes were great and made the tour just fun and comfortable.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/7903827de1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"RadRunner e-bikes branded with Madison Adventure Tours logos parked in a sunny lot, water bottles in holders\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/cdfee6b8f0.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of helmeted riders on fat-tire e-bikes gathered on a field inside a stadium during a guided city tour on a sunny day.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/58928375a5.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people in bike helmets take a selfie in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol building on a sunny day.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/69f6316d5f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of people in helmets standing with fat-tire e-bikes on a grassy park lawn beside a lake on a sunny summer day.\"></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2025-07-18T15:45:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/07/18/we-had-a-fun-afternoon.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/07/05/we-had-a-nice-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We had a nice bike ride to Dairy Queen with my Uncle Tim and Aunt Holly and Cousin <a href=\"https://quinnchrest.com\">Quinn</a> today. We got caught in the rain on the way back.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/f227b8893d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of six people in bike helmets riding bicycles together on a paved path lined with green trees, one smiling man taking a selfie in the foreground.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/8545b564a0.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of seven people wearing bike helmets smiling in a selfie outside a Dairy Queen and Regency Inn and Suites sign\"></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2025-07-05T18:42:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/07/05/we-had-a-nice-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/05/11/upgraded-one-of-my-bikes.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Upgraded one of my bikes with these awesome large <a href=\"https://www.crankbrothers.com/products/stamp-1-gen-2-large\">Crank Brothers Stamps</a>. Old pedals were too small.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/ff02a88a7c.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two bicycle flat pedals on a foam mat inside a toolbox, a large Crank Brothers Stamp 1 on the left and a smaller old pedal on the right.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-05-11T13:49:32-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/05/11/upgraded-one-of-my-bikes.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/05/04/finished-cycling-miles-in-minutes.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Finished <strong>cycling 11.6 miles</strong> in <strong>62.6 minutes</strong>. First time outside on the bike this year. Very nice and lovely ride around the lakes. 🚴‍♂️</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/d075d16cff.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"577\" alt=\"A map shows a yellow path traced around three lakes within an urban area, indicating a route, with a green starting point marked.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-05-04T16:11:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/05/04/finished-cycling-miles-in-minutes.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2025/04/01/finished-cycling-miles-in-minutes.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Finished <strong>cycling 4.64 miles</strong> in <strong>30.1 minutes</strong>. We actually rode twice this but I only recorded the route from Smoqehouse back to the Airbnb. There is really just the one main road that goes up Anna Maria Island. It has a bike path on the side so is an okay ride even though there can be a lot of traffic. 🚴‍♂️</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/430f2ab31d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"569\" alt=\"A detailed aerial map shows a coastal area with a marked path in red, yellow, and green running along the shoreline.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-04-01T17:10:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2025/04/01/finished-cycling-miles-in-minutes.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Florida 2025"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/07/14/cuyuna-weekend.html",
        "title": "Cuyuna Weekend 2024",
        "content_html": "<p>We wrapped up a very fun weekend in Crosby exploring the Cuyuna area. Here is what the weekend covered.</p>\n<h3 id=\"thursday\">Thursday</h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Arrived at <a href=\"https://www.crosbyloftsmn.com\">Crosby Lofts</a> just before 9pm.</li>\n<li>Walked around Crosby and explored <a href=\"https://www.thelakeandcompany.com\">Lake and Company</a> store that was open late.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"friday\">Friday</h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Jamie gets coffee at <a href=\"http://www.enjoymixedcompany.com\">Mixed Company</a>.</li>\n<li>Jamie working remote for the morning.</li>\n<li>Tammy goes on a run.</li>\n<li>Mazie goes on a run.</li>\n<li>Tammy and kids get donuts at <a href=\"https://www.cuyuna.com/macdaddysdonutgarage/\">Mac Daddy&rsquo;s Donut Garage</a>. Bring back for Jamie.</li>\n<li>Kids and Tammy go to beach at Serpent Lake to swim and read.</li>\n<li>Lunch at <a href=\"https://www.drunkennoodlecrosby.com\">Drunken Noodle</a>.</li>\n<li>Get rental bikes at <a href=\"https://www.redraven.bike\">Red Raven</a>.</li>\n<li>Mountain bike the Gallooping Goose &ldquo;easy&rdquo; trail.</li>\n<li>Return bikes.</li>\n<li>Post-ride smoothies at <a href=\"https://www.redraven.bike\">Red Raven</a>.</li>\n<li>Dinner at <a href=\"https://www.hudson218.com\">Hudson Smokehouse</a>.</li>\n<li>Walked to <a href=\"https://www.highwheelconfectionery.com\">High Wheel Confectionary</a> and indulged in shopping and sugar.</li>\n<li>Walked around Crosby while Mazie was incapacitated due to sugar overload.</li>\n<li>Mazie and Tyler walk to playground to check it out.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"saturday\">Saturday</h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Tammy goes on a run.</li>\n<li>Jamie to <a href=\"https://www.redraven.bike\">Red Raven</a>.</li>\n<li>Tammy joins at <a href=\"https://www.redraven.bike\">Red Raven</a>.</li>\n<li>Mazie goes on a run.</li>\n<li>Tyler on raids for <a href=\"https://gofest.pokemongolive.com/global\">Pokémon GO Fest 2024 (Global)</a>.</li>\n<li>All meet at <a href=\"https://www.cuyuna.com/farmers-market/\">Crosby Farmers Market</a>: scones, jams, maple syrup, cinnamon rolls, kombucha, homemade Nutella, chocolate dipped mangoes.</li>\n<li>Shopping in Crosby: <a href=\"https://www.cuyuna.com/nord-hus/\">Nord Hus</a>, <a href=\"https://smithandtrade.com\">Smith + Trade</a>, <a href=\"https://www.guidepointpharmacyrx.com/locations/crosby\">Crosby Pharmacy</a>, <a href=\"https://cuyunaoutfitters.com\">Cuyuna Outfitters</a>.</li>\n<li>Jamie and Tyler walk to lake while Mazie tries on lots of clothes at <a href=\"https://cuyunaoutfitters.com\">Cuyuna Outfitters</a>.</li>\n<li>Lunch at <a href=\"https://www.cuyunabrewing.com/food.html\">Burritos California</a> and beer at <a href=\"https://www.cuyunabrewing.com\">Cuyuna Brewing</a>.</li>\n<li>Mazie and Tammy find treasures at <a href=\"https://www.bridgesofhopemn.org/common-goods\">Common Goods</a> thrift store.</li>\n<li>Went to Pennington boat launch to go on water with kayaks from <a href=\"https://cuyunaoutfitters.com\">Cuyuna Outfitters</a>. Mazie and Tammy on clear kayaks. Tyler on paddle board. Jamie on fishing kayak.</li>\n<li>Paddle from 3 to 7p, cover about 3 miles. Nice time. Lots of jumping in water.</li>\n<li>Dinner at <a href=\"https://www.raffertyspizza.com\">Rafferty&rsquo;s Pizza</a>.</li>\n<li>Return trip to <a href=\"https://www.highwheelconfectionery.com\">High Wheel Confectionary</a> for ice cream!</li>\n<li>Tammy, Mazie, and Tyler walk back to <a href=\"https://www.crosbyloftsmn.com\">Crosby Lofts</a>.</li>\n<li>Mazie and Tyler hang at the playground</li>\n<li>Jamie drives the car back.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"sunday\">Sunday</h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Jame heads to <a href=\"https://www.redraven.bike\">Red Raven</a> for morning blogging and coffee.</li>\n<li>Tammy and Mazie on a walk and meet Jamie at <a href=\"https://www.redraven.bike\">Red Raven</a>.</li>\n<li>Brunch at <a href=\"https://croftkitchencrosby.com\">Croft Pub &amp; Grub</a>.</li>\n<li>Head home.</li>\n</ul>\n",
        "date_published": "2024-07-14T15:37:37-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/07/14/cuyuna-weekend.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Travel","Pokemon","Cycling","Cuyuna Weekend 2024"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/07/12/mountain-biking-on.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Mountain biking on the Galloping Goose trail today.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/1595e39040.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Young rider in a white helmet and dark jersey mountain biking toward the camera on a sunlit forest dirt trail.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/924ecc0790.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Young woman in a red cycling kit and orange helmet rides a mountain bike toward the camera on a forested dirt trail.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/8ba8b90cfe.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Person in a teal shirt and yellow helmet riding a mountain bike down a rocky dirt trail through a lush green forest.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/5de0bcd3d9.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Person in white helmet and t-shirt riding an orange mountain bike around a banked dirt trail corner in a green forest.\"></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2024-07-12T21:31:14-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/07/12/mountain-biking-on.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Travel","Cycling","Cuyuna Weekend 2024"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/07/12/bike-from-red.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Bike from Red Raven on Galloping Goose trail with Huntington Mine Lake in the background.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/6a417b3874.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Orange and blue mountain bike with Maxxis tires leaning against a birch tree on a dirt trail above a blue lake.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2024-07-12T21:30:25-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/07/12/bike-from-red.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Cuyuna Weekend 2024"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/07/12/family-selfie-on.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Family selfie on a stop while mountain biking the Galloping Goose trail in Cuyuna!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/dfa17a5b9a.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people posing for a selfie among birch trees near a lake, two wearing bike helmets, one in a Canada jersey and one in a GAA jersey.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2024-07-12T21:28:38-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/07/12/family-selfie-on.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Travel","Cycling","Cuyuna Weekend 2024"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/06/07/exploring-inis-mr.html",
        "title": "Exploring Inis Mór",
        "content_html": "<p>We took the ferry to <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inishmore\">Inis Mór</a> to explore the island today.  We rented e-bikes from <a href=\"https://aranislandsbikehire.com\">Aran Bike Rental</a> and took off from the port to check things out. We took the more casual green route for our riding.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/b6aa28ab3e.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"A group of people wearing helmets are riding bicycles on a narrow road with greenery on both sides, with one person taking a selfie from the front.\">\n<p>Our first stop was at the <a href=\"https://www.aranislands.ie/inis-mor-inishmore-island/inis-mor-island-natural-features/seal-colony\">Seal Colony</a>. There were a few seals out relaxing on the rocks.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/77cc02105f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"A person in a yellow jacket stands on a rocky shoreline, looking out at the expansive sea under a cloudy sky.\">\n<p>After that there was this unofficial stop where there were a bunch of cairns that people had created — including one giant one.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/1cd0736c45.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Tall cairn of stacked flat stones on a rocky pebble beach on Inis Mor, with a road, green hillside, and calm water visible behind it.\">\n<p>We took the bikes as far as we could and parked them at visitor center for <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BAn_Aonghasa\">Dún Aonghasa</a>. After purchasing a family pass we hiked up to the ruins.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/aeeba0b26c.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"A group of people is hiking along a path surrounded by rocky terrain and greenery under a cloudy sky.\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/8e78bcec72.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"A rocky cliff overlooks a calm ocean under a cloudy sky.\">\n<p>After getting our fill we hiked down and shopped at Aran Sweater Market. Mazie, Tammy, Jamie got sweaters and Jamie got a hat.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/acc4364062.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"A market stall is displaying various sweaters and garments on tables, with additional clothing hanging on the walls and racks inside a building, and a Price Sale sign visible.\">\n<p>Got crêpes from food trailer. Delicious. We then decided to take off and retrieve bikes from bike park and Jamie dropped his bike with the chain dropping off the front gear. This took us a while to get remedied since the chain and gearing was in a fender and the cogs were very worn down. Eventually Jamie got it on and then had to wash the grease off of his hands for a very long time.</p>\n<p>After resolving the chain issue we rode up the island to the <a href=\"https://www.aranislands.ie/inis-mor-inishmore-island/inis-mor-island-churches-celtic-sites/na-seacht-dteampaill-the-seven-churches\">Seven Churches</a>.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/d00d91072f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Roofless stone church ruins surrounded by old gravestones and wild grass in a historic Irish cemetery on Inis Mor.\">\n<p>Ride back down to the <a href=\"https://www.aranislands.ie/inis-mor-inishmore-island/inis-mor-island-natural-features/kilmurvey-blue-flag-beach\">Kilmurvey Beach</a> for a <em>very</em> brief stop for Mazie to run in the sand.</p>\n<p>Somewhat quickly ride back to get to <a href=\"https://www.joewattys.ie\">Joe Watty&rsquo;s Bar &amp; Restaurant</a> for Jamie to have a pub lunch. Beef stew and a half-pint of Guinness hit the spot!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/4f00f1cf4c.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Bowl of Irish beef stew with carrots, potatoes, and herbs beside a pint of Guinness on a wooden pub table outdoors.\">\n<p>Return bikes to rental spot. Wait in line to get back on ferry, take ferry back.</p>\n<p>Map of our day with pins on the various stops we made.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/786ee352c4.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"618\" alt=\"Map of Inishmore island showing a yellow-green bike route from Kilronan along the northern coast to the western end, with red pins marking stops.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2024-06-07T16:01:08-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/07/exploring-inis-mr.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Outdoors","Cycling","Ireland 2024"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/06/03/ireland-log-day.html",
        "title": "Ireland 2024 Log - Day 3",
        "content_html": "<p><em>Weather: Cool in the morning and evening. Very comfortable the rest of the day. High of 62 °F.</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jamie up at 8:00 AM feeling groggy. Stir everyone else awake to get going.</li>\n<li>Tasty breakfast at <a href=\"https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g186612-d14079431-Reviews-The_Curious_Cat_Cafe-Killarney_County_Kerry.html?m=19905\">Curious Cat Cafe</a>.</li>\n<li>Walked to <a href=\"https://www.killarneybikerental.com\">Killarney Bike Rental</a>.</li>\n<li>Rented four bikes for the day to explore <a href=\"https://www.nationalparks.ie/killarney/\">Killarney National Park</a>.</li>\n<li>Rode to <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torc_Waterfall\">Torc Waterfall</a> and then hiked up to the top of the waterfall and back down along another path, then crossed back to Torc waterfall to get bikes.</li>\n<li>Rode bikes to <a href=\"https://muckross-house.ie\">Muckross House</a> for lunch at the restaurant and then walk the grounds.</li>\n<li>Rode bikes to <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muckross_Abbey\">Muckross Abbey</a> and Graveyard.</li>\n<li>Rode bikes back to <a href=\"http://www.muckross-house.ie/traditional-farms.html\">Muckross Traditional Farm</a> but decided to not go.</li>\n<li>Rode bikes back to Muckross House to spend gorgeous evening time on the giant lawn.</li>\n<li>Rode bikes back to Killarney Bike Rentals to return them.</li>\n<li>Walk back to town center to <a href=\"https://www.kittyoseskillarney.com\">Kitty O&rsquo;Se&rsquo;s</a>. Did not have reservation and only table was outside. It was cold but we decided to do it anyway! All four of us ordered the Fish &amp; Chips. Struck up a conversation with a local tour guide at dinner who gave us some pointers on other places we are going.</li>\n<li>Walk back to Airbnb to rest and relax.</li>\n<li>Mazie and Jamie went out so Jamie could have a Guinness at <a href=\"https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g186612-d6672073-Reviews-O_Connors_Traditional_Irish_Pub-Killarney_County_Kerry.html?m=19905\">O&rsquo;Connors Pub</a> and listen to live music.</li>\n<li>Mazie and Jamie explored Killarney a bit before returning to AIrbnb.</li>\n</ul>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/a5dfcd16fe.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people seated at an outdoor restaurant table smiling at the camera with four plates of fish and chips in front of them\">\n<p>Jump to day\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/01/ireland-log-day.html\">1</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/02/ireland-log-day.html\">2</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/03/ireland-log-day.html\">3</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/04/ireland-log-day.html\">4</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/05/ireland-log-day.html\">5</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/06/ireland-log-day.html\">6</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/07/ireland-log-day.html\">7</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/08/ireland-log-day.html\">8</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/09/ireland-log-day.html\">9</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/10/ireland-log-day.html\">10</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/11/ireland-log-day.html\">11</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/12/ireland-log-day.html\">12</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/13/ireland-log-day.html\">13</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/14/ireland-log-day.html\">14</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/15/ireland-log-day.html\">15</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/16/ireland-log-day.html\">16</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/17/ireland-log-day.html\">17</a>,\n<a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/18/ireland-log-day.html\">18</a>\nor see <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/ireland-2024/\">Ireland 2024 Collection</a>.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2024-06-03T16:11:15-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/03/ireland-log-day.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Ireland 2024"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/06/03/had-a-fun.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Had a fun day on our rented bikes from <a href=\"https://www.killarneybikerental.com\">Killarney Bike Rental</a> exploring <a href=\"https://www.nationalparks.ie/killarney/\">Killarney National Park</a>.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/777d4395a3.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Family of four with bike helmets posing with orange rental bikes near a road in Killarney Ireland on a cloudy day.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/0467aa93a1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four cyclists wearing helmets riding rented bikes along a tree-lined path in Killarney National Park, smiling at the camera.\"></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2024-06-03T15:58:20-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/06/03/had-a-fun.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Ireland 2024"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/05/26/a-dozen-bikes.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>A dozen bikes parked in the garage today. 🚲</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/91c219314b.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" alt=\"Cluttered garage with roughly a dozen bicycles of various sizes and colors lining both walls alongside hula hoops, fishing rods, and a ladder.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2024-05-26T20:23:51-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/05/26/a-dozen-bikes.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/05/12/first-dairy-queen.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>First Dairy Queen bike ride of the year! 🍦</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/af0044fa45.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Family of four holding DQ Blizzards and ice cream cones outside a Dairy Queen on a sunny day\">\n",
        "date_published": "2024-05-12T14:33:18-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/05/12/first-dairy-queen.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2024/04/26/hard-miles.html",
        "title": "Hard Miles",
        "content_html": "<p>We saw <a href=\"https://www.penseproductions.com/features/2023/2/3/hard-miles\">Hard Miles</a> at <a href=\"https://manntheatres.com/theatre/89/Edina-4\">Edina 4</a>. Based on a true story, it tells the story of a counselor taking four young men in a correctional school on a long bicycle ride to find themselves. Their destination is the Grand Canyon (which kept reminding me of a similar theme in the movie <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_(1991_film)\">Grand Canyon</a>. I have a soft spot for movies that prominently feature cycling. Plus <a href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000546/\">Matthew Modine</a> who I first remember from <a href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090270/\">Vision Quest</a> was great in it. His character goes through his own emotional journey in the trip as well. Recommended!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/281cbd7b44.jpg\" width=\"408\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Movie poster for a film based on a true story showing cyclists riding a desert highway at sunset beneath large bold title text\">\n",
        "date_published": "2024-04-26T21:45:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/04/26/hard-miles.html",
        "tags": ["Movies","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2023/10/09/i-did-my.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I did my <strong>400th Peloton spin class</strong> this morning! <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/share/workouts/9be39e9e209c4307a8cc20bb92c549c7\">30 min Classic Rock Ride with Matt Wilpers</a>. 🎉</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2023-10-09T20:04:16-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2023/10/09/i-did-my.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2023/06/16/bike-ride-to.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Bike ride to Lake Harriet Bandshell Music in the Park and ice cream from Bread &amp; Pickle. Summer!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/0a69faaa00.jpg\" alt=\"Several bicycles leaned against a tree at Lake Harriet park, including a red Giant and a black Defiant, with helmets hung on handlebars and a crowd gathered near a pavilion in the background.\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/68bd443ecc.jpg\" alt=\"Six hands holding ice cream cones and a cup from Bread and Pickle, flavors including mint chip and chocolate, gathered in a circle outdoors.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2023-06-16T21:03:38-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2023/06/16/bike-ride-to.html",
        "tags": ["Weather","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2023/05/28/move-along-quickly.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Move along quickly under the broken tree hanging across the bike trail. 🤞</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/bff1484b85.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Cyclists riding along a tree-lined paved trail, a large broken branch hanging overhead across the path.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2023-05-28T22:44:14-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2023/05/28/move-along-quickly.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2023/05/28/great-day-for.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Great day for a family bike ride to Dairy Queen! 🍦</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/342224a91e.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of cyclists riding along the Sakatah State Trail past a mile 37 marker shaped like Minnesota, surrounded by green trees and grass.\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/3811c79368.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of adults and children smiling and holding Dairy Queen Blizzards and ice cream cones outside a DQ location.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2023-05-28T22:41:49-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2023/05/28/great-day-for.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2023/04/09/watching-the-th.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Watching the 120th edition of <a href=\"https://www.paris-roubaix.fr/en/\">Paris-Roubaix</a> through the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trou%C3%A9e_d%27Arenberg\">Trouée d&rsquo;Arenberg</a>.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/4797b220cb.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Wall-mounted TV showing Paris-Roubaix cycling race broadcast with a lone rider on cobblestones flanked by crowds waving a Flemish flag.\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/68f66ded47.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Wall-mounted TV showing the Paris-Roubaix cycling race with riders entering the Trouee d Arenberg cobblestone section lined with crowds.\"></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2023-04-09T08:04:03-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2023/04/09/watching-the-th.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2023/04/08/digging-my-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Digging my new <a href=\"https://www.rollbicycles.com\">Roll Bicycle</a> <strong>C:1 City Bike</strong> from <a href=\"https://www.tangletownbikeshop.com\">Tangletown Bike Shop</a>. I&rsquo;ve got a bunch of bikes, but I wanted to get a simple city bike to ride around for fun. This perfectly fit the bill, and the folks at the bike shop were great.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/993179c080.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Red Roll C:1 city bike displayed on the floor of Tangletown Bike Shop, showing disc brakes and flat handlebars.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2023-04-08T15:05:49-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2023/04/08/digging-my-new.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2022/09/11/pedego-bikes-on.html",
        "title": "Pedego Bikes on Cherry Creek Trail",
        "content_html": "<p>We saw these <a href=\"https://pedegoelectricbikes.com\">Pedego</a> bikes at the Minnesota State Fair and Tammy saw they had a rental option in Denver. We got a couple of <a href=\"https://pedegoelectricbikes.com/product/element/\">Element Fat Tire</a> bikes and took <a href=\"https://www.denver.org/things-to-do/sports-recreation/bike-trails/#cherry\">Cherry Creek Trail</a> to the city limit and back, just over 20 miles.</p>\n<p>This was Tammy&rsquo;s first time on an electric bike and she thought it was fun. It was also a much more &ldquo;assisted&rdquo; ebike than I had used before. We didn’t love the Element, mostly because the geometry was super compact, but it was still an awesome time.</p>\n<p>We stopped at the Cherry Creek shopping area on our way back. Twenty years ago when we went there it had a bunch of art galleries and such. Sadly, it didn’t have any of that unique character anymore.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/5f8150f7b8.jpg\" alt=\"Two red fat-tire electric bikes parked beside the Denver Parks and Recreation Cherry Creek Trail entrance sign on a sunny day.\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/459b067a08.jpg\" alt=\"Two orange Pedego Element fat-tire electric bikes with blue and red rims parked on a paved trail stretching through open grassland under a clear blue sky.\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/33a0bea71f.jpg\" alt=\"Steel footbridge over a rocky waterfall cascade on Cherry Creek, surrounded by cottonwood trees under a clear blue sky.\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/cb791de610.jpg\" alt=\"Cyclist in a race jersey and helmet rides a road bike across a red-decked bridge on a paved trail, while another person stands beside two red fat-tire bikes nearby\">\n",
        "date_published": "2022-09-11T17:10:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/09/11/pedego-bikes-on.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Denver 2022"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2022/09/05/we-finished-the.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We finished the unofficial last day of summer with a nice bike ride around the lakes, dinner at Punch Pizza, and ice cream cones at Bread &amp; Pickle. What a great day!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/588c51a7b2.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people smiling and holding ice cream cones near a lake on a summer evening, one wearing a bike helmet.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2022-09-05T22:48:36-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/09/05/we-finished-the.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2022/09/04/dairy-queen-stop.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Dairy Queen stop at the halfway mark of today’s family bike ride.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/abe29811d2.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people smiling outside a Dairy Queen holding ice cream treats, two wearing bike helmets on a sunny day.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2022-09-04T15:33:23-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/09/04/dairy-queen-stop.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2022/08/27/on-our-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>On our bike ride today as we were rounding our way around Lake Harriet and coming home Tyler caught the edge of the trail and crashed on his bike, right in front of me. I then slammed on my brakes trying to not run into or over him and went completely over my handlebars. We both got scrapped up and are nursing some significant road rash. Both of our helmets will need to be replaced. Glad we are super consistent about wearing our helmets. But we are okay and will heal up just fine.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/8e753d8421.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"599\" alt=\"Middle-aged man in a blue patterned shirt and Apple Watch displaying a large bandage covering his elbow after a bike crash.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2022-08-27T22:04:41-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/08/27/on-our-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2022/08/27/we-had-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We had a wonderful family bike ride around the three main lakes along with a lunch stop at Punch Pizza.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/f51dd4be03.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Strava map of a 13.2 mile bike ride around Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis completed in 1 hour 21 minutes.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/f4e9376bee.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of seven people wearing bike helmets with bicycles near a lake on a sunny summer day\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/69c2c2047f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Man in red patterned shirt and white helmet takes a cycling selfie with a group of family cyclists on a tree-lined path.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2022-08-27T22:02:05-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/08/27/we-had-a.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2022/06/11/mazie-and-i.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Mazie and I packed rider packets for next weeks <a href=\"https://ironmanbikeride.org\">Minnesota Ironman Bike Ride</a> today. Our task was unboxing and folding at least 2,000 t-shirts to be put in bags.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/23073d9942.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Volunteers unbox and sort hundreds of folded maroon t-shirts spread across long tables in a large warehouse space with red walls.\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/fefa84d112.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Smiling girl standing behind a folding table stacked with hundreds of folded maroon t-shirts in a large warehouse space\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/464f9c04a6.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Man and girl smile holding up maroon Minnesota Ironman Bike Ride t-shirts, surrounded by hundreds of folded shirts on tables in a large open space.\" /></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2022-06-11T20:53:36-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/06/11/mazie-and-i.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Giving"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2022/05/29/afternoon-bike-ride.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Afternoon bike ride to Dairy Queen! Perfect 10-mile round trip with an ice cream in the middle.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2022/40b8974ae2.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Adult in white helmet and sunglasses takes a selfie leading a group of kids on bikes down a tree-lined paved trail.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2022-05-29T15:03:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/05/29/afternoon-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/11/13/we-all-volunteered.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We all volunteered at <a href=\"https://fb4kmn.org\">Free Bikes 4 Kidz</a> today. Tammy, Mazie, and Tyler did cleaning of donated bikes. I tried my hand at the mechanic station working on derailers, brakes, truing wheels and a lot of other stuff I didn’t know how to do. 😊</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/cb8e64ff09.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Thousands of donated kids bicycles packed wall to wall inside a large warehouse with red upper walls.\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/30c773d1c8.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Family of four posing at a bike repair table inside a warehouse filled with rows of donated bicycles\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/3b6100414f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"449\" alt=\"Masked volunteer in a plaid shirt and blue gloves holds a Huffy Highland 21-speed bike on a repair stand in a bike shop\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/af7077c4d3.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Person in plaid shirt and face mask cleaning a BMX bike on a table in the Free Bikes 4 Kidz bike cleaning area.\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/8561640a7b.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Bike repair workshop with a red Magna mountain bike on a stand, tools spread on a worktable, and volunteers working in the background.\" /></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2021-11-13T22:33:58-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/11/13/we-all-volunteered.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Giving"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/08/03/biking-wallkill-valley.html",
        "title": "Biking Wallkill Valley Rail Trail",
        "content_html": "<p>This morning we rented bikes from <a href=\"https://npbiking.com\">New Paltz Biking</a> and took a 16.2 miles round-trip ride on the <a href=\"https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48245-d4702448-Reviews-The_Wallkill_Valley_Rail_Trail-New_Paltz_Catskill_Region_New_York.html\">Wallkill Valley Rail Trail</a>. It was a wonderful ride and the Trellis Bridge 160 feet above the Hudson River provided immense views. We turned around at the Ice Caves that felt like you were standing in front of a giant air conditioner.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/261554110e.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four cyclists wearing helmets ride along a tree-lined gravel trail on a sunny day, one taking a selfie in the foreground\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/0c7b3b61a0.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two children on bikes ride toward a rusty iron truss bridge on a tree-lined trail, both wearing helmets\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/1a163c1b3d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Red mountain bike parked by a WVRT trail marker in front of a large rock cave entrance, with a person standing at the cave mouth.\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/44fa4a5238.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Dark cave entrance framed by mossy limestone rock in a leafy green forest with a dirt path leading inside\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/2eb4eac328.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"449\" alt=\"Three cyclists in helmets ride toward a wooden footbridge on a tree-lined gravel trail in summer\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/0c08af17b5.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"449\" alt=\"River winding through a forested valley seen from a high rusty steel bridge railing, with small houses nestled among the trees below\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/b806118a36.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Wide wooden footbridge with rust-colored metal railings stretching toward a dense green forest, two cyclists riding ahead in the distance\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/7908a4c662.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Four people wearing bike helmets smile for a selfie on a bridge overlooking a tree-lined river\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/103fe659bb.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Calm wide river lined with lush green trees reflecting in the still water under a partly cloudy sky\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/408ec33f9e.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"GPS route map showing a 16-mile bike ride from New Paltz northwest along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail toward Rosendale, color-coded yellow and green.\" /></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2021-08-03T19:50:43-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/08/03/biking-wallkill-valley.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Vermont Road Trip 2021"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/07/03/i-love-mornings.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I love mornings at the cabin with the Tour de France in July. 🚴‍♂️🇫🇷</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/f7b6fd0192.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Samsung TV on a wooden desk showing a Tour de France broadcast with a group of cyclists racing on a tree-lined road, 32km remaining.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2021-07-03T11:48:19-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/07/03/i-love-mornings.html",
        "tags": ["Cabin","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/06/14/great-evening-for.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Great evening for a bike ride around Lake Harriet.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/877b64e528.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Child wearing a helmet rides a bicycle along a tree-lined paved path in golden evening light.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2021-06-14T20:43:44-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/06/14/great-evening-for.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/04/25/i-love-how.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I love how the <a href=\"https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/36840503\">Bike Vault</a> Airbnb is completely themed around bicycles and even uses bikes as artwork. They have notes with each bike highlighting what is interesting about it. Includes Trek&rsquo;s first mountain bike from 1983!</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/045a0e4f53.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"1995 Trek Y Five-O full-suspension mountain bike mounted on red hexagonal panels on a light blue wall in a bike-themed Airbnb\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/5df944e2d6.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Narrow hallway with multiple bicycles mounted on walls as decor, including a labeled Trek first MTB from 1983, lit by track lighting overhead.\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/c581989ea1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Blue Columbia Twosome tandem bicycle mounted on a white wall with colorful streamers on the handlebars and a Twosome Fun sign below\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/5cc207c85d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Trek's first mountain bike from 1983 mounted on a wall display with a label reading 83 TREK'S 1ST MTB and an informational card hanging below.\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/0ab53260b9.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Vintage and classic bicycles mounted on the walls of a bicycle-themed Airbnb interior, including a gold-framed mountain bike displayed overhead.\" /></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2021-04-25T10:03:18-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/04/25/i-love-how.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/04/24/galloping-goose-mtb.html",
        "title": "Galloping Goose MTB Trail",
        "content_html": "<p>I haven&rsquo;t been mountain biking for over 10 years. My Specialized M4 StumpJumper has seen a lot of neglect over the last decade. But yesterday we all hit the <a href=\"https://www.cuyunalakesmtb.com\">Cuyuna Lakes MTB</a> trails and had a blast on the single track!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/8f5369ba4d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Man in red jacket and white helmet taking a selfie on a dirt trail with three others on mountain bikes behind him in a bare woodland.\" />\n<p>We did the full <strong>Galloping Goose</strong> trail around Huntington Mine lake. The bike crew at <a href=\"https://www.redraven.bike\">Red Raven</a> recommended it as a great route for a family with a lot of fun as well as easy access to regular trails if you need a break.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/0a09a0c990.jpg\" width=\"375\" height=\"375\" alt=\"GPS heat map of the Galloping Goose mountain bike route looping around Huntington Mine lake, overlaid on a satellite aerial view.\" />\n<p>I hadn&rsquo;t been on single track for several years, and it was the first time that Tammy or the kids had gone. <strong>They had an absolute blast!</strong> Mazie and Tyler were laughing and having a great time on the rolley trails.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/64dfdc4834.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Young child riding an orange mountain bike on a dirt single-track trail through a sparse woodland, wearing a helmet and FC Bayern Munich jersey\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/fcf570c018.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two kids mountain biking on a red dirt single-track trail through a bare winter forest, smiling at the camera.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/e5d901c00c.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Woman wearing a bright yellow helmet and striped sweater rides a mountain bike along a narrow red dirt trail through a leafless forest.\" />\n<p>We did a total of 12 miles with over half of that on single track. The weather and trail conditions were fabulous. This was the nicest trail I&rsquo;ve been on. They have built up banks on a lot of the turns so you can hold a lot of speed going through them.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/452f59e48b.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Three cyclists in helmets ride single-file along a narrow dirt trail through a leafless autumn forest with rocky hillsides on each side.\" />\n<p>We&rsquo;ll definitely be back again!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2021-04-24T19:54:42-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/04/24/galloping-goose-mtb.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Travel","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/04/24/i-dig-this.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I dig this art piece by Matt Postier of <a href=\"https://cykelonline.com\">Cykel</a> in Ironton, MN. Made of reclaimed <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogset\">cogsets</a> welded together.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/d813e7bf72.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Circular wall sculpture made of welded reclaimed bicycle cogsets, transitioning from silver at top to vivid blue at bottom.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2021-04-24T10:16:17-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/04/24/i-dig-this.html",
        "tags": ["Arts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/04/23/from-the-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>From the <a href=\"https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/36840503\">Bike Vault</a> in Crosby, MN. 🤣</p>\n<p><strong>I am bikesexual. I&rsquo;ll ride just about anything.</strong></p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/8f9440c4b8.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Wooden letter board on a wall reading I AM BIKESEXUAL ILL RIDE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING above pillows printed with bicycles.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2021-04-23T21:57:51-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/04/23/from-the-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/04/17/had-a-great.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Had a great ride this morning on Matt Wilpers <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/c90484fc7e8f475a8e547ca31ef25022?locale=en-US\">75-minute Power Zone Endurance Ride</a>. My first 75 minute ride so a PR by default. <strong>815 kJ</strong>. Definitely started to gas out after 60 minutes. 🚴🏻 #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/17f7dc083e.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton cycling workout stats chart showing 75 min Power Zone Endurance Ride with 815 kJ output, 1612 calories, and 185 avg watts.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2021-04-17T15:30:11-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/04/17/had-a-great.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/02/26/day-of-the.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Day 26 of the <a href=\"https://micro.welltempered.net/2021/01/30/february-photoblogging-challenge.html\">February Photoblogging Challenge</a>: <strong>Favourite</strong></p>\n<p>I went to my archives and am sharing <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2011/11/20/tammys-favorite-picture.html\">Tammy’s favorite picture of me</a>. I like it too. 😊 This picture was taken right after finishing the <a href=\"http://cheqfattire.com/\">Chequamegon Fat 40</a>.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/d1a853b682.jpg\" alt=\"Mud-covered man sitting on the ground resting after a mountain bike race, dirty bike in the foreground, trees and onlookers behind him\">\n",
        "date_published": "2021-02-26T22:35:04-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/02/26/day-of-the.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","February 2021 Photoblogging Challenge"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2021/01/09/new-min-peloton.html",
        "title": "New 60-min Peloton PR",
        "content_html": "<p>I hit a new 60-min PR in Matt Wilpers <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/0505e9722e38487c9b559fee504df1f2\">Power Zone Endurance Ride</a> this morning. <strong>676 kJ</strong> versus my <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/26/hit-a-new.html\">previous 653 kJ</a> from Sep 26, 2020.</p>\n<p>It was another Zone 2 / 3 ride but I leveled it up since I felt like my zone data is a little old. I need to do a new FTP test! I spent a lot of time in the higher end of Zone 4. You can see that the last 3 efforts my power faded a bit. I was definitely feeling it in my legs.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/0fe2557ba6.jpg\" alt=\"Peloton mPaceLine cycling stats card showing 676 kJ output, 1316 cal, 188W avg, 55% of ride in Lactate Threshold zone.\">\n<p>My heart rate was at Threshold for 67% of the ride and bursted into Max Capacity during the efforts toward the end. You can see I was a bit gassed as my heart rate was climbing and power was dropping in those final efforts.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/0e0092e907.jpg\" alt=\"Peloton mPaceLine chart for a 60-min Power Zone Endurance Ride showing 676 kJ output, 188W avg, 152 bpm avg HR, 67% time at Threshold zone.\">\n<p>It was a great ride and I was joined by a number of friends riding live as well. I’m a big fan of Peloton Live Rides, it encourages you to push and make the most of it. #FitByFifty</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2021-01-09T12:37:42-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/01/09/new-min-peloton.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/12/20/set-a-backtoback.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Set a back-to-back 30-min PR today during <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/556cd8c8db434360800b26afce66db84\">Sundays with Love</a>! <strong>415 kJ</strong>, +7 over yesterdays <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/12/19/hit-a-new.html\">408 kJ</a>. This PR was credit to riding with a bunch of friends — thanks to northstar007 (649 kJ! 🤯), Matthew01, MNjhawk, hectorguatemala, recheni77, 612Sarah for riding! 🙌 Tête de la Course! #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e042f5047d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton cycling workout stats showing 415 kJ output, 663 calories, 30 minutes, with power zone breakdown chart dated Dec 20 2020\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-12-20T13:18:02-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/12/20/set-a-backtoback.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/12/19/hit-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Hit a <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/26148e2a69cf4710a3cea3020f894d18\">new 30-min PR</a> in Jess King&rsquo;s Sweat Steady ride today! 408 kJ, +3 over <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/10/28/got-a-new.html\">previous PR</a>. 🙌🚴‍♂️ #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/ef694a2d0c.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton cycling workout summary showing 408 kJ output, 643 calories, 30 minutes, with power zone breakdown chart\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-12-19T13:28:14-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/12/19/hit-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/12/13/dancing-on-the.html",
        "title": "Dancing on the Pedals",
        "content_html": "<p>Today I did my fourth day in a row on my <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> bike. I can tell that the workouts I’ve been putting in over the last months are having a big impact. A few months ago I would have been spent after consecutive days like this, but today I felt invigorated. You get this feeling like you are <em>Dancing on the Pedals</em> when you climb out of the saddle. It is fun and I haven’t felt that in a very long time. Recovering and going again, repeat. Feel good power in my legs. Gaining some confidence around riding a Century next summer for the first time in a decade plus! Good stuff. #FitByFifty</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-12-13T23:30:48-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/12/13/dancing-on-the.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/11/26/this-mornings-min.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>This mornings <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/4404083da3d440f6aed5f9a31fe90136?locale=en-US\">45 min Turkey Burn Ride with Robin Arzon</a> had <strong>50,000 live riders</strong>! That is an entire good size city, spinning together. What a cool experience. #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/fb2c091af1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout stats for a 45 min Turkey Burn Ride on Nov 26 2020, showing 878 calories, 459 kj output, 143 bpm avg heart rate, and 56 percent time in Power zone.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-11-26T21:18:59-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/11/26/this-mornings-min.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/11/18/i-set-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I set a new PR tonight in <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/64dcb77bdf1b43d5864cf3ec1287a2dd\">Kendall Toole&rsquo;s 45-min Metallica Ride</a>! <strong>571 kJ</strong>, +18 over <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/20/hit-a-new.html\">previous</a>. I pushed very hard on this one. 87% of time at threshold or higher. Great music! 🤟 #FitByFifty</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/ce51a5f509.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton mPaceLine workout summary for a 45-min Metallica Ride on Nov 18 2020, showing 571 kJ output, 1012 cal, 156 avg HR, 87% time at threshold or above.\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/84f7c0cd2b.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 45-min Metallica Ride showing 571 kJ output, 1012 calories, 212 watts avg, and heart rate zone breakdown chart.\" /></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-11-18T20:49:11-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/11/18/i-set-a.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/11/06/incredibly-nice-weather.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Incredibly nice weather today. We got to do a November family bike ride!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/6f54b9b052.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Family of four riding bikes on a paved trail through open fields on a sunny autumn day, all wearing helmets.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-11-06T20:12:04-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/11/06/incredibly-nice-weather.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/10/28/got-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Got a new PR this morning in Kendall Toole’s <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/15d38f0cb9084398ba581da10d76a740\">30-min Metal Ride</a>. 🤘 <strong>405 kJ</strong>, +3 kJ over <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/10/01/hit-a-new.html\">prior</a>. Redlined the entire last half of the ride. #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/038a84367b.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 30-min Metal Ride showing 405 kJ output, 643 calories, 148 avg heart rate, and heart rate zone chart over 30 minutes.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-10-28T21:17:06-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/10/28/got-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/10/01/hit-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Hit a new 30-min PR and passed 400 kJ of output in <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/d3fe48954102437bb5ef3ac773b6db4c\">Irène Sholz EDM Ride</a>. <strong>402 kJ</strong>, +8 over <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/08/18/just-barely-put.html\">previous PR</a>. 48% of ride at or above VO2 Max range. Was completely gassed by the end. #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/74c6398172.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary showing 402 kJ output, 608 calories, 30 minutes with 48 percent of ride at or above VO2 Max zone.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-10-01T08:29:33-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/10/01/hit-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/09/26/hit-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Hit a new 60-min PR in <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/89b0c0c8ec41436ca8d702af7c9105c6\">Matt Wilpers Power Zone Endurance Ride</a> this morning! <strong>653 kJ</strong>, a 10% jump over previous 591 kJ. It was a Zone 2 / 3 ride but I felt my zones were a little low so I rode more Zone 3 / 4. Should do a new FTP test. 🙌🚴🏼‍♂️🏆</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/dee12bec2f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton power zone ride stats showing 60 min 653 kJ output 1241 cal 181W avg with zone breakdown chart\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-09-26T08:27:53-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/26/hit-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/09/20/hit-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Hit a new 45-minute PR on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> this morning in Jenn Sherman’s class. <strong>553 kJ.</strong> Not sure about Yacht Rock for spinning though. 😬 Helped to a PR with <strong>byteCoder</strong>, <strong>YukonJack</strong>, <strong>coppel87</strong>, and <strong>AreBurns</strong>. 🙌 #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/1531cf50ee.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary showing 45-min Yacht Rock Ride stats: 553 kJ output, 1003 cal, 155 avg BPM, 170 max BPM, heart rate zone chart over time.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e570158ed4.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary showing 45-min Yacht Rock Ride stats: 553 kJ output, 1003 calories, 205W avg, with power zone breakdown chart.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-09-20T11:15:29-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/20/hit-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/09/12/root-river-trail.html",
        "title": "Root River Trail, Lanesboro to Peterson",
        "content_html": "<p>Tammy and I had a great 28 mile out-and-back ride on the <a href=\"https://www.rootrivertrail.org\">Root River Trail</a> today. We went east from Lanesboro and rode to Peterson. With Covid-19 some places were closed. We were bummed to find Aroma Pie Shoppe, our favorite stop for pie in Whalan, was closed for the season. We did get a snack in Peterson at Burdey&rsquo;s Cafe and turned around.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/246aae33d8.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Workout summary map showing a 27.96-mile cycling route winding along a river valley, completed in 125 minutes at 4 minutes 29 seconds per mile.\" />\n<p>The trail was in fabulous shape and the temperatures where in the mid-60&rsquo;s all day. It was a great day for riding. The rain held while we were on the trail too!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/25f102bdcc.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Paved bike trail crosses a historic steel pony truss bridge over a calm river flanked by forested green hills under cloudy skies\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e2f68d3d27.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two cyclists in helmets smile for a selfie on a tree-lined paved trail on an overcast day.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/837199036e.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Three people rowing a small wooden dory on the Root River, surrounded by lush green tree-covered bluffs under cloudy skies.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/6128a1061d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two cyclists in masks and bike helmets take a selfie beside a giant garden gnome and a Peterson Welcomes You sign.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/8dbfa09693.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two cyclists in helmets posing in front of the Welcome to Whalan sign, Home of the Stand Still Parade, surrounded by green trees.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/6b28f5d24f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Root River curving through a wooded valley with sandy banks and green tree-covered hills under overcast skies\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-09-12T21:29:49-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/12/root-river-trail.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/09/12/lanesboro-is-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Lanesboro is a great central location on the <a href=\"https://www.rootrivertrail.org\">Root River Trail</a> to explore a variety of different cities in Southern Minnesota.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/7e985ab825.jpg\" width=\"599\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Railroad crossing sign post in Lanesboro with directional signs showing distances to Preston, Fountain, Harmony, Whalan, Peterson, Rushford, and Houston\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/909f86ef80.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Railroad crossing sign on the Root River Trail with distance markers to Preston, Fountain, Harmony and other towns, beside a paved trail in Lanesboro Minnesota.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-09-12T21:22:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/12/lanesboro-is-a.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/09/02/ride-the-dakota.html",
        "title": "Ride the Dakota Rail Regional Trail",
        "content_html": "<p>With the kids away with their cousin for a couple of days, I cleared my calendar and Tammy and I took a day to ourselves. We got started early with a big bike ride. We drove out to Wayzata and had a delicious breakfast outside at <a href=\"https://thegrocerstablemn.com\">The Grocer&rsquo;s Table</a>. Then we went to the start of the start of the <a href=\"https://www.threeriversparks.org/location/dakota-rail-regional-trail/\">Dakota Rail Regional Trail</a> and took off. The trail was great with wonderful views in all directions. When we got to Lake Waconia we turned around. We put <strong>33 miles</strong> in on the out and back.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/1615c2db77.jpg\" width=\"375\" height=\"350\" alt=\"GPS route map showing a 33-mile out-and-back bike trail from Wayzata west to Lake Waconia through Mound and Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota.\" />\n<p>In addition to breakfast we stopped on our ride back for a fun round of mini golf at <a href=\"http://bigstoneminigolf.com\">Big Stone Mini Golf</a>. This is the <a href=\"http://bigstoneminigolf.com/?ID=Map\">best mini golf place</a> that I&rsquo;ve been. You are surrounded by stone sculpture too. After we finished golfing we wandered through the <a href=\"http://bigstoneminigolf.com/?ID=OG\">sculpture garden</a>. After the round of mini golf we stopped for lunch at <a href=\"https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g43343-d4842885-Reviews-Dakota_Junction-Mound_Minnesota.html\">Dakota Junction</a> in Mound and then finished the last few miles back to Wayzata. What a great way to spend a morning!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/11b423286a.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two cyclists wearing helmets take a selfie on a paved tree-lined bike trail on a sunny day.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/ff9818cf0d.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two smiling people pose for a selfie in front of a large stone sculpture carved with the word love surrounded by trees\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e3f3454a86.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Two rusty horseshoe-welded horse sculptures on grass beside a wooden bench and an oversized outdoor chess set, surrounded by trees.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/3eaa7aec24.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Large black metal sculpture of a wolf-like creature holding a staff, displayed outdoors near a pond fountain surrounded by trees.\" />\n<p>After our great bike ride, we went for an <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/02/kayaking-the-crow.html\">afternoon kayak</a>!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-09-02T16:31:15-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/09/02/ride-the-dakota.html",
        "tags": ["Games","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/08/31/thumbs-cookies-were.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p><a href=\"https://www.thumbscookies.com\">Thumbs Cookies</a> were a perfect snack at the end of a long bike ride. Their KIRBY mobile unit was in Linden Hills.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/5b650fa033.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Hand holding a kraft paper box filled with chocolate chip cookie pieces from the Thumbs Cookies food truck in a parking lot behind\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-08-31T21:36:50-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/08/31/thumbs-cookies-were.html",
        "tags": ["Restaurants","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/08/31/tammy-and-i.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Tammy and I had a perfect night for a gorgeous 15 mile ride around the the chain of lakes.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/39fbb15215.jpg\" width=\"375\" height=\"527\" alt=\"GPS route map of a 15-mile bike ride around Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, color-coded yellow to orange.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-08-31T21:12:03-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/08/31/tammy-and-i.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/08/28/got-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Got a new 45 minute PR this morning in <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/703ce835697b4f18b307a3dec323887a\">Sam Yo’s class</a>! 122 out of 1,443 riders live. 523 kJ total output. 🚴🏼‍♂️🏆💪</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/989d083cac.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 45-min pop ride showing power zones chart, 523 kJ output, 911 cal, 194W avg, 50 pct resistance, 81 rpm cadence.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-08-28T08:27:59-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/08/28/got-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/08/18/just-barely-put.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Just barely put up another PR this morning in <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/30c66787248a4a2da72c8bb2f8c130dd\">Kendall Toole’s Metal Ride</a>. <strong>394 kJ</strong> (+1 over previous). Strong finish with Master of Puppets at the end. 🤘 #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/6eb1f11fcd.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 30-minute metal ride showing 394 kJ output, 649 calories, power zone chart, and effort breakdown by zone.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-08-18T07:59:56-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/08/18/just-barely-put.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/08/13/hit-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Hit a new <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/80a8c89d95344488b86b585b959508b5\">30-minute spin PR</a> this morning! 393 kJ (+11 from previous). #FitByFIfty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/abd4c1a330.jpg\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary showing 393 kJ output over 30 minutes with power zone breakdown and 218 watt average output.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2020-08-13T17:10:08-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/08/13/hit-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/07/12/family-bike-ride.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Family bike ride with Dairy Queen in the middle! 🍦🚴🏼‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚴🏼‍♂️🚴‍♀️</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/18af3365ee.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Family of four in bike helmets taking a selfie outside a Dairy Queen and Regency Inn on a sunny day.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-07-12T15:34:07-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/07/12/family-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/07/06/family-bike-ride.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Family bike ride on <a href=\"https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/sakatah/index.html\">Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail</a> to Dairy Queen and back. Perfect 10 mile ride! 🚴🏼‍♂️🍦</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/4d9d63e7d1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Man taking a selfie on a paved trail while three children ride bicycles behind him, surrounded by green trees and grass.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-07-06T15:54:50-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/07/06/family-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/06/25/new-minute-pr.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>New <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/fa6fd55f74614ebcbe9f44437a5757b6\">30-minute PR</a> this morning! 378 kJ (+2 from previous). 39% of the time anaerobic! 🚴🏼‍♂️ #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/ef0681a762.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary screen showing 30-min ride stats: 591 cal, 378 kJ output, 210W avg, 57% resistance, 72 rpm cadence, 39% anaerobic capacity.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-06-25T07:43:47-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/06/25/new-minute-pr.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/06/17/hit-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Hit a new <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/be513f40dd68480b8b0067a8c8c3e0e4\">30-min PR spinning</a> this morning. 376 kJ, +10 kJ over previous PR. 🙌 #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/6a954372ae.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton ride stats for a 30-min EDM ride showing 603 calories, 376 kJ output, 209W avg, 53 pct resistance, 79 rpm cadence with output graph over time.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-06-17T07:42:44-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/06/17/hit-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/06/12/i-hit-my.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I hit my Century Ride on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> today! Did <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/e6fe48125351419693c09accbbb3594c\">my 100th ride</a> with Ally Love’s 30-min 90s Ride. #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/a52021453f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"190\" alt=\"Peloton workout output graph showing power over time, best 361 watts and average 180 watts, with orange-to-red colored line.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/b5be8ef367.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"576\" alt=\"Six Peloton cycling milestone badges: First Ride, 10 Rides, 25 Rides, 50 Rides, 75 Rides, and Century Club at 100 Rides.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-06-12T23:24:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/06/12/i-hit-my.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/05/26/i-hit-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I hit a new <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/ef71aad996c24b0d8d7940bbdeb8312d\">30-min PR</a> doing Jess King’s House Ride tonight. I pushed hard, the music was great. #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/f37a7e2bb9.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 30-min house ride showing 623 calories, 362 kj output, 201 avg watts, 144 avg bpm, and a heart rate zone chart.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-05-26T21:31:06-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/05/26/i-hit-a.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/05/22/hit-a-new.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Hit a new <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/2916fef90ad240f4891dcd0174caa540\">30-minute PR</a> this morning on my <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> Bike! Felt great too! #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/1701936baf.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 30-min Feel Good Ride on May 22 2020 showing 613 calories, 350 kJ output, 143 bpm avg heart rate, and 167 bpm max heart rate.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/dfd2945fad.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 30-minute Feel Good Ride on May 22 2020, showing 613 calories, 350 kJ output, and power zone breakdown chart.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-05-22T17:24:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/05/22/hit-a-new.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/05/20/solid-climbing-intervals.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Solid climbing intervals in this morning’s <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/bcd294677ce0441d8452aae5e2e70b1c\">30-minute spin workout</a>. I like how the charts look. 📈 #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/ef2b6c6760.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary showing 30-minute hip hop ride with 593 calories, 320kj output, 178 watts avg, and a blue output graph with climbing intervals.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-05-20T22:17:51-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/05/20/solid-climbing-intervals.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/05/14/nice-spin-session.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Nice spin session on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> this morning, <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/58931eac01f14ab7ab964ed6ba9dc073\">30-min Rock &amp; Roll class</a> with Emma Lovewell! Geeky fun looking at the mPaceline graphs. #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/9e575489ab.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"mPaceLine heart rate zone graph for a 30-min Peloton rock ride showing 619 cal, 321 kJ output, 179W avg, 145 avg HR, 164 max HR\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/c35355e491.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary for a 30-min Rock Ride showing heart rate zones, 619 calories burned, 321 kJ output, 179W avg, 82 rpm avg cadence.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-05-14T20:55:52-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/05/14/nice-spin-session.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/05/09/first-peloton-ftp.html",
        "title": "First Peloton FTP Test",
        "content_html": "<p>I did <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/e8eda2d374d44b5cb3620b137e61c024\">my first Functional Threshold Power test</a> today. This is a good way to measure my fitness progress over time. <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> doesn&rsquo;t advertise it much, but they have some great built-in capabilities for power. After you do an FTP test ride for example, the bike automatically prompts you to store your average wattage and then in all rides going forward you get a realtime power meter that is customized to you.</p>\n<p>There is no good or bad for this. I did struggle with holding my power over the course of the 20 minute test. I felt pretty spent by the time it got to the last exertion level.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/b4923ca37e.jpg\" alt=\"Peloton FTP test results showing 20 min ride with 454 cal, 282 kj output, 235 avg watts, 57 pct resistance, 77 rpm, and power zone breakdown chart.\">\n<p>The heart rate graph is a little off. I’m using mPaceline for this and it has my Max HR a little higher than it should be. The main thing I took away from HR was that I was giving it my full effort. I also think my HR was higher than it should have been for the Zone 4 and 5 sections.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/626d1ed11e.jpg\" alt=\"Peloton FTP test ride stats showing 20 minutes, 454 calories, 282 kJ output, 235W avg, 158 bpm avg HR, 83% time in Threshold zone.\">\n<p>I’m going to do one of these tests every 6-12 weeks to check-in on progress.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-05-09T06:46:24-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/05/09/first-peloton-ftp.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/05/05/playing-with-mpaceline.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Playing with <a href=\"https://megsoftware.com\">mPaceline</a> to see longer term trends in my <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> bike work. Love this graph showing that I’m generating more power for same heart rate. 🚴🏼‍♂️ #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/00c14bfd54.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"584\" alt=\"Line chart of 34 Peloton workouts showing Watts per bpm trending upward from about 0.75 to 1.25 over time.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-05-05T22:37:30-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/05/05/playing-with-mpaceline.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/05/04/the-graphs-that.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>The graphs that <a href=\"https://megsoftware.com/\">mPaceline</a> makes from your <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> bike rides are pretty impressive. I am looking for ways to track progress over longer time periods. #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/21c202e2a7.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Peloton workout summary graph for a 30-minute 80s Rock Ride on April 25 2020, showing output, cadence, resistance, and power curve data.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-05-04T22:25:51-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/05/04/the-graphs-that.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/04/30/my-defiant-one.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>My <a href=\"https://defiantbicycles.com/bikes/\">Defiant One</a> Fat Bike still puts a big smile on my face.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/7ebc2429e1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Man in a Mickey Mouse shirt and bike helmet standing with a black Defiant fat-tire electric bike on a suburban driveway.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-04-30T22:01:50-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/04/30/my-defiant-one.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/04/29/wasnt-expecting-or.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Wasn’t expecting or trying, but surprised myself with a new <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/788234e5964b4c45809b6b4fd72a3f1b\">20-min spinning PR</a> this morning on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a>. 🙌🚴🏼‍♂️ #FitByFifty</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-04-29T07:23:34-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/04/29/wasnt-expecting-or.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/04/25/another-great-peloton.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Another great <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> spin class with fellow #TeamSPS members this morning — <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/25e05804bc904acd844111d852f6ace6\">30 min 80s Rock Ride</a>! #FitByFifty 🚴‍♂️</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-04-25T11:31:51-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/04/25/another-great-peloton.html",
        "tags": ["TeamSPS","Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/04/02/great-min-spin.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Great <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/cf576002e2aa4e549c3479ae846336e0\">30 min spin class</a> on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> today! #FitByFifty</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/8cf940c992.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"204\" alt=\"Power output graph from a Peloton spin class showing best output of 412 watts and average of 168 watts over 30 minutes.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2020-04-02T19:17:02-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/04/02/great-min-spin.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/03/28/did-a-great.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Did a great <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/7d8495a7e91845ccbca32fb3b7e26e46\">45-minute spin class</a> on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> today! #FitByFifty</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-03-28T19:44:57-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/03/28/did-a-great.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/03/27/i-set-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I set a <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/1f67a09f41854534b190b17052e7e9aa\">new 20-min PR</a> on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> today! 🙌 #FitByFifty</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-03-27T20:32:05-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/03/27/i-set-a.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2020/03/23/awesome-spin-class.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Awesome spin class on <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> with Jess King in the new studio. Great EDM music. <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/de681930f3f34e51886349bcd56b3ab8\">30 min EDM/Electronic Dance Ride</a> #FitByFifty</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2020-03-23T17:56:54-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2020/03/23/awesome-spin-class.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling","Fit by Fifty"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/09/14/finished-a-saturday.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Finished a Saturday morning Peloton spin class. I need to remember how good it feels to do that. 😅👍🚴‍♂️</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-09-14T10:37:18-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/09/14/finished-a-saturday.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/07/06/family-bike-ride.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Family bike ride to DQ!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2019/24c14c8968.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Group of cyclists including adults and children riding bikes on a paved tree-lined trail on a sunny day\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2019-07-06T11:48:19-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/07/06/family-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/06/22/blew-away-previous.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Blew away previous 45-min PR and spent <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/7f6d4edc8a9c45d0955410a1df4c83fb\">17% of the spin in Zone 5</a>! 🤜🤛</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-06-22T11:49:36-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/06/22/blew-away-previous.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/06/16/started-fathers-day.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Started Father’s Day off with a <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/5732ea7f7bc74e9091cf9a289280b3e7\">60-minute PR</a> in Jenn Sherman’s Epic Sing Along ride! 🙌🚴🏼‍♂️😅</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-06-16T10:51:33-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/06/16/started-fathers-day.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/05/19/was-planning-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Was planning a moderate 60 minute spin, but <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/559a7868755a4aff9dfc0b08af3c862b\">ended up with a PR</a>! Nice. 🙌</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-05-19T12:17:55-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/05/19/was-planning-a.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/05/18/another-saturday-another.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Another Saturday, <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/0fa0a4a0d7434bdf90f418acb6ea62f5\">another PR</a>! Plus hit 102% MHR! 🚴🏼‍♂️</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-05-18T16:36:14-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/05/18/another-saturday-another.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/05/11/new-pr-for.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p><a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/870752e112644043bad6706d46f28c73\">New PR for 45 min spin</a> today! 14% in Zone 5 HR! 🙌🏻</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-05-11T22:14:18-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/05/11/new-pr-for.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/05/05/currently-on-this.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Currently 564/2,591 on <a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/8987abb9ef9f4df3a99d7c4a353e4ddc\">this mornings spin</a>! The Peloton leaderboard definitely gets me pushing harder.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-05-05T10:38:30-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/05/05/currently-on-this.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/04/21/new-pr-for.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p><a href=\"https://members.onepeloton.com/profile/workouts/f4ccb423c0884e3b93323d456b8b82c4\">New PR</a> for 45 minute spin today! 🚴🏼‍♂️💦🙌</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2019-04-21T18:25:45-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/04/21/new-pr-for.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Workouts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/04/02/we-had-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>We had a fun time seeing Austin on 2-wheels with <a href=\"https://yourbikergang.com\">Your Biker Gang</a> today! Super cool electric bikes too!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2019/7d05a8a4b9.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Group of five people wearing helmets and goggles pose with electric motorcycles on a sunny Austin street.\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2019/7e2213c1c8.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Woman and girl wearing helmets and goggles seated on a black electric scooter outside Your Biker Gang in Austin Texas\" />\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2019/8143cd0357.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Your Biker Gang circular sign established 2017 with skull logo in front of several black electric scooters parked on gravel\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2019-04-02T16:42:29-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/04/02/we-had-a.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Texas Spring Break 2019"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2019/03/13/did-my-first.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Did my first spin workout on my <a href=\"https://www.onepeloton.com\">Peloton</a> Bike tonight. I was impressed with the bike and the class. It is a very good home workout experience. I love the data and graphs you get too! 🚴‍♂️</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2019/e2044201ff.jpg\" width=\"215\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Peloton app summary of a 20-minute beginner cycling workout showing 123 kj output, 5.3 miles, 163 calories, and performance graphs.\" style=\"width: 215px; max-width: 215px;\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2019-03-13T21:12:26-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2019/03/13/did-my-first.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/07/26/biked-into-work.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Biked into work today! 🚲 Two weeks makes the start of a streak.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2018-07-26T08:41:14-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/07/26/biked-into-work.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/07/19/backed-stages-card.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Backed <a href=\"https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/briteidea/stages-card-game-can-you-win-the-tour-de-france\">Stages Card Game</a> on Kickstarter, a grand tour bicycle race themed card game! 🚲</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2018-07-19T09:17:37-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/07/19/backed-stages-card.html",
        "tags": ["Games","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/07/14/bike-ride-ice.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Bike ride ice cream stop. 🍦</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2018/532455bb26.jpg\" alt=\"Four people holding ice cream cones outdoors on grass, flavors include mint chip, chocolate, and strawberry in waffle cones.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2018-07-14T17:50:06-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/07/14/bike-ride-ice.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/07/07/184319.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Mazie and I had a great 18.4 mile bike ride today on the <a href=\"https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/sakatah/index.html\">Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail</a>. This has to be one of the nicest rides in the state, with much of it under the shade of trees. 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2018/01da93d6a5.jpg\" alt=\"Map showing a bike route along Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail from Warsaw through Morristown past Sakatah Lake State Park to Waterville Minnesota\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2018-07-07T13:43:19-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/07/07/184319.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/07/06/the-best-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>The best bike rides have a Dairy Queen in the middle! 🚴‍♂️ + 🍦 = 😊</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2018/16dc0126f7.jpg\" alt=\"Family with bikes stopped at a Dairy Queen on a sunny day, enjoying ice cream outside the brick building.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2018-07-06T14:07:47-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/07/06/the-best-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/07/06/i-got-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I got a <a href=\"https://www.specialized.com/us/en/crosstrail---hydraulic-disc/p/129173?color=239899-129173\">Specialized Crosstrail</a> bike today. 🚴‍♂️ Took it for a brief ride tonight and really like it. A great value for the price. 👍🏻</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2018/caf7374679.jpg\" alt=\"Specialized Crosstrail hydraulic disc hybrid bike in matte black with blue accents, Shimano drivetrain, disc brakes, and suspension fork\" width=\"600\" height=\"344\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2018-07-05T20:44:38-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/07/05/i-got-a.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/06/15/nice-family-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Nice family bike ride around Lake Harriet tonight.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2018/48489d9771.jpg\" alt=\"Child in white shirt and helmet riding a blue bike along a paved park trail lined with green trees and grass\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2018-06-14T20:57:43-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/06/14/nice-family-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/05/07/i-think-if.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I think if you averaged all bike rides in Minneapolis today, you would get my ride around the three main lakes.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2018/b309710a46.jpg\" alt=\"Map of a bike route around Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis with a small loop near Lake of the Isles.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2018-05-06T20:24:07-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/05/06/i-think-if.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/02/05/snowy-trail-from.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Snowy trail from today’s bike ride. Went down once.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2018/a90f581128.jpg\" alt=\"Fat tire bike handlebar with GPS computer, pointed down a narrow snow-covered trail through bare winter trees.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2018-02-04T20:11:29-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/02/04/snowy-trail-from.html",
        "tags": ["Weather","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2018/02/04/did-a-very.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Did a very short ride on my Fat Bike in the snow. It&rsquo;s so much fun to ride around in the snow. I need to do that more, and dress warmer for it too!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2018-02-04T17:06:33-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2018/02/04/did-a-very.html",
        "tags": ["Weather","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/11/05/nice-chilly-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Nice, chilly bike ride around the Minneapolis lakes today. Had to get the balaclava out! The Defiant One is still great!</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/6321ae56d8.jpg\" alt=\"GPS route map of a bike ride looping around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, finishing near 50th Street.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" /><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/d409eaee61.jpg\" alt=\"Person wearing a white bike helmet, black Seirus balaclava, and Columbia Titanium jacket on a residential street in winter.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" /></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2017-11-05T16:40:39-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/11/05/nice-chilly-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/09/23/family-bike-ride.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Family bike ride to <a href=\"https://www.bakers-wife.com\">Baker’s Wife</a> / <a href=\"https://www.angrycatfishbicycle.com\">Angry Catfish</a> was great this morning. We have wonderful bike paths in Minneapolis.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/3ffd8341cc.jpg\" alt=\"GPS route map of a family bike ride through south Minneapolis near Lake Harriet and Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-09-23T12:44:37-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/09/23/family-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/09/23/i-enjoyed-the.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>I enjoyed the <a href=\"http://defiantbicycles.com/shop_bikes/electricfat\">Defiant One fat tire bike</a> so much that I ended up buying one! Took it for an inaugural ride this morning! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2017-09-23T11:55:02-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/09/23/i-enjoyed-the.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/09/14/rode-bike-to.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Rode bike to work for the first time in years and years. Great route and great ride on <a href=\"http://defiantbicycles.com/shop_bikes/electricfat\">Defiant One</a>!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/ec82438843.jpg\" alt=\"Map of Minneapolis showing a bike route from Lake Harriet north to downtown Minneapolis along Dupont Ave S and Chicago Ave S.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-09-14T08:05:34-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/09/14/rode-bike-to.html",
        "tags": ["Work","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/09/10/out-for-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Out for a ride on <a href=\"http://defiantbicycles.com/shop_bikes/electricfat\">Defiant One</a> again. No trailer and not using assist today. Great ride! 🚲</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/6d02b239d1.jpg\" alt=\"Black Defiant fat-tire electric bicycle leaning against a tree on a city sidewalk.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-09-10T16:56:17-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/09/10/out-for-a.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/09/09/took-the-defiant.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Took the <a href=\"http://defiantbicycles.com/shop_bikes/electricfat\">Defiant One</a> out for a test run and 🖤 it!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/1cf05963ca.jpg\" alt=\"Defiant One electric fat bike with wide knobby tires and black frame parked on grass\" width=\"600\" height=\"599\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-09-09T16:04:10-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/09/09/took-the-defiant.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/08/02/final-day-of.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Final day of riding with <a href=\"http://brokenpaddleguiding.com\">Broken Paddle Guiding</a>.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/7a3e69dbd1.jpg\" alt=\"Route map showing a cycling path from north of Pepin Wisconsin south along the Mississippi River to Nelson Wisconsin on Highway 35.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-08-02T13:34:56-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/08/02/final-day-of.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/08/01/todays-ride-nice.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Today&rsquo;s ride - nice day! 🚴🏻</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/22367371b9.jpg\" alt=\"Map showing a cycling route from Durand to Pepin Wisconsin along the Mississippi River, approximately 30 miles with varied traffic conditions.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-08-01T15:12:29-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/08/01/todays-ride-nice.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/08/01/nice-spot-for.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Nice spot for lunch today. 🚴🏻</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/f55468e803.jpg\" alt=\"Rocky shoreline with a small dock on a calm river, tree shade in foreground, green bluffs across the water under a hazy sky.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-08-01T13:46:49-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/08/01/nice-spot-for.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/07/31/mile-ride-today.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>30 mile ride today. Longest cycling ride in years. Good amount of climbing too.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/ff31cbc2e3.jpg\" alt=\"Map showing a 30-mile cycling route near Buffalo City and Alma, Wisconsin along the Mississippi River on Highway 35.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-07-31T16:44:17-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/07/31/mile-ride-today.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/07/31/starting-our-day.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Starting our 3-day Inn to Inn bike trip in the bluffs!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/a6f7278766.jpg\" alt=\"Two people smiling for a selfie outdoors, one wearing a white cycling helmet and bike jersey before a 3-day inn-to-inn bike trip.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-07-31T11:01:03-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/07/31/starting-our-day.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/07/06/bicycle-as-installation.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Bicycle as installation art. In Grand Forks, ND.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/53058fec22.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-07-05T21:30:36-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/07/05/bicycle-as-installation.html",
        "tags": ["Arts","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/07/03/trying-to-explain.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Trying to explain the 21 stages of the Tour de France 🚴‍♀️🇫🇷 to my 7 year old. &ldquo;How long would it take for them to ride around the world?&rdquo; Not going well. 😊</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2017-07-03T07:22:51-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/07/03/trying-to-explain.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/06/04/005945.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Mess-o-Bikes!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/b70f9dc552.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-06-03T19:59:45-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/06/04/005945.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/05/28/evening-bike-ride.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Evening bike ride with the kids to Shager Park beach on Cannon Lake.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/594d7a1987.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-05-28T18:49:35-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/05/28/evening-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/05/20/fabulous-spin-class.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Fabulous spin class this morning. High intensity, felt good.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/bdd653b8b9.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-05-20T10:46:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/05/20/fabulous-spin-class.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2017/05/06/big-effort-today.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Big effort today in spin class at Urban Cycle.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2017/212d5eb96f.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" style=\"height: auto\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2017-05-06T10:26:31-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2017/05/06/big-effort-today.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2016/07/30/bike-tour-stop.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Bike tour stop at Portland Headlight!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2021/e0b8ad1153.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Two people posing near a railing with Portland Head Light lighthouse and rocky coastline behind them on a sunny day.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2016-07-30T11:18:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2016/07/30/bike-tour-stop.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Maine 2016"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2016/07/03/awesome-that-nbcsportsgold.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Awesome that <a href=\"https://www.nbcsports.com/gold\">NBC Sports Gold</a> is native app on Apple TV. Great <a href=\"https://www.letour.fr/en/\">Tour de France</a> experience.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2016-07-03T08:16:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2016/07/03/awesome-that-nbcsportsgold.html",
        "tags": ["Movies","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2016/04/30/122349.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Renewed my <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> subscription for this year!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2016-04-30T07:23:49-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2016/04/30/122349.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2016/03/13/first-family-bike.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>First family bike ride of 2016 today!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/80bfce6f-2d05-4c1c-a070-8a200c4f3762.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Woman and two children posing with bicycles on a driveway, both kids wearing helmets, small wooden shed and evergreen trees behind them.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2016-03-12T21:28:02-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2016/03/12/first-family-bike.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2015/10/31/can-my-heart.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Can my heart rate be sent from my Apple Watch to the Apple TV? Maybe via iPhone? Could make for great dynamic cycling workout apps on TV.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2015-10-31T17:14:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2015/10/31/can-my-heart.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Apple"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2015/03/14/020648.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Renewed my <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> subscription. Ready for the green bikes to show up!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2015-03-13T21:06:48-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2015/03/13/020648.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2014/07/06/tdf-begun.html",
        "title": "2014 TdF Begun",
        "content_html": "<p>Enjoying stage 2 with my viewing station all setup. <a href=\"https://jawbone.com/speakers/minijambox\">Mini Jambox</a> is critical addition.</p>\n<p><em>(I wish I could watch the World Cup this easily without a cable subscription!)</em></p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/9d43f52864.jpg\" alt=\"Tablet propped on a kitchen counter streaming a cycling race peloton, with a teal Jawbone Mini Jambox speaker balanced on top and charging cables nearby.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2014-07-06T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2014/07/06/tdf-begun.html",
        "tags": ["Movies","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2014/07/02/will-be-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Soccer will be a little less exciting now with USA out of the World Cup but still looking forward to matches. ⚽️</p>\n<p>Tour de France starts this weekend! 🚴</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2014-07-01T21:06:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2014/07/01/will-be-a.html",
        "tags": ["Sports","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2014/06/08/bike-the-border.html",
        "title": "Bike the Border",
        "content_html": "<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/f5067717f9.jpg\" alt=\"North Dakota Bike the Border Bicycle Tour cycling jersey in blue, white, and red with US and Canadian flags on the chest.\">\n<p>I helped my Uncle Tim get a new website up and running for <a href=\"http://biketheborder.com\">Bike the Border</a>, a bike ride in North Dakota that he has started running.  Another case where WordPress was able to deliver a really great CMS. In return, he set me up with this really nice jersey.</p>\n<p>He&rsquo;s going to be in the Twin Cities on July 4th and is going to join us for the <a href=\"http://www.biketcbc.org/\">Twin Cities Bicycling Club</a> <a href=\"http://www.biketcbc.org/joomla/index.php/26-events/138-watermelon-ride\">Watermelon Ride</a>. We are going to be sporting our matching jerseys! Thanks Uncle Tim!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2014-06-08T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2014/06/08/bike-the-border.html",
        "tags": ["Software Development","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2014/06/08/family-bike-ride.html",
        "title": "Family Bike Ride",
        "content_html": "<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/04429750d2.jpg\" alt=\"Three people in bike helmets stand with bicycles in a sunny backyard, including a green Weehoo recumbent trailer bike attached to one of the adult bikes.\">\n<p>We have been trying to get a good family bike ride in each day on the weekends. It was a great day today and Tyler got to get his first ride on his new <a href=\"http://rideweehoo.com\">Weehoo</a>.  Tammy discovered the Weehoo really liked it. I&rsquo;ve pulled the kids in the <a href=\"http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/thule-chariot\">Chariot</a> (now owned by Thule) as well as the <a href=\"http://www.rei.com/product/851189/novara-afterburner-20-trailer-bike\">Novara trailer bike</a>. The Weehoo is heads and shoulders over both of them. The trailer bikes always feel like they are pulling my bike to one side. The Chariot was fine but the kids didn&rsquo;t have a lot of fun.</p>\n<p>The Weehoo is a wonderful mix:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p>It is a recumbent design so the kid is safe, has a nice seat and a\nthree-point harness.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>Because the kid rides low, the center of gravity is pretty low and\nit doesn&rsquo;t tug on the bike.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>The way it attaches to the seat post is well done. It rotates easily\nand cannot come off.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n<p>Tyler loved it. About the only thing that I&rsquo;m not very impressed with on the Weehoo are the pedal straps. They seem poorly designed and are a pain to get strapped together.</p>\n<p>If your looking to go riding with your kid, even when they are still pretty little, give the Weehoo a serious look.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2014-06-08T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2014/06/08/family-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2014/06/08/kubb-at-lake.html",
        "title": "Kubb at Lake Harriet",
        "content_html": "<p>Most of the time when I see people playing <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubb\">Kubb</a> around Minneapolis they are folks I know from <a href=\"http://minnesotakubb.com\">Minnesota Kubb</a>. It was fun today to stop on a bike ride around <a href=\"http://www.minneapolisparks.org/?PageID=4&amp;parkid=266\">Lake Harriet</a> and right by the bandshell were 6 women having a nice game of Kubb. They were playing with a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006A3LWS/\">Bex set</a>, the pitch was a bit small and they were doing that weird thing where you stack field kubbs on top of each other. But, they were having a blast throwing wood!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/0e93b27708.jpg\" alt=\"Six women playing Kubb on a grassy park lawn on a sunny day, with wooden game pieces set up on the ground.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2014-06-08T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2014/06/08/kubb-at-lake.html",
        "tags": ["Kubb","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2014/04/14/140347.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Renewed my <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> subscription. Looking forward to another year with green bikes at the ready.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2014-04-14T09:03:47-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2014/04/14/140347.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2013/07/04/having-a-great.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Having a great time with the family on the TCBC Watermelon Ride!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2013-07-04T11:30:08-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2013/07/04/having-a-great.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2013/06/15/got-this-i.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Got this “I Biked” sticker for riding my bike to the park tonight.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/41f2e5672c.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"426\" alt=\"Green I BIKED sticker from bikewalkweek.org affixed to a plaid North River shirt.\" />\n",
        "date_published": "2013-06-14T21:57:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2013/06/14/got-this-i.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2013/05/10/renewed-my-niceridemn.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Renewed my <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> subscription. Such a great service!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2013-05-10T11:04:20-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2013/05/10/renewed-my-niceridemn.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2013/04/27/whats-the-big.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>What’s the big problem with having wires on your bike computer?! I like wires!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2013-04-27T15:21:56-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2013/04/27/whats-the-big.html",
        "tags": ["Technology","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2013/04/27/201709.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Trying to buy tubes for my road bike. Every tube has equal number of 1 star and 5 star reviews. 😕</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2013-04-27T15:17:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2013/04/27/201709.html",
        "tags": ["Technology","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2013/04/27/201432.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Just finished a fabulous bike ride on my road bike without pulling a kid behind me. Awesome.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2013-04-27T15:14:32-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2013/04/27/201432.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2013/04/21/142547.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Strong hour on my spin bike. Felt good. Legs had a lot left if them. My Vitamix treat after the spin.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2024/img-8963.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" alt=\"Red Vitamix 5200 blender on a dark granite counter filled with strawberries, mango chunks, berries, and milk ready to blend.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2013-04-21T14:25:47-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2013/04/21/142547.html",
        "tags": ["Cooking","Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2012/05/02/now-niceridemn-as.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>23,307 now. 🙂</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https://twitter.com/niceridemn\">@niceridemn</a>: As of today, we&rsquo;ve been up and running for a month - we&rsquo;re at 23,306 rides so far this season #bikeshare</p>\n</blockquote>\n",
        "date_published": "2012-05-02T10:37:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2012/05/02/now-niceridemn-as.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2012/04/25/201027.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>There is something wrong about the <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> fob being made to attach to a keychain.</p>\n<p>Would rather have a card that I could keep in my wallet to get <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> bikes.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2012-04-25T20:10:27-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2012/04/25/201027.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2012/03/25/got-my-niceridemn.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Got my <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> token. Excited to use the green bikes.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2012-03-25T13:15:43-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2012/03/25/got-my-niceridemn.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2012/03/16/decided-to-subscribe.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Decided to subscribe to <a href=\"https://www.niceridemn.com\">Nice Ride</a> this year.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2012-03-16T09:57:36-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2012/03/16/decided-to-subscribe.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2011/11/20/tammys-favorite-picture.html",
        "title": "Tammy's Favorite Picture of Me",
        "content_html": "<p>Tammy went digging deep into our Lightroom library looking for photos for our new exercise room. She told me she had found her &ldquo;favorite picture&rdquo; of me. I was very curious what picture it was. I like it. This is from the finish of the 2004 <a href=\"http://cheqfattire.com/\">Chequamegon Fat 40</a>. The kid in the background is out of place though, a little Photoshop could deal with that.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/d1a853b682.jpg\" alt=\"Mud-covered man sitting on the ground at a mountain bike race finish area, gloves in hand, bikes scattered around him, trees and a shed in the background.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2011-11-20T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2011/11/20/tammys-favorite-picture.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2010/12/31/cyclists-at-yum.html",
        
        "content_html": "<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e674b058e9.jpg\" alt=\"Green VW Passat wagon with KBS Pro Cycling team sponsor wraps and a bike rack on the roof, parked in a snowy lot.\">\n<p>Spotted the <a href=\"http://www.kbsprocycling.com/\">KBS Pro Cycling</a> team having\nlunch at <a href=\"http://www.yumkitchen.com/\">Yum! Bakery</a>.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2010-12-31T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2010/12/31/cyclists-at-yum.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/08/23/no-content-found.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Very nice 16 mile ride with Tammy, Michelle and\n<a href=\"http://www.iwilltri.com/\">Hector</a>.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2009-08-23T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/08/23/no-content-found.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/06/26/flying-scotsman.html",
        "title": "Flying Scotsman",
        "content_html": "<p>Good movie all bout <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Obree\">Graeme Obree</a>&rsquo;s pursuit of various cycling records.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/34a846ff0c.jpg\" alt=\"Movie poster showing a smiling man in cycling gear raising his arms in victory wearing a gold medal against a dramatic sunset sky.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2009-06-26T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/06/26/flying-scotsman.html",
        "tags": ["Movies","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/05/12/why-do-cyclists-tweet.html",
        "title": "Why do Cyclists Tweet?",
        "content_html": "<p>I&rsquo;ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from the release of <a href=\"http://www.velotweets.com/\">VeloTweets</a>. Thank you everyone for that, and please help spread the word about the site. These projects are about creating something that people love. There is no business behind it. The more people that like it, the more likely we are to make further improvements to it.</p>\n<p>There is a secondary question that people have asked about extending something like VeloTweets into other sports. I think it is possible that could work, but I think that cycling has some unique characteristics that make it particularly well suited for Twitter. Through Twitter the peloton can send two really clear messages.</p>\n<h3 id=\"doping\">Doping</h3>\n<p>Anyone who even casually watches cycling knows that doping is a huge problem. I&rsquo;ve written before about <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/07/26/doping-in-the.html\">doping in cycling</a>, and sadly the sport continues to be plagued with this. Cycling is an endurance sport that is won by fractions of percentages. The slightest advantage, no matter how small, can be the difference between winning and losing. Sadly, some cyclists turn to illegal measures to get that last 0.1% performance edge.</p>\n<p>Lance Armstrong does something very interesting in his Twitter stream. Most times when he is randomly tested, he sends a message about it.</p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sorry, I meant #27. I'm losing count. And I'm tired.</p>— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/1786602784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2009</a></blockquote> \n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Surpise doping control. #26 for those counting.</p>— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/1786513692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2009</a></blockquote> \n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Good morning from Jesolo (outside of Venice). UCI blood control this am prior to the start of the Giro.</p>— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/1725061965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2009</a></blockquote> \n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">UCI anti-doping control. #25. Been awhile. Thought they forgot about me.</p>— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/1658299328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 30, 2009</a></blockquote> <script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n<p>The themes here are pretty simple and powerful.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Riders are tested very fequently.</li>\n<li>Riders do not know when they will be tested.</li>\n<li>The testing is inconvenient and a challenge for the athlete to accommodate.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>In the past riders have sent messages about the negative effects of the anti-doping controls on their performance, most notably by stopping in the middle of a race, or waiting several minutes to start at the beginning. Sleep is critical for endurance athletes, and having that disturbed with hours of testing in the middle of a Grand Tour is understandably frustrating.</p>\n<h3 id=\"riding-constantly\">Riding Constantly</h3>\n<p>The other message that you see when you look at the messages from riders in the professional peloton seems obvious, but it&rsquo;s worth noting.</p>\n<p><strong>They ride their bikes all the time!</strong></p>\n<p>The pictures that cyclists post, the messages they send clearly show how much effort and time is put in on the bike. This is the secondary message to the doping message, and says strongly &ldquo;I have earned this!&rdquo;.</p>\n<h3 id=\"messaging-via-social-media\">Messaging via Social Media</h3>\n<p>I think these two messages are great for cycling and I think that the message comes through directly and indirectly. As such, I would not be surprised to hear of riders really encouraging other riders to take up Twitter. It is an amazingly simple and easy way for them to directly reach the fans and rebuild the image of the sport.</p>\n<p>This is a great social media marketing plan and it will be really interesting to see how well it works.</p>\n<p>Having said all this, I&rsquo;m sure there are many reasons why cyclists have found Twitter useful. For example, being a professional cyclists is a life on the road and Twitter is very mobile friendly. Living out of a suitcase on a team bus works with Twitter.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2009-05-12T23:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/05/12/why-do-cyclists-tweet.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Social Media"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/05/12/introducing-velotweets-the.html",
        "title": "Introducing VeloTweets - The Pulse of the Peloton",
        "content_html": "<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/7a1c5b0688.png\" alt=\"VeloTweets logo with tagline Pulse of the Peloton and a small cycling icon on a light blue background\" style=\"width: 187px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; \" />\n<p>A couple of months ago I started to notice that there were a lot of professional cyclists that were getting on <a href=\"http://twitter.com/\">Twitter</a>. <a href=\"http://lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance Armstrong</a> (<a href=\"http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong\">@lancearmstrong</a>) was really active, as were a couple of dozen other riders. I was interested in what they had to say, but I also didn&rsquo;t want to have thirty or more new feeds in my Twitter stream. So, I decided to just subscribe to the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rss\">RSS</a> feeds of these riders and put them in <a href=\"http://www.google.com/reader/\">Google Reader</a>.</p>\n<p>As I read these feeds I started to see some really cool trends. When the early spring classics were happening you could get a sense from other riders on how they thought the races went down. You could see a <em>first person view into what was going on in the peloton</em>.</p>\n<p>It hit me that there was something interesting here and that if these Twitter streams were put together with the right display as well as some additional <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata\">metadata</a> it could be a really interesting way to experience the sport from a never before seen perspective. <strong>The idea of <a href=\"http://www.velotweets.com/\">VeloTweets</a> was born!</strong></p>\n<h3 id=\"the-team\">The Team</h3>\n<p>I liked the idea, but I knew I wouldn&rsquo;t be able to do this on my own. <a href=\"http://justlooking.recursion.org/\">Luke Francl</a> and I had chatted about cycling and I knew he was into it. Luke approached <a href=\"http://norm0.com/\">Norm Orstad</a> about the project and Norm was into it. I asked my friend <a href=\"http://buriedpleasure.blogspot.com/\">Chris Hatch</a>, who is a rabid cycling fan, if he would help with some editorial work. Everyone was in, and we had a team with no budget and limited time. The best way to hit a side project. :-)</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/ab4509fc44.png\" alt=\"VeloTweets website screenshot showing a grid of profile photos and tweets from professional cyclists during Stage 4 of the Giro d Italia\" style=\"max-width: 500px; \" />\n<p>Luke put together all the code, Norm did the designs and Chris did the research while I played sweeper behind everyone and helping out on the edges in all the areas I could.</p>\n<p>If you curious how the application was built, you should read Luke&rsquo;s <a href=\"http://railspikes.com/2009/5/10/announcing-velotweets\">Rail Spikes post about VeloTweets</a>.</p>\n<h3 id=\"why-is-this-cool\">Why is this cool?</h3>\n<p>The utility around VeloTweets comes from aggregating the Twitter streams together and then applying a thin layer of metadata on top of that. Team affiliations and nationality are the ones that we added in the first release. We really wanted to add jersey counts to show how many jerseys a rider held by each type (yellow, green, polka dot, white) but we couldn&rsquo;t find a free source for that data.</p>\n<p>The point was to level the playing field and provide the insight that someone who knew the sport well would have to those who did have that background.</p>\n<p>After our first of 2 days getting together to build the site I was struggling because I felt it looked too much like Twitter. A stream of status updates, not really adding much value. As we discussed this we had a breakthrough that helped a lot. Norm suggested the analogy of a baseball card and we quickly came up with the idea of having a grid where each rider is only shown once, with their most recent message.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/9f9ad6c14c.png\" alt=\"Four social media posts from professional cyclists including Lance Armstrong and others discussing the Giro stage race and weather.\" style=\"max-width: 490px; \" />\n<p>This was a winner right away and solved a bunch of problems. Now the group was equalized. If you were really active or not, you would only show up once in the grid. The grid gave us a dynamic layout that we could use in any instance. For example, maybe we just want to see the <a href=\"http://www.velotweets.com/teams/1\">information for Team Astana</a>.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/15a339e2cd.png\" alt=\"Four social media post panels from Team Astana cyclists grouped under a Team Astana header with profile photos and timestamps\" style=\"max-width: 490px; \" />\n<p>This view gives the reader the ability to quickly scan the breadth of the group, without getting stuck in the depth of any one rider.</p>\n<p>We also started to dive into the information in the messages. We tackled pictures sent with the messages, specifically TwitPics and aggregate those into <a href=\"http://www.velotweets.com/photos\">VeloPics</a>. Now we can do something that you can&rsquo;t do with any other client or feed mashup and show the aggregated set of pictures from the group (or team) in a grid to browse. There are bound to be some awesome shots of bikes and other riders in there and this aggregation lets you see them all.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/b0abf6f3a0.png\" alt=\"Collage of eight cycling event photos showing riders racing, people on a ferry with bikes loaded on vehicles, and small groups of people outdoors\" style=\"max-width: 490px; \" />\n<p>We also put a &ldquo;Message of the Day&rdquo; on the site so that you instantly know what is going on that day. If there is a grand tour going on, it will highlight the stage for the day. And, most of the time (no guarantees) it is even updated to reflect the outcome of the race. This is a great grounding point to understand the context of the messages from the group.</p>\n<p>We also have integrated a race calendar so we can show when races are. We&rsquo;d love to add some other data sources over time, we&rsquo;ll see. All part of being the <strong>Pulse of the Peloton</strong>.</p>\n<h3 id=\"thanks\">Thanks!</h3>\n<p>My huge, huge thanks to Luke, Norm and Chris for their help getting this launched. It was enormously fun to work with these guys and to see what we could get done with the limited time available.</p>\n<p>If you want to stay tuned on updates to VeloTweets follow <a href=\"http://twitter.com/VeloTweets\">@VeloTweets</a> on Twitter!</p>\n<p>Now, back to the Giro&hellip;</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2009-05-12T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/05/12/introducing-velotweets-the.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Social Media"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/04/27/girls-only-boys.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Interesting box at <a href=\"http://www.oneononebike.com/\">One on One</a>.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>GIRLS ONLY - BOYS KEEP OUT!</strong></p>\n</blockquote>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/b5b75cc5ad.png\" alt=\"Small gray metal box on a dark floor with stickers reading GIRLS ONLY on top and BOYS KEEP OUT on the front.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2009-04-27T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/04/27/girls-only-boys.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/03/10/ragbrai-full-route.html",
        "title": "RAGBRAI 2009 Full Route Announced",
        "content_html": "<p>The full <a href=\"http://www.ragbrai.org/\">RAGBRAI</a> <a href=\"http://data.desmoinesregister.com/ragbrai/2009/route.php\">route for 2009</a> was published this week. We are going to be going along the southern half of Iowa.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/133ceb1608.png\" alt=\"Map of Iowa showing the 2009 RAGBRAI bicycle route marked with red location pins and a blue line running east to west across the southern part of the state.\">\n<p>One of the things my friend <a href=\"http://www.jimbernard.net/\">Jim</a>, who did RAGBRAI once in his teenage years (and, in his own words, &ldquo;will not be doing it again&rdquo;), keeps highlighting for me is that RAGBRAI was in part created to prove that Iowa was <strong>not</strong> flat. There is a strong desire on the part of states to prove to cyclists they are not flat it seems. <a href=\"http://hellweek.com/texas.html\">Texas Hellweek</a> has a similar motto. There is certainly no lack of climbing in the 2009 RAGBRAI route. This graph shows the mileage and climbing feet for each day.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/75843eb66b.png\" alt=\"Bar and line chart showing RAGBRAI 2009 daily mileage (line, 45-78 miles) and climbing in feet (bars, 1500-5000) for each day Sunday through Saturday.\">\n<p>Looking back on <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek\">my posts from Texas Hellweek 2001</a> those routes had about 5,000 feet of climbing every day. It looks like Monday and Tuesday will be some good challenges.</p>\n<p>Feet of climbing though has to be gauged with the distance of the leg. A better way to look at it is feet of climbing per mile.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/79df7bc306.png\" alt=\"Bar chart showing RAGBRAI 2009 feet of climbing per mile by day, declining from about 70 on Sunday to 27 on Saturday, with a downward trend line.\">\n<p>I&rsquo;d say the route planners were pretty kind. The ride gets more gentle (on average) over the course of the week. Good stuff! Check out the <a href=\"http://data.desmoinesregister.com/ragbrai/2009/route.php\">complete route map on the Des Moines Register site</a> for the details.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2009-03-10T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/03/10/ragbrai-full-route.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/03/07/registered-for-ragbrai.html",
        "title": "Registered for RAGBRAI!",
        "content_html": "<p>I first heard of <a href=\"http://www.ragbrai.org/\">RAGBRAI</a> several years ago when I was riding like a crazy man doing centuries nearly every weekend. RAGBRAI (pronounced rag-br-eye) is the <strong>Register&rsquo;s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa</strong>. RAGBRAI is a 7-day ride, starting on a Sunday and ending on Saturday from the western edge of Iowa to the eastern edge. The route changes every year, but this year starts in Council Bluffs, IA and ends 442.3 miles later in Burlington, IA. Tammy and I are signed up to take part in RAGBRAI 37!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/5345ee7c80.jpg\" alt=\"RAGBRAI XXXVII logo featuring bold white text on navy blue shield with a bicycle chainring and pie slice graphic\" style=\"width: 505px; \" />\n<p>RAGBRAI is an event unlike no other. It is the largest organized bike ride in the United States. You camp each night in small towns in Iowa. It&rsquo;s too big to be defined by one thing. Some call it a party on wheels, others like to hammer the miles away. I&rsquo;m looking forward to finally riding it.</p>\n<p>We will have a lot of training to do before July 19th. It is suggested you get 1,000 miles on your bike before you show up. Additionally, I&rsquo;m going to work harder than I have at dropping weight faster so that I&rsquo;m carrying less heft across Iowa. I&rsquo;m sure there will be much to say about this adventure in the future. More to come, and wish us luck! :-)</p>\n<p><em>See also: <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragbrai\">RAGBRAI Wikipedia Page</a>.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2009-03-07T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/03/07/registered-for-ragbrai.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/03/04/elizabeth-kreutz.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p><a href=\"http://elizabethkreutz.com/\">Elizabeth Kreutz</a> ← Really good professional photographer that is covering Lance Armstrong&rsquo;s return to cycling.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2009-03-04T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/03/04/elizabeth-kreutz.html",
        "tags": ["Photography","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2009/02/18/great-cartoon.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Great cartoon on the bathroom wall at One on One bicycle studio.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/6a752e9d15.png\" alt=\"No Exit comic strip by Andy Singer: text reads The average American walks just 300 yards per day above three panels showing a man at a computer, a man driving a car, and a man watching TV in a\">\n",
        "date_published": "2009-02-18T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2009/02/18/great-cartoon.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/11/02/just-finished-a.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Just finished a great 18 mile bike ride. November rides without jackets are great.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2008-11-02T18:02:03-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/11/02/just-finished-a.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/10/31/caught-on-camera.html",
        "title": "Caught on Camera at One on One",
        "content_html": "<p>When I worked downtown I was really lucky to have this very cool independent coffee shop just a block away from the office. I made a daily trip, even in the freezing cold of January, to get a coffee from <a href=\"http://www.oneononebike.com/\">One on One</a>. Now that I&rsquo;m not downtown all the time I don&rsquo;t get there as often, but it seems I did make it into the background on a recent photo shoot!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/33ada0627f.png\" alt=\"Two people stand inside a bike shop surrounded by bicycles and warm interior lighting.\" width=\"520\" height=\"1401\" style=\"max-width: 520px !important;\" />\n<p>I was there a couple of weeks ago and I remember them moving some bikes around and it seemed a bit goofy. I saw a photographer and just figured they were doing some promotional shots for the website or something. Turns out it was actually for <a href=\"http://www.startribune.com/business/33478314.html\">an article in the Star Tribune</a> and I snuck into the background. See the top-left corner.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/b46273e1df.jpg\" alt=\"Two people sit at a table inside a coffee shop with a bicycle propped nearby; a third person is visible in the background at the counter.\" width=\"175\" height=\"260\" style=\"max-width: 175px !important;\" />\n<p>If you are in the area and like coffee, bikes or both stop by. I highly <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/14/reasons-to-love.html\">recommend the cold press coffee</a>, this is where I was turned on to the wonders of that stuff.</p>\n<p>By the way, the <a href=\"http://www.robinwilliams.com/\">Robin Williams</a> visit mentioned in that article was captured in person at the end of <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/05/10/farewell-video.html\">my Farewell video</a> by my buddies <a href=\"http://www.jimbernard.net/\">Jim</a> and <a href=\"http://www.thetangens.net/\">Kent</a>.</p>\n<p><em>Thanks to Eric Marshall for tipping me off to this!</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2008-10-31T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/10/31/caught-on-camera.html",
        "tags": ["Coffee","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/10/22/fourth-spin-class.html",
        "title": "Fourth Spin Class",
        "content_html": "<p>I went to my fourth spin class tonight at LA Fitness. First off, after four sessions I still think <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/10/01/first-spin-class.html\">the spin bikes are incredible</a>. They are so much better than any others I&rsquo;ve used. I&rsquo;ve been really happy with the classes, especially the last two. While I&rsquo;m ridiculously out of shape, I&rsquo;m really impressed with how well I am doing.</p>\n<p>In the past I&rsquo;ve talked with people that have done a few marathons and then don&rsquo;t run much for a couple years, and ramp up really quickly for another marathon. I think I get that more now. Even as ridiculously out of shape as I am right now, I&rsquo;m finding that I can hang in the class pretty good. My guess is that I don&rsquo;t have the mental barriers that others may have. I get that it hurts when you climb, and I know what that hurt is like, and I know how to manage it. The fitness level just determines how much power I can get with a certain level of suffering. Over time, I&rsquo;ll get more power, but the suffering is the same. I&rsquo;m also really pleased that my natural cadence is still right around 90 rpm&rsquo;s. That still just feels &ldquo;right&rdquo;.</p>\n<p>I was pretty proud after tonight&rsquo;s spinning session. I wore my heart rate monitor for the first time and I actually reached max heart rate a couple of times (about 187). Here is the floor under my bike. 🙂</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/199d256bc6.jpg\" alt=\"Metal T-shaped base of a spin bike with small wheels, sitting on a pink gym floor covered in sweat droplets\">\n",
        "date_published": "2008-10-22T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/10/22/fourth-spin-class.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/10/01/first-spin-class.html",
        "title": "First Spin Class in 4+ Years",
        "content_html": "<p>Tonight I went to my first spin class in over four years. I was pretty nervous and joked with Tammy that we should check the status of my life insurance policy before I left. In the end though, I had a good time and got a great workout. I wasn&rsquo;t able to keep up with the class which I fully expected, but I did a bit better than I expected as well.</p>\n<p>The thing that I loved about the spin class though we&rsquo;re the bikes. I&rsquo;ve ridden on a number of spin bikes and even have one at home. There has been a lot of improvement in them over the years, but the new LA Fitness has these <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011E09QE/\">Keiser M3</a> spin bikes.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/4c097dc2a3.jpg\" alt=\"Keiser M3 indoor cycling spin bike with silver magnetic flywheel, black frame, adjustable seat, and handlebar mount, on white background.\" style=\"max-width: 280px;\" />\n<p>These bikes are hands down the best spin bike I&rsquo;ve ever been on. Actually, they are the best indoor bike I&rsquo;ve ever been on period. Here is why they rock:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p>The flywheel resistance system uses magnets. There are no brake pads\ncausing uneven resistance and squealing noises. I can&rsquo;t emphasize\nhow awesome this is. Every other spin bike I&rsquo;ve used makes a ton of\nnoise, and has uneven resistance as the pad and wheel rub. Huge\nimprovement.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>The resistance curve is very linear. Most spin bikes give little\nresistance and then suddenly start increasing a lot. Not here. Plus\nthe resistance is moved with a little lever on the handlebars. You\ncan adjust it without even taking your hands off the bars. Huge win.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>I love that the flywheel is in the back. It&rsquo;s bad karma to a cyclist\nfor the flywheel to be in front. Here the power and motion is where\nit should be, on your rear wheel.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>They have SPD clips on all the pedals which is a must have.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>Speaking of the flywheel, it isn&rsquo;t that heavy. This is a big problem\non some spin bikes, including the one I have at home. If you are\nspinning at 100+ RPM the momentum on the wheel is so strong it takes\na few revolutions to stop. I was able to stop the flywheel on the\nKeiser M3 in one pedal rotation.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n<p>I&rsquo;m a huge fan. If you like to cycle, look for these in your gym or bug them to get some. I would expect that the magnetic resistance system probably results in a lower total cost of ownership too since most gym spin bikes need weekly maintenance. It would seem these would have lower maintenance.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2008-10-01T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/10/01/first-spin-class.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/10/lance-returns-to.html",
        "title": "Lance Returns to Racing!",
        "content_html": "<p>I had read rumors over the last couple of days that <a href=\"http://lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance Armstrong</a> was going to be returning to racing, but there were rumors only and I figured they were very far fetched. Why would the 7-time Tour de France winner return? Well, it wasn&rsquo;t a rumor! <a href=\"http://www.livestrong.com/lance2009/\">He is racing in 2009</a>! Wow!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/5bfab594c5.png\" alt=\"Cyclist in yellow jersey and blue helmet leaning forward on a Trek bike with Discovery Channel sponsorship logos\">\n<p><em>I can&rsquo;t seem to make this video embed not play on load. Grr&hellip; Click more to watch the video.</em></p>\n<p><a href=\"http://www.livestrong.com/lance2009/\">Lance&rsquo;s Comeback to Cycling in 2009</a></p>\n<p>It will be very curious to see what his goal is now. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine that he would attempt for a GC win at the Tour de France, but who knows.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2008-09-10T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/10/lance-returns-to.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/07/22/firing-up-todays.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Firing up todays stage in the <a href=\"https://www.letour.fr/en/\">Tour de France</a>. Trying to ignore <a href=\"https://www.tdfblog.com\">TdF Blog</a> for a couple of hours. 🙂</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2008-07-22T07:37:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/07/22/firing-up-todays.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/07/15/great-climb-up.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Great climb up Hautacam today for the <a href=\"https://www.letour.fr/en/\">Tour de France</a>.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2008-07-14T21:45:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/07/14/great-climb-up.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/04/22/t794055960.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Finally watching <a href=\"https://www.paris-roubaix.fr/en\">Paris-Roubaix</a>. Thanks TiVo.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2008-04-21T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/04/21/t794055960.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/09/25/minneapolis-bike-tour.html",
        "title": "2007 Minneapolis Bike Tour",
        "content_html": "<p>Tammy and I got to be one of the 4,500 participants in the very first <a href=\"http://www.minneapolisbiketour.com/\">Minneapolis Bike Tour</a> a couple of weekends ago. I road with my <a href=\"http://iwilltri.com/2007/09/ironman-race-report/\">Ironman Brother-in-law</a>. We road the short route and Tammy and her sister rode the longer route.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/1c5f969b66.jpg\" alt=\"Logo for the Minneapolis Bike Tour featuring silhouettes of cyclists and a family on bikes against a green background\" style=\"width: 392px; \" />\n<p>This was a really great ride. It seems like it&rsquo;s Minneapolis&rsquo;s answer to the <a href=\"http://www.bikeclassic.org/\">St. Paul Classic</a>. I&rsquo;m really glad they started doing this and even more glad it was so popular. I&rsquo;m looking forward to riding it again next year. If you enjoy the bike, make a point to do this ride in 2008.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-09-25T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/09/25/minneapolis-bike-tour.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/09/16/t272449032.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Done with the short route at the Minneapolis Tour bike ride</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-09-15T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/09/15/t272449032.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/08/11/major-blow-for.html",
        "title": "Major Blow for US Cycling",
        "content_html": "<p>It has long been wondered if US cycling would be able to survive the retirement of <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance Armstrong</a>. Today we got our answer, and unfortunately it isn&rsquo;t the answer I wanted. The <a href=\"http://team.discovery.com/\">Discovery Pro cycling team</a> announced today that <a href=\"http://www.tdfblog.com/2007/08/discovery-chann.html\">after this season the team will be disbanded</a> (<a href=\"http://www.thepaceline.com/members/press_item.aspx?cid=3535\">PaceLine release requires registration</a>). The team that has won 8 Tours de France in the last 10 years and countless other races will cease to exist after this years season is over. The team led by perhaps the best director sportif, Johann Bruyneel, is going away. The team that was US Postal, and traces back to the Subaru-Montgomery Sports team, is going away. After shopping around for months since Discovery Channel decided to end it&rsquo;s sponsorship, the team was unable to find a viable sponsor.</p>\n<p>There are two reasons for this. The first is America&rsquo;s continuing lack of enthusiasm for cycling. The majority of America seems to lack the attention span for Grand Tours and don&rsquo;t care to dive into the strategy and poetic agony of cycling. The second reason is more insidious. I find it impossible to believe that doping allegations are not part of this. Europe is weathering this storm as well, but the strong history of cycling gives organizations like <a href=\"http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/08/09/bc.cyc.t.mobile.ap/\">T-Mobile continuing sponsorship even after significant doping issues</a>. Mind you, Discovery has not had an issue in this arena. But combining the lack of a superstar like Lance that everyone can get behind, and the worry of a doping scandal is too much to overcome it seems.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/a6713f116d.jpg\" alt=\"Cartoon map of a Tour de France stage as a chaotic obstacle course with cyclists navigating doping allegations, media scrutiny, and appeals.\">  \nby [Kevin Kallaugher](http://www.kaltoons.com/),[Economist](http://www.economist.com/), [July 26, 2007](http://www.economist.com/daily/kallery/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9562350)\n<p>This is an unfortunate turn of events. In an attempt to see the silver lining, perhaps riders like George Hincapie will be able to move to other teams with more support for his Classics goals. I would expect that Bruyneel will find a new home. Or perhaps something else will rise out of the ashes of the most winning tour organization in the last decade.</p>\n<p><em>Until then, thanks for all the great memories guys.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-08-11T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/08/11/major-blow-for.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/07/28/t173001762.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Going on a bike ride to get Mazie!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-07-27T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/07/27/t173001762.html",
        "tags": ["Family","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/07/28/t173446672.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Watching the final time-trial of the 2007 Tour. Go Disco!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-07-27T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/07/27/t173446672.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/07/26/doping-in-the.html",
        "title": "Doping in the Tour",
        "content_html": "<p>The 2007 <a href=\"http://www.letour.fr/\">Tour de France</a> is winding down, and is frankly a complete mess. The culprit, <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_%28sport%29\">doping</a>. Or, the appearance of doping. Yesterday was Stage 16 and the scene of a great battle on the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_d'Aubisque\">Col d&rsquo;Aubisque</a>. After the stage <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabobank_(cycling)\">Rabobank</a> withdrew and fired the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillot_jaune\">maillot jeune</a> of the tour. Only days prior to that <a href=\"http://www.alexander-vinokourov.com/\">Alexander Vinokourov</a> failed a test and was expelled from the tour, along with his entire <a href=\"http://www.team-astana.eu/\">Astana team</a>, after blowing up the individual time-trial and beating the entire field.</p>\n<p>Last year we had <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_case\">Operación Puerto</a> which ejected many riders from the peloton. This years Tour seems comparable to the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Tour_de_France\">1998 &ldquo;Tour de Dopage&rdquo;</a> when doping scandals riddled the Tour and just over half of the riders that started finished the race. The 1998 doping scandals caused a permanent footnote to <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Armstrong</a>&rsquo;s first <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Tour_de_France\">Tour win in 1999</a> since many riders were suspended from the race.</p>\n<p>Let me be clear, I think doping in cycling is a scourge and it needs to be remedied. I also completely believe that doping is prevalent in many sports, and I give cycling credit for being serious about doping. I would expect that more cyclist are caught doping than any other sport, I would expect that is largely the result from actually testing and doing something about it. Athletes in other sports dope. This isn&rsquo;t a cycling only problem. Viva la Tour!</p>\n<p>But.</p>\n<p>There are many things that concern me about the current state of affairs. Take a look at Rasmussen. He never tested positive for anything. But, he did miss doping controls and allegedly lied about his location saying he was in Mexico when really in Italy riding in the Dolomites. Boom, he&rsquo;s out. Why? Because Italy is where all the dirty doctors are. And riding in the mountains in Italy means you must have been doping. And, he did an amazing time trial so he must be doping. Couldn&rsquo;t he also have just had a really strong day?</p>\n<p>Additionally, lab tests are done with an A and B sample. If the A sample tests positive, you are out. The B sample is somewhat irrelevant because even if you test negative on the B sample your already gone. And where are these labs? France. It&rsquo;s no secret that the French have an axe to grind, particularly with non-French riders.</p>\n<p>On top of all this cycling tests are typically not tests of the substance, but the effect. For example, if your blood count is too high you are out. There is no detection of a drug, just the effect.</p>\n<p>This all leaves cycling in an utter mess. It leaves <a href=\"http://iwilltri.com/2007/07/tour-del-frencho-and-our-future/\">fans in a state of confusion and dismissal</a>. And nobody has a good answer. There is a growing theory that the leaders of the Tour must be doping, because if anyone in the peloton is doping you must be doping to beat them.</p>\n<p>Cycling could decide to follow American Football and Baseball and make some token gesture on doping but really just let everyone do whatever. The problem with this is frankly cyclists will start to die! This isn&rsquo;t a new problem, in 1967 <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson\">Tom Simpson</a> died on the climb of <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Ventoux\">Mont Ventoux</a> after taking amphetamines. The trouble with adding red blood cells is that your blood literally gets thicker, and combined with maximal effort you can simply die. If doping were just allowed I have no doubt deaths would follow.</p>\n<p>There was discussion a couple of years ago of working with the pharmaceutical companies to add tracers to drugs so that they can easily be detected. This of course will just create a black market for drugs without tracers.</p>\n<p>It seems the only solution is more testing. But cyclists are already pushed to the brink with random drug tests. They occur all year long, are completely random and are mandatory. Representatives show up at riders hotels on vacation in February for immediate tests. Brutal.</p>\n<p>Today there is no maillot jaune in the Tour. Tour tradition compells riders to not wear yellow unless they earned it. It&rsquo;s a rare stage indeed where there is no maillot jaune on the road. Tomorrow <a href=\"http://www.albertocontador.es/\">Alberto Contador</a> from <a href=\"http://team.discovery.com/\">Team Discovery</a> will pull on the yellow jersey, but forever with question marks. I still really enjoy this sport, but I hope that we can see a clean and uninterrupted tour soon.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-07-26T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/07/26/doping-in-the.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/07/24/t164969642.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Glad to see the climbers in this years Tour have finally gotten mad.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-07-23T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/07/23/t164969642.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/07/22/cargo-shorts-banned.html",
        "title": "Cargo Shorts Banned from Cycling",
        "content_html": "<p>Tammy, Mazie and I went on a bike ride today. Tammy is prone to comment about how great it is to just &ldquo;ride your bike&rdquo;. What she means by this is to disregard the crazy gear of cycling &ndash; special shorts, shoes, shirt, socks and everything else &ndash; and just ride your bike. Street clothes. Normal shoes. You know, like &ldquo;normal&rdquo; people do. We were riding to <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2006/01/22/yum-kitchen-and.html\">Yum</a> for lunch, about 17 miles round-trip with a long lunch in the middle. So I went with normal shorts like a normal person.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/cfc28cdae5.jpg\" alt=\"Black fitted cycling shorts on the left versus khaki cargo shorts on the right, separated by the word vs.\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\" />\n<p>I have no option to not wear my cycling shoes since all of my bikes have clipless pedals (a must!). But I decided to go ahead and just wear my normal shorts and spare the world me in lycra. This was horrible. It&rsquo;s not just that the cycling shorts have padding that make the saddle more comfortable. It&rsquo;s that regular shorts are hot. They are baggy and restrict leg movement in odd ways. They bunch up all over. It was absolutely horrible.</p>\n<p>I&rsquo;ll never ride my bike over 2 miles without cycling shorts again. I&rsquo;ve learned my lesson.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-07-22T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/07/22/cargo-shorts-banned.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/07/21/open-wifi-at.html",
        
        "content_html": "<ul>\n<li>Rode our bikes to <a href=\"http://www.yumkitchen.com\">Yum!</a> for lunch.</li>\n<li>Open WiFi at Yum makes my iPhone happy.</li>\n<li>Full of good food. Will be riding home very slowly.</li>\n</ul>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-07-21T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/07/21/open-wifi-at.html",
        "tags": ["Restaurants","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/04/24/t37667052.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Upset that the Amstel Gold cycling race got 2 hours, while <a href=\"https://www.paris-roubaix.fr/en\">Paris-Roubaix</a> got 1 hour.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-04-23T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/04/23/t37667052.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2007/04/13/t26406371.html",
        
        "content_html": "<p>Watching <a href=\"https://www.rondevanvlaanderen.be/en\">Tour of Flanders</a> on TiVo.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2007-04-12T19:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2007/04/12/t26406371.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/08/10/make-minneapolis-bicycle.html",
        "title": "Make Minneapolis Bicycle Friendly",
        "content_html": "<p>A few months ago I <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/03/20/make-minnetonka-bicycle.html\">sent a suggestion to the mayor of Minnetonka</a> to request that they work with the League of American Bicyclists to get Minnetonka the designation of a Bicycle Friendly city. She had someone on her staff look into it but they ultimately decided it would be too difficult to pursue.</p>\n<p>In the new flyer from the League I noticed that Chicago had just received this designation. So, I dropped a note to <a href=\"http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/\">Mayor Rybak</a> of Minneapolis on this topic. Maybe Minneapolis would go for this. If you think this is a good idea, how about sending him a note yourself.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Mayor Rybak,</p>\n<p>My name is Jamie Thingelstad and I&rsquo;m a resident of Minnetonka but work, and have lived, in downtown Minneapolis. I&rsquo;m also a bicyclist and enjoy commuting back and forth to work on my bicycle using the great trail network that we have in the metro area.</p>\n<p>A few months ago I sent an <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/03/20/make-minnetonka-bicycle.html\">email to Mayor Anderson of Minnetonka</a> suggesting that she seek to have Minnetonka designated a <a href=\"http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/\">Bicycle Friendly Community</a> by the <a href=\"http://www.bikeleague.org/\">Leage of American Bicyclists</a>. I am a member of the League of American Bicyclists as well as a member of the local Twin Cities Bicycling Club. Mayor Anderson&rsquo;s staff looked into the award but were unable to justify the investment.</p>\n<p>I noticed that <a href=\"http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/May2005Pressrelease.htm\">Chicago has now been designated a Bicycle Friendly Community</a>, and that made me think that perhaps Minneapolis would like to seek the same designation. If Minneapolis achieved the designation it would be the first city in Minnesota to do so, and hopefully not the last. I think this would be a fitting achievement for the state that leads the country in miles of &ldquo;Rails to Trails&rdquo; paths.</p>\n<p>Thank you for your time and consideration, and of course, your continued support of cycling in Minneapolis and the surrounding area.</p>\n<p>Sincerely,</p>\n<p>Jamie Thingelstad</p>\n</blockquote>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-08-10T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/08/10/make-minneapolis-bicycle.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Current Events"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/07/24/bicycle-commuting.html",
        "title": "Bicycle Commuting",
        "content_html": "<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/2dae29e854.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"A busy highway features multiple lanes of traffic, including cars and a large truck, surrounded by green areas and trees.\">\n<p>I&rsquo;ve been riding into work, bicycle commuting, for about a month now this summer. This is a big part of my plan to get rid of the &ldquo;sympathy weight&rdquo; I put on while Tammy was pregnant with Mazie. It&rsquo;s working, I&rsquo;ve been able to take off good weight every week without getting completely obsessed about what I&rsquo;m eating. I&rsquo;m really lucky when it comes to my commute.</p>\n<p>In some ways, I feel like I should be obligated to ride my bike to work. I can get on a bike path after going 3 blocks from my house on residential streets. The path crosses some roads, but mostly it&rsquo;s just a great trail. I then have <em>two options</em> of trail that I can take going into downtown. So I get to take one trail in the morning, and a second trail in the evening on the way home. There are also a few people that ride into work as well so on the way home I usually have some company as well.</p>\n<p>One of the highlights of this commute is when the trail that I take on the way into work crosses over highway 100. This is the same highway that I get onto after a few miles and crawl the rest of the way into work when I drive. Everyday as I ride in I always take a moment to let up on the pedals, look to the left and chuckle a little bit to myself as I look at the hundreds of cars piled up, going very slowly. When I look ahead I see clear trail, trees and fellow riders or walkers out having a good time.</p>\n<p>The only part I miss about riding into work is the music. I really like listening to tunes in the morning and there just isn&rsquo;t any safe way to do that on a bike. The weather has been great, making it even more enjoyable. I find that when I ride into work I show up with a better outlook on things, and in general a more pleasant disposition. On top of all that I&rsquo;m saving money on the record high gas prices and not paying for the toll-lane on the way home. All this and I get to help the environment, and my body, all at the same time.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2025/41c05881b1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" alt=\"A person is biking down a paved path surrounded by lush green trees and grass.\">\n",
        "date_published": "2005-07-24T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/07/24/bicycle-commuting.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/07/24/lance-wins.html",
        "title": "Lance Wins #7",
        "content_html": "<p>I could have posted this a couple of days ago, <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Armstrong</a> has had the 2005 <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> wrapped up for the last few days. Today&rsquo;s stage was completely ceremonial, to the point of being a bit ridiculous. The early kilometers today looked like a bunch of club cyclists out on a ride. I could have hung with them without breaking a sweat. Anyway, I&rsquo;m not going to comment on the miniscule details of the tour, you can visit <a href=\"http://www.tdfblog.com/\">other sites to get your tour fix</a>. I just wanted to give my thoughts on a few topics &ndash; it is the biggest event in my favorite sport.</p>\n<h3 id=\"lance\"><a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a></h3>\n<p>Armstrong was amazing this year. He made this tour look as if it was one of his easiest to win. He never seemed to be in trouble at any stage. He pounded on the time trials. He was more strategic this year than ever. Everything seemed to work amazingly well. At the ceremony <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> was given the opportunity to speak to the assembled crowd. Nobody has ever been given that opportunity before, ever. It was a small gesture, but shows how much <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> has stamped his legacy on this event.</p>\n<p>I will miss Armstrong in next years tour. He&rsquo;s won every tour that I&rsquo;ve watched. However, I&rsquo;m also happy to see him retire and move on. I&rsquo;m looking forward to the next round of winners, and next years Tour is going to be very exciting!</p>\n<p>I ask only one favor. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>, please, I beg of you, do <em>not</em> run for governor of Texas!!!</p>\n<p>I&rsquo;ve also decided that it is officially time to retire the <a href=\"http://www.livestrong.org/\">Livestrong bracelet</a>.</p>\n<h3 id=\"rasmussen\">Rasmussen</h3>\n<p>Michael Rasmussen had the worst time trial I&rsquo;ve ever seen a cyclist have on the 20th stage. The poor guy went down in the first 10 km. His rear wheel just slid out from under him. He then had a bike change, and the new bike didn&rsquo;t work right. Another bike change. Then he fell off again going over his handlebars. Then another new bike. It was horrific to watch, turning completely comic after all the mishaps. It was almost a given that he would lose his 3rd spot in the GC to Ullrich, but I felt so bad for the guy.</p>\n<h3 id=\"ullrich\">Ullrich</h3>\n<p>I really hope that big Jan comes back next year and wins the tour. I would be happy for a number of other riders to win, Ivan Basso for example. It would be great if an American could do it. But Jan <em>deserves</em> it more than anybody else. He&rsquo;s been dogged by Armstrong year after year. If Armstrong would not have been a pro cyclist, we would be amazed over the Ullrich domination of the Tour. He should get another win before he retires.</p>\n<h3 id=\"american-cycling\">American Cycling</h3>\n<p>&hellip;is huge! Around ten Americans played big, big roles in the Tour this year. The American presence was incredible. Additionally, <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> has changed the way America views cycling. I really hope that the excitement and attention that cycling gets with <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> continues to grow after his retirement. And the European Peloton simply is no longer just European. American&rsquo;s are definitely here to stay in pro cycling.</p>\n<h3 id=\"vino\">Vino!</h3>\n<p>Alexandre Vinokourov was just amazing this year. Two stage wins, including the final stage in Paris, add up to a great tour. Vino is switching teams and clearly put in a great showing to increase his contract value for any new team. If he could be tamed and be supported by a full team, he could be powerful. After his explosive performances though, I&rsquo;m wondering why he doesn&rsquo;t go after the 1-day spring classics more.</p>\n<h3 id=\"landis-and-leipheimer\">Landis and Leipheimer</h3>\n<p>Both former US Postal riders failed to impress this year. I don&rsquo;t think they had the legs or the killer instinct, but it&rsquo;s also pretty clear that <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> has no love for these former teammates turned team captains. When he takes opportunity to put the hurt on these guys, even though they are minutes behind and no threat, it doesn&rsquo;t look good to anyone.</p>\n<p>We still have the <a href=\"http://www.lavuelta.com/\">La Vuelta a Espana</a> in September to wrap up the cycling season, then a few months off and we&rsquo;ll be back in Europe for the 1-day classics.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-07-24T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/07/24/lance-wins.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/07/17/go-george-hincapie.html",
        "title": "Go George! Hincapie Wins Stage!",
        "content_html": "<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e9e305babb.jpg\" alt=\"Cyclist in blue and white jersey raising both arms in victory celebration at finish line\" style=\"width: 96px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; \" />\n<p>Everyone, really, anybody knows <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Armstrong</a> and the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a>.Not everyone knows one of <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>&rsquo;s close friends and longtime teammate George Hincapie who took his first <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> stage win today on the &ldquo;Queen&rsquo;s Stage&rdquo; (thus named for being the hardest day of the tour).</p>\n<p>George got in an early breakaway with a number of riders and he hung on the whole day. With only he and Oscar Pereiro left in the final 2km he was able to take the win.</p>\n<p><a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> winning the tour at this point is almost a guarantee. George taking the stage was a complete surprise and a huge win for him. I cheer for Hincapie all spring as he tries to win the big spring classics, and I still hope that he will win Paris-Roubaix before he decides to hang up his wheels. But hat&rsquo;s off to him on an amazing win today.</p>\n<p>For more <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> info, check out <a href=\"http://www.tdfblog.com/\">TdF Blog</a>.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-07-17T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/07/17/go-george-hincapie.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/07/04/lance-and-cont.html",
        "title": "Lance and #7 (cont.)",
        "content_html": "<p>We are now past the 3rd stage of the tour and it&rsquo;s clear that Discovery (formerly US Postal) has what may be one of the best tour teams ever assembled. It&rsquo;s also clear that whatever <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>&rsquo;s motivations are for riding this tour, he&rsquo;s serious. The first stage saw him take one to three <em>minutes</em> from his rivals. All that in a little over 12 miles! Stunning performance in an individual time trial.</p>\n<p>The last two stages have had great sprint finishes. This is definitely gearing up to be a legendary tour. Can&rsquo;t wait for the high mountains.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-07-04T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/07/04/lance-and-cont.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/07/01/lance-and.html",
        "title": "Lance and #7",
        "content_html": "<p>It is the eve of the 92nd <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a>. I love cycling. I think it is the best sport in the world, and the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> is the biggest event in it. A lot of friends have asked me what I think of <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>&rsquo;s chances in this years tour, and I don&rsquo;t have a very quick answer. Here is why. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> is an amazing athlete. One of the best ever. He is a big part of why I&rsquo;m even a cycling fan! Going to France to see him win his 6th tour and do something that has never been done in cycling was amazing. If I could have staged <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>&rsquo;s final years in cycling, this is what it would look like.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>After winning six consecutive tours <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> decides to turn his attention elsewhere. He focuses his program on the spring classics. His huge popularity draws unprecedented attention in the US to races like <a href=\"http://www.gent-wevelgem.be/\">Gent-Wevelgen</a>, <a href=\"http://www.letour.fr/stf/roubaix/2005/us/\">Paris-Roubaix</a>, Milano - Sanremo and <a href=\"http://www.letour.fr/stf/parisnice/2005/us/\">Paris - Nice</a>. After winning a select set of the greatest classics <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> focuses on <a href=\"http://www.speed101.com/now/fastest_0717_4.htm\">breaking the hour record</a>. After adding these two great achievements to his dossier he forever puts to bed the complaints and comparisons to <a href=\"http://www.torelli.com/owen/eddyhour.html\">Eddy Merckx</a> and decides to hang up the bike.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Instead of doing what I wanted (c&rsquo;mon!) <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> has decided to pursue another <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> victory. Part of me is simply worried that he is going to lose. He&rsquo;s old for cycling and if anyone can win, he can, but he has a legacy to lose. Additionally, I think it&rsquo;s just poor etiquette. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> is a strong believer in the etiquette of the peloton, and how &ldquo;ugly American&rdquo; of him to not go for something new after shattering every record. Last is that I really think this is all about money at the end of the day. When the <a href=\"http://www.uspsprocycling.com/\">US Postal sponsorship</a> went away they needed a new sponsor and if you remove <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> and the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> the value of the team drops a lot. It&rsquo;s widely known that his contract with Discovery requires that he ride another tour, it just didn&rsquo;t say when. I really wonder if he would be riding this year if it weren&rsquo;t for this financial situation.</p>\n<p>I&rsquo;m going to be shouting for him to win tomorrow and the 22 days after that (it will be hard to compare to the kneeling-on-the-floor agony of watching <a href=\"http://www.hincapie.com/\">Hincapie</a> come into the velodrome in Roubaix!). I&rsquo;ll be on the edge of my seat on every mountain stage and wincing as they rocket down the descents. I really hope we have an amazing tour, and yes, I really hope that <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> wins, it&rsquo;s just complicated.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-07-01T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/07/01/lance-and.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/05/11/bike-to-work.html",
        "title": "Bike to Work Week",
        "content_html": "<p>Next week is national <a href=\"http://www.bike-to-work.com/\">Bike-to-Work Week</a>! Take the opportunity to dust off the bike, pump up the tires and pedal on into work. I&rsquo;m planning on wheeling myself into the office the majority of the week.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-05-11T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/05/11/bike-to-work.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/03/20/make-minnetonka-bicycle.html",
        "title": "Make Minnetonka Bicycle Friendly",
        "content_html": "<p>I recently received a flier from the <a href=\"http://www.bikeleague.org/\">League of American Bicyclists</a> regarding the <a href=\"http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/\">Bicycling Friendly Community</a> campaign they run. I&rsquo;ve been a member of LAB for years and plan to continue. I&rsquo;m a member of many bicycling organizations but LAB is unique and in many ways the most important. The other organizations focus on rides and trails mostly while LAB focuses on Washington DC and policy. They are our voice (I&rsquo;ll use the word lobbyist trying to forget the slimy implications) for cycling in America. In addition to getting some additional funding from me for this program, I decided to do a little grass-roots advocacy of my own. The letter below is to the Mayor of Minnetonka.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Mayor Anderson,</p>\n<p>I will keep this brief since I&rsquo;m sure you are very busy. I live in\nMinnetonka and am also a cycling enthusiast. In addition to being a\nmember of the <a href=\"http://www.mtn.org/tcbc/\">Twin Cities Bicycling Club</a>\nI&rsquo;m also a member of the national organization <a href=\"http://www.bikeleague.org/\">League of American\nBicyclists</a> (LAB). I love cycling in all\nof it&rsquo;s modes whether for competitive racing, recreational riding for\nfitness or just commuting to work. The bike is an amazingly elegant\nmachine.</p>\n<p>I&rsquo;m writing to you because I recently became aware of the LAB program\n<a href=\"http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/\">Bicycling Friendly\nCommunities</a>. This program\nis an awards program that recognizes cities that actively support\nbicycling. I looked over the list of communities in the program and\nwas surprised to not see Minnesota anywhere in the list (<a href=\"http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/2003list.htm\">click here\nfor list</a>). We\nhave a surprisingly strong cycling community in Minnesota given our\nwinters and have a history of advocacy, in fact leading the country in\nmiles of bicycle trails!</p>\n<p>This brings me to the point of my letter. I would like to encourage\nyou to nominate Minnetonka to become a Bicycling Friendly Community\nand be the first in Minnesota to achieve at least a bronze\nspecification. I think it would be a reinforcement of the already\nstrong bicycling program the city has as well as a road to additional\nways to bring cycling into our community.</p>\n<p>Sincerely,</p>\n<p>Jamie Thingelstad</p>\n</blockquote>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-03-20T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/03/20/make-minnetonka-bicycle.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Current Events"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/02/13/lance-on-oprah.html",
        "title": "Lance on Oprah",
        "content_html": "<p>On Friday I got an email through one of the cycling mailing lists that I&rsquo;m on that <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Armstrong</a> was going to be on Oprah that afternoon. I&rsquo;m not an avid Oprah follower (imagine that!) so I asked Tammy to TiVo it so I could watch it later. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> was on for the full hour along with Sheryl Crow. You do know that he and Sheryl have been an item ever since he split with his wife, right? Anyway, some thoughts&hellip;</p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Enough with Sheryl Crow!</strong> This is\n<a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>\n<a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Armstrong</a>. He&rsquo;s won more <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de\nFrance</a> victories than any other\nman in history. Yet it seems that his record 6 wins are often\novershadowed by the fact that he&rsquo;s dating some &ldquo;rock star&rdquo;. (By the\nway, Sheryl Crow is a rock star? Guess I wasn&rsquo;t listening.)</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>I&rsquo;m sitting here wearing my LIVE<strong>STRONG</strong> bracelet and it&rsquo;s amazing\nhow many of these things have went out. They&rsquo;ve sold 46 <strong>million</strong>\nof them now. Holy crap! When we went and saw the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de\nFrance</a> last summer these things\nwere the ID tag for the American Tour fan. Now it seems everyone has\nthem. Okay, that&rsquo;s cool, but for some reason I&rsquo;m a little bitter\nabout it.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>I wish <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> would stop the\ntour</strong>. Really. He wont state publicly anything. His Discovery\ncontract requires him to race one more. Seriously, I would rather he\ntake on the spring classics or even better go after <a href=\"http://ida1.physik.uni-siegen.de/menn/hourrec.htm\">the hour\nrecord</a>. He&rsquo;s\ntalked about all of the above, but has been non-commital about it\nall. Added bonus here would be <a href=\"http://www.olntv.com/\">OLN</a> actually\nhaving <strong>more</strong> coverage of events other than the Tour. Non-tour\ncoverage on <a href=\"http://www.olntv.com/\">OLN</a> has dropped every year,\neven while the total number of hours of cycling has increased. It&rsquo;s\nall <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> and the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de\nFrance</a>. Let&rsquo;s hit the cobbles\nof Paris-Roubaix!</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>The Bike.</strong> Oh my. So on Oprah they had this story, tough story\nreally, of this woman with cancer and she is fighting and she seemed\namazing. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> is her hero, etc.\nSo at the end <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> gives her this\nbike. <strong>Oh My!</strong> Some stage-hand wheels out this P.O.S. $199 Target\nspecial Trek to give to her. Huh? This is\n<a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>. Trek is his sponsor. They\ncouldn&rsquo;t spring for a carbon-fiber, ahh, anything? Wow. Even\n<a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> looked a little stunned when\nhe saw it. Kinda like he was thinking &ldquo;send that thing BACK!&rdquo;.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-02-13T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/02/13/lance-on-oprah.html",
        "tags": ["Movies","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2005/02/05/nice-bike-ride.html",
        "title": "Nice Bike Ride in February",
        "content_html": "<p>I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather today to get out on my bike. I realize that you can indeed ride year-round even here in Minnesota, but it takes a fortitude that I do not seem to have. However, today&rsquo;s 50+ °F temperatures made it a great day to get out on the bike.</p>\n<p>I did a quick 17 mile ride down to the lakes and back. I wasn&rsquo;t the only one with the idea, there were plenty of cyclists on the trails. I should have wore my leg warmers and booties. My bottom half was a bit frigid.</p>\n<p>What a great day!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2005-02-05T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2005/02/05/nice-bike-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/09/19/too-fat-for.html",
        "title": "Too Fat for the Fat 40",
        "content_html": "<p>The <a href=\"http://www.cheqfattire.com/\">Fat 40</a> is over for another year. This has come to be my annual &lsquo;rite of passage&rsquo; it seems. This year was as memorable as every other year. I just wish it was more positive! 🙂</p>\n<p><strong>The Ride</strong></p>\n<p>The ride this year was grueling. Simple as that. Last year I had just snuck under 4 hours for the event finishing in 3:59:55. I was hopeful that I would meet that mark. That and finishing were my only objectives. I surely expected to do better than 2002 when I did 4:25:13 and I knew I wouldn&rsquo;t even approach my best time from the first year I did it in 2001 of 3:44:00 (including a couple of flats).</p>\n<p>As I rolled through the finish line at 4:41:32 I had survived my worst beating on the dirt of the Chequamegon that I had ever felt. There were solid rains earlier in the week and the course was pretty wet. The trails just felt like they were glue. As soon as you stopped pedaling you stopped, there was just no momentum.</p>\n<p>This was my hardest 40 yet. I sort of lost it on the trail. My grandma reads this site so I&rsquo;m not going to share some of the words that were coming through my mind, but they were choice.</p>\n<p><strong>The Bonk</strong></p>\n<p>Every cyclist at some point bonks. If you are not familiar with that term, it simply means you are on empty. You have not eaten, you have no more glycogen left, your muscles are completely empty. You&rsquo;re head can&rsquo;t keep a thought. You feel like a zombie on the bike. A lot of people think they have bonked, but really they were just hungry. When you forget what was happening for the last 10 minutes, then you&rsquo;ve really bonked.</p>\n<p>I&rsquo;ve bonked before. And just like everyone else, I&rsquo;ve sworn never to do it again. Well, I did it again, and this time on the very unforgiving trails of the Fat 40.</p>\n<p>When I took off I felt a little uncomfortable. I had a waffle early in the morning and some oatmeal and it was still in my stomach. Whenever my heart rate got way up there it felt really uncomfortable. So, my genius solution was to skip some food. I waited until I was hungry. At this point, I&rsquo;m toast and I just don&rsquo;t know it yet. About 28 miles in and a lot of pain later I realized that I could barely keep the pedals going. My head was light and I wasn&rsquo;t really comprehending everything going on. I was in real trouble. At the next stop I took on two bananas and some gatorade and I could fee the sugar instantly. However, it&rsquo;s nearly impossible to work yourself out of the hole dug by bonking.</p>\n<p>After the race my inventory of what I had eaten showed that I ate about half of what I should have taken in. I would normally eat 300 calories an hour, so 1,200 calories on the 40 on a four hour pace. I figure I had about half of that. What a rookie move.</p>\n<p><strong>The Gear</strong></p>\n<p>This was the first year on my new <a href=\"http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=6785\">Specialized M4 Stumpjumper FSR Elite</a>. Overall I was very pleased with the bike. It took the punishment of the course without any problems. I did appreciate the additional comfort of full-suspension over the hard-tail I had always ridden in the past. I did find climbing harder just because I&rsquo;m an out-of-the-seat climber and when I did that the bike turned into a pogo stick. That is as much my problem as the bikes though, so I won&rsquo;t get too upset about that. All in all, very good.</p>\n<p>I was also lucky not to have any flats since I realized 5 minutes before the start that I forgot to bring a trail pump with me. Oops!</p>\n<p><strong>The Brother-in-Law</strong></p>\n<p>I&rsquo;ve always thought it would be fun to have someone riding in the 40 with me so this year I convinced by brother-in-law Dennis Daily to ride. I&rsquo;ve known many people that ride in the past, like Jim Rikkers, but they are much faster than I.</p>\n<p>Of course having your brother-in-law ride means there is at least a competition for pride to win. I have to tip my hat to the rookie who finished in 4:34:09, a full 7 minutes and 23 seconds before I did. It looked like he had a &ldquo;fun&rdquo; time, or at least as much fun as anyone has there. I will have to shoot for a rematch next year.</p>\n<p><strong>The Finish Line</strong></p>\n<p>I crossed the finish line and just sat for a long time. I really felt defeated by the course this year. Various promises were made to myself about training better next year, dropping weight, etc. I know I will be back (lottery provided!) even though I can&rsquo;t imagine it right now. The pain dissapears, the fun stays.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-09-19T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/09/19/too-fat-for.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/09/11/jesse-james-century.html",
        "title": "Jesse James Century Ride",
        "content_html": "<p>Today Tammy and I, along with <a href=\"http://murphybytes.com/blog/\">John Murphy</a> from my office rode the <a href=\"http://www.northfieldrotary.org/bikeinfo.html\">Jesse James Century ride</a>. This is part of <a href=\"http://www.northfieldchamber.com/\">Northfield</a>&rsquo;s <a href=\"http://www.defeatofjessejamesdays.org/\">Defeat of Jesse James Days</a> celebration. This is the 3rd year that I&rsquo;ve done this ride, the 2nd year that John and I have ridden it together and the first time that Tammy has done a century <em>ever</em>!</p>\n<p>Starting with firsts Tammy did her very first century today. Previous to this her longest ride was in the high 70s of miles but she can now add a century to her list of cycling accomplishments. She did a great job, set her pace and rode steadily through the entire thing.</p>\n<p>John had a much more pleasant time than <a href=\"http://murphybytes.com/blog/archives/000020.html\">last year</a>. He has dropped some weight and did more training this year than last and the results were obvious.</p>\n<p>For myself, this is my last big training event before the <a href=\"https://www.cheqmtb.com\">Chequamegon Fat 40</a> this coming Saturday. Riding the century is a very different task than completing the Fat 40, but the psychological impact of just finishing a 100 mile ride is a real confidence booster going into the mountain bike race.</p>\n<p>Here is the map of the route this year, it was modified from previous years. We rode clockwise around the map.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/39a9729f30.gif\" alt=\"GPS map of the Jesse James Century bike route near Northfield Minnesota showing a clockwise yellow dashed loop with REST1 REST2 and START markers\">\n",
        "date_published": "2004-09-11T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/09/11/jesse-james-century.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/09/06/labor-day.html",
        "title": "Labor Day!",
        "content_html": "<p>Labor day is such a bittersweet holiday. It is always a fun time, but for those of us in the Northern climates it signals the end of the summer and the coming of fall. This year it comes with even more bitterness since we have had such a sad excuse for a summer this year. It feels like fall is in full swing. As we were traveling this weekend it was obvious that the leaves were about to change. I bet it will be full fall color season in a week or two.</p>\n<p>Tammy and I went to <a href=\"http://www.lanesboro.com/\">Lanesboro</a> for much of the holiday weekend. We went to explore the <a href=\"http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_trails/tra00730.pdf\">Root River &amp; Harmony-Preston Valley Sate Trail</a>. Lanesboro is the perfect place to explore this more than 50 miles of wonderfully paved bike trails. Out of here we had three days of great riding. We started Friday night with a short ride from Lanesboro to Fountain for 22.4 miles round trip. Then on Saturday we did a longer ride from Lanesboro to <a href=\"http://www.houstonmnchamber.com/\">Houston</a> which was 62.2 miles round trip and finished on Sunday with a ride to <a href=\"http://www.harmony.mn.us/\">Harmony</a> and back for 45 miles total. We got around 130 miles in for the three days and had some really great trails.</p>\n<p>We stayed at the <a href=\"http://www.habberstadhouse.com/\">Habberstad House Bed &amp; Breakfast</a>. This is a great B&amp;B! It was at the top of the list with our favorite B&amp;Bs that we have ever stayed in. The owners, Nancy and Dave, are fabulous. The rooms are great, and breakfast was wonderful. We will definitely revisit upon a return to Lanesboro.</p>\n<p>In addition to cycling in Lanesboro we also added a piece to our art collection. We stopped by the <a href=\"http://www.lanesboroarts.org/\">Cornucopia Art Center</a> while we were there and saw some work by a Superior, WI artist named Erik Pearson that we really liked. We can&rsquo;t wait for it to arrive. It&rsquo;s unique and different than our other art and I think it&rsquo;s going to be great fun.</p>\n<p>We returned to the cities and a lot of rain. Due to the rain we ended up not going to the <a href=\"http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/\">Jack Johnson</a> concert we had tickets to and instead went to see <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369339/\">Collateral</a>. Good movie, lots of action. It was a bit predictable though.</p>\n<p>On Labor Day Tammy ran the <a href=\"http://www.raceberryjam.com/victory.html\">MDRA Victory 10k</a>. I got up early and rode my bike up there to get some miles in and watch her do the run. I really don&rsquo;t like getting up at 6:30 am on a holiday, but it also lets you get so much done in the day! I had a nice ride to the run and then cheered on runners as they went by. I saw a shirt for this movement called <a href=\"http://www.runagainstbush.org/\">Run Against Bush</a>. Pretty amazing how <em>motivated</em> our current president has made people, myself included.</p>\n<p>All in all, a great, relaxing holiday! I put up some miscellaneous photos if you&rsquo;re interested.</p>\n<div class=\"microblog_collection\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-182810-9148.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-182810-9148.jpg\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040903-182558-9111.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040903-182558-9111.jpg\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-110614-9123.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-110614-9123.jpg\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-113948-9126.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-113948-9126.jpg\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-133414-9140.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-133414-9140.jpg\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-182316-9144.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040904-182316-9144.jpg\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040905-092818-9150.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040905-092818-9150.jpg\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040905-093046-9153.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-microblog-lightbox=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2023/20040905-093046-9153.jpg\"></div>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-09-06T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/09/06/labor-day.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Gallery","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/08/14/heart-rate-data.html",
        "title": "Heart Rate Data from the Peloton",
        "content_html": "<p>Many of you know that I&rsquo;m a gear junkie. I record my heart rate on all my rides and runs. Why? Because I can, not because I need to.</p>\n<p><a href=\"http://www.polarusa.com/\">Polar</a> just put up a webpage with <a href=\"http://tdf.polar.fi/tourdefrance/heartrates.html\">heart rate data from a few riders</a> in this years <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a>. It&rsquo;s really interesting. It&rsquo;s also amazing to me how low their heart rates are even on the hard climbs!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-08-14T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/08/14/heart-rate-data.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/30/heft-on-wheels.html",
        "title": "Heft On Wheels",
        "content_html": "<p>Most people that know me know that I used to weigh quite a lot. Then I weighed a lot less. Now I weigh a little bit more, but by no means quite a lot. I went through a bit of a learning experience later in life. I&rsquo;ve often thought that if I were a good enough writer (something I&rsquo;ve been enjoying doing on my blog by the way) I would write a book about the experience.</p>\n<p>I just finished reading a book that I think would be very similar to the book I would write. <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400052408/\">Heft on Wheels</a> by <a href=\"http://www.lummox.org/\">Mike Magnuson</a> recounts his transference of his obsession with drinking and smoking to riding his bicycle. Magnuson&rsquo;s book is a fun, quick read and I felt a kinship to him in reading it. We shared many experiences, while still clearly being very different people. For example, he finished at the head of the pack in the Cat V race he tried while I was shot off the back very early on!</p>\n<p>I should think it would be interesting to meet him some day. Perhaps on a ride.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-30T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/30/heft-on-wheels.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Books","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/25/fin-de-course.html",
        "title": "Fin de Course or Intermission, Act II",
        "content_html": "<p>The thing that I liked most about coming to see the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> in person were the sights and sounds that you never get to see on TV. The energy of the people on the roadside. The caravan coming through. The thrill of the peloton. Running the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> is an amazing job. The race is assembled like a rolling caravan throughout the country and as soon as it goes by the roads are restored to normal circulation. One of my favorite things in watching the tour was the special truck that drives right at the end of the race behind everything. It&rsquo;s a non-descript vehicle and on the back with red letters on white are the words</p>\n<p><strong>Fin de Course</strong></p>\n<p>I don&rsquo;t know exactly why I found that so special. I told Tammy it was like a classic movie where they actually put &ldquo;The End&rdquo; on the screen before rolling the credits. It just seemed well suited.</p>\n<p>If I can extend the metaphor, we have finished the first course of our trip and are sending off the hectic days of the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> in favor of relaxing days of strolling the streets of Paris and visiting museums.</p>\n<p>Before we leave the cycling, a couple of notes:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you plan a cycling trip to the Alpes, be careful. You do not want to go through the expense and hassle of coming here only to be stupid on a mountain descent, go down and hurt yourself. A decent number of people had accidents and in nearly all cases it was a lack of IQ and skill. Remember, you didn&rsquo;t grow up descending alpine roads.</li>\n<li>Packing your bike and lugging it around is a pain in the neck and very heavy. We&rsquo;ll be glad to drop them off at UPS today.</li>\n<li>The French are amazingly nice and considerate to cyclists. The only time I ever felt the pressure of traffic was a short jaunt on a freeway when we were lost on a ride. The drivers in the country and villages are amazing and even though there are <strong>no</strong> shoulders, you feel completely at ease.</li>\n<li>Seeing the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> in person is amazing, but I missed <a href=\"http://www.olntv.com/\">OLN</a>. The daily TV coverage is so much more informative. If you love the tour and do not at least read French, be ready to have very little information. While there is ten times the coverage here, it&rsquo;s entirely French. (They show the tour live on three channels all day!)</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.bikestyletours.com/\">Bikestyle</a> did a great job. The accommodations were fine, travel was well managed and Tammy and I both felt comfortable at all times.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>That&rsquo;s all for that. We&rsquo;re going to transfer to our next hotel and I&rsquo;ll probably post some more frequent notes before we head off to Switzerland. I&rsquo;ll try to get some photos up as well. I&rsquo;ve been copying all the photos we&rsquo;ve taken so far to the server at home but it takes some time to transfer 2.5 gigabytes even on the high-speed in the hotel.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-25T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/25/fin-de-course.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/24/tour-de-france.html",
        "title": "Tour de France 2004 Stage 20 - Montereau to Paris (Champs Elysees)",
        "content_html": "<p>Today we saw what we came here to see, history being made. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> crossed the finish line on the Champs Elysees this afternoon to become the first person in the history of cycling to win <strong>six</strong> tour victories. We really wanted to make the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> trip this year on the chance that this may happen. I was skeptical, but was proven very wrong with <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a>&rsquo;s commanding victory this year.</p>\n<p>We had to leave early from <a href=\"http://beaune-burgundy.com/\">Beaune</a> and get back on the bus for the trip to Paris. The stage was the most attended by far. People were eight deep along the barricades on the Champs. Tammy and I tried to find a good spot but were unable to get situated really well. We ended up walking a few kilometers and got off of the Champs to a point where we could at least see over the barricades.</p>\n<p>There was a break in the group but the peloton caught them. The speed of the group was incredible.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-24T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/24/tour-de-france.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/23/tour-de-france.html",
        "title": "Tour de France 2004 Stage 19 - Besancon to Besancon",
        "content_html": "<p>Today was the best ride of the trip. Tammy and I figured that while we had suffered up some mountain climbs we hadn&rsquo;t really gotten any distance in. We decided that since today&rsquo;s ride would be &ldquo;flatter&rdquo; (this is a relative term) we would do the 115km option. We left on our bikes straight from <a href=\"http://beaune-burgundy.com/\">Beaune</a> and rode to Besancon for the time trial. We rode with a fast group in a huge bunch for the first 70 k&rsquo;s and then fell off the back. The speed kept getting faster and it was very hard to stay on. We&rsquo;d get shot off the back and then have to kill ourselves to get back on a wheel. Then we realized that we were on vacation and I could stare at a rear wheel in Minnesota. Time to smell the flowers!</p>\n<p>We let the group ride off. It&rsquo;s amazing how fast they ride off, in minutes we weren&rsquo;t even able to see them. We pedaled along and had a simply great ride along the valleys in rural France. We went through so many small villages, stopped at a bakery for some pastries, went along rivers. It was simply wonderful.</p>\n<p>We ended up clicking off 125 km which is I believe 78 miles or so in the Queens measurements. That is the longest ride Tammy has ever done topping her previous 67 mile record. She&rsquo;s now saying that she might do a century with me. She&rsquo;s doing great on the bike. Clearly the running and workout out she&rsquo;s done has paid in spades.</p>\n<p>The time trial was great. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> pounded a resounding fist of authority on the tour besting Ullrich by just over a minute. I was able to see the podium presentation for the first time. It was also the first time I heard any booing. There are many people who believe that <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> dopes and there were a number of boo&rsquo;s as he received the stage victory.</p>\n<p>We headed back to the bus and rode back to <a href=\"http://beaune-burgundy.com/\">Beaune</a>. After a banquet dinner in the hotel we took a walk in <a href=\"http://beaune-burgundy.com/\">Beaune</a>. I just couldn&rsquo;t live with the idea we would be at this great village and not even see it! I wish we would have had a day to spend there as it looked like an incredible town.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-23T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/23/tour-de-france.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/22/tour-de-france.html",
        "title": "Tour de France 2004 Stage 18 - Annemasse to Lons-le-Saunier",
        "content_html": "<p>Today we left <a href=\"http://www.grenoble-isere.info/accueil_eng.htm\">Grenoble</a> and departed for Beaune where we will spend the next 2 nights. We rode on the bus to the stage about an hour from Beaune and got our bikes to ride the last big climb of the stage. There was a category 4 climb at the end and we planned to ride from the stage finish to the 20km to go banner and back going over this climb both ways.</p>\n<p>Unfortunately for us the climb was an absolute brute going opposite of the race. At least twice as steep than the other side so I would say we did a category 3 and a category 4 climb. 🙂</p>\n<p>It was great countryside and we turned to head back. We cut the time a little short though and the <em>jandams</em> (the Frnech cops that line much of the route) kept on stopping us in the last 5k making us walk. It turned out to just be a section as we got on after a while and were able to get back into town.</p>\n<p>The stage finish was extremely crowded. We waited in the finishing chute and saw the riders come through there. It was an interesting spot to be in since they weren&rsquo;t going crazy fast which resulted in some nice photos.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-22T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/22/tour-de-france.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/21/tour-de-france.html",
        "title": "Tour de France 2004 Stage 17 - Bourg d'Oisans to Le Grand-Bornand",
        "content_html": "<p>Today was the dreaded day of the tour climbing two Hors (beyond) category climbs. Tammy took a sick day today and stayed in the hotel to accelerate her recovery (I&rsquo;m glad to say I think it helped a lot). I took the shuttle to the stage. The plan was to ride about 40k to the base of the Madelaine and then climb up a ways to watch the tour. We ran short on time so we just ended up going to the base of the mountain and climbing.</p>\n<p>The Madelain is a beast. It&rsquo;s a 19.8 km climb with an average gradient of 7.8%. Technically it doesn&rsquo;t pitch up the way Alpe d&rsquo;Huez does but it&rsquo;s nearly twice the length. A fit recreational rider will take 2 hours to climb the Madelaine. Two hours. That&rsquo;s two hours of going up, constantly. The roads in Alpes are never flat. They just go up at a constant rate. There is no recovery flats, just up. You look up the road panting and sweating and it&rsquo;s just more up. Forever.</p>\n<p>I didn&rsquo;t finish the climb. I ran low on water after an hour of climbing. In that hour I made it about 7 km up the climb and 600 vertical meters. The entire climb is around 2000 meters so I did about 1/3rd of the climb. That was enough. I am after all, on vacation.</p>\n<p>It was another great day for the tour and I got to watch &ldquo;le train bleu&rdquo; on the front. Floyd Landis did a piece of work for <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> today that will redefine him as a domestique. It was amazing to watch.</p>\n<p>We watched the stage on the tour bus as we drove home. There was a huge roar in the bus when <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> sprinted in the last 100 meters to take the stage from Kloeden. He seems to be incredibly on form this year.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-21T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/21/tour-de-france.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/20/tour-de-france.html",
        "title": "Tour de France 2004 Stage 16 - Bourg d'Oisans to L'Alpe d'Huez",
        "content_html": "<p>Today was the most hyped stage of the 2004 <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a>. When the tour route was announced last fall they had placed all the mountains <em>and</em> the individual time trials at the last half of the race. This would leave the race very open until the end. As it turns out, <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> was able to get good time in the Pyranees so it wasn&rsquo;t as open as hoped.</p>\n<p>We skipped riding today because of the insanity of the crowds and Tammy was coming down for real with the cold I came here with. We took a shuttle bus up to Bourg d&rsquo;Oisans which is at the base of the L&rsquo;Alpe d&rsquo;Huez and watched the stage at the start.</p>\n<p>I wont go into all the details of the stage since you can go to a <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> site to read about that but <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> won the stage with command and I was able to experience my defining moment of the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a>.</p>\n<p>Tammy was feeling quite bad so before the stage ended she took the shuttle back to town. I stayed and took pictures as the riders started the time trial. The crowds were enormous even on the base of the climb. As <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> went past and the procession of what must have been 30 cars behind him went by, a number of us ran across the street to this little bar to watch the stage. This is where I had my <em>&ldquo;tour moment&rdquo;.</em></p>\n<p>I was under the awning of this little bar. There were probably 40 or so people crowded under and there was a 13&quot; TV on a stool on one end. The rabbit ears were stuck up to pull in the race coverage. Under this little awning at the base of the mountain were French, German, Italian, Americans and more countries. Everyone spoke different languages but all we&rsquo;re passionate about the tour. We stood there in a group glued to this tiny TV watching the race progress up the Alpe.</p>\n<p>I think part of the reason why Americans don&rsquo;t get bike racing is we need an us versus them. Yankees <em>versus</em> the Dodgers. Ali <em>versus</em> Foreman. If you remove the &ldquo;versus&rdquo; we don&rsquo;t get it. We are a very bivalent country (republican or democrat, pro this or anti that, yes or no, black and white). As this international group watched the race everyone was cheering for everyone. Ullrich came through the first checkpoint with the best time and the group roared. <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> came through and bested the time and there was another roar. <strong>It was a celebration of the achievement, of what is possible.</strong> Not a celebration of the defeat of another.</p>\n<p><strong>I&rsquo;ll remember standing in that bar watching that crappy 13&quot; TV every time I watch the tour.</strong></p>\n<p>I didn&rsquo;t get an opportunity to climb the L&rsquo;Alpe, but that&rsquo;s okay. I will come back some other time to do that. This was just as good.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-20T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/20/tour-de-france.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/19/tour-de-france.html",
        "title": "Tour de France 2004 Stage 15 - Valreas to Villard-de-Lans",
        "content_html": "<p>This is the first day that we actually get to see the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> on the road. We went out for the short ride option today since I was recovering from my cold and Tammy was of course starting to get the early symptoms of it. There should be a way that you can trade vacation days for sick days! 🙂 We took the bus from <a href=\"http://www.grenoble-isere.info/accueil_eng.htm\">Grenoble</a> and cut out a moderately steep and very long climb out of the town to make our ride a little easier. We rode the bus up the switchbacks of the mountainside and got off near the top of the climb and spun along with a bunch of about 20 riders. We headed out a few kilometers and got onto a loop that <a href=\"http://www.lonelyplanet.com/\">Lonely Planet</a> describes as the most scenic cycling route in France and one of the best in Europe.</p>\n<p>We did a steep and fast descent into a canyon on a road that was literally cut out of the side of a sheer face. The speeds on the descent were a taste of what we would get coming up hitting around 60 kph (sorry, all my computers are set to kilometers for this trip so you will need to do the conversion on your own). While that isn&rsquo;t terribly fast for a descent let me describe the conditions. The road was very windy. It was maybe 10 feet wide but somehow was a 2-lane road with active oncoming traffic and you couldn&rsquo;t see around the sweeps because as I mentioned it was cut into the side of a rock face. Oh, the other side over the barrier? Few hundred feet to a nice R.I.P. Yeah, I took it easy. Little did I know this was easy compared to what was coming up. Tammy took it even easier. She learned through this trip that there is something she hates more than climbing - descending.</p>\n<p>We then climbed out of the canyon and I found out this was another preview of things to come. This was just some road climbing out of the canyon. Please note, this is <em>not</em> climbing a mountain as I thought it was while doing it. When getting to the top I asked the ride leader and he kindly informed me that &ldquo;no, the mountain is coming up&rdquo;. And did it ever&hellip;</p>\n<p>We stopped in a small village in the foothills of the Alpes and filled our water bottles. Many of these old villages have a public fountain or spring in the middle of town which makes it great for cyclists. You just fill your bottle up with great, cold spring mountain water. Wonderful. And thankful since none of them have any stores. The houses and buildings were amazing.</p>\n<p>After trying to figure out where we were, we descended a few kilometers and for the first time, turned onto the course of the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a>. Let me take a moment to pause here.</p>\n<p>I now fully realize what an intimate sport cycling is. Imagine going to the Indy 500 and being able to drive your car around the track a few times before the race, just for fun. Or going to a baseball game and hitting a few balls at the plate while the crowd streams in. That is what you can do at the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a>. Riding your bike on the alpine climbs of the Tour hours before the race itself comes through with the huge crowds on the side of the climb was just incredible.</p>\n<p>We got to the bottom of the descent and turned left to climb the 1,374m Col de Chalimont. The climb was 11 km with an average gradient of 5.8%. The first few k&rsquo;s (kilometers) were steeper than the top. After about 3 km I had given up on &ldquo;keeping a gear in reserve&rdquo;. You see, cyclists will usually not shift into the <em>easiest</em> gear on their bike when climbing mostly to have a mental reserve if it gets really hard. Forget that! I was panting my way up the side of this mountain going about 8 kph with my heart racing a 100 yard dash! Tammy who was lucky enough to have a triple chain ring (she has a whole set of gears for climbing which I do not have) was spinning along working hard in her &ldquo;granny gear&rdquo;.</p>\n<p>I did have to stop after about 8 km and 40 minutes of climbing. The entire climb took around an hour. Tammy didn&rsquo;t stop and actually made it to the top before I did. The crowd on the side of the road cheers on anyone climbing. Allez! Allez! It really does make you go longer and harder than you could otherwise. Of course watching the tour riders ride up this mere category 2 climb afterwards is a little humbling. 🙂</p>\n<p>We then did a 10 km descent into the village where we stopped to watch the tour. We settled in a round-about that the tour would cross twice. They would come off a steep descent rocketing along and do a 180 degree turn into the town. Do about 3 k&rsquo;s and then come back through the other way to do a quick 3k climb to an uphill finish.</p>\n<p>Before the tour the caravan came through. The caravan is essentially a parade that drives about an hour in front of the race in part to clear the road but mostly to give more opportunities to the sponsors. The <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> is free, 100% funded by sponsors. The fans love the caravan and it provides a good diversion after you&rsquo;ve been waiting there for 2 hours in the baking sun.</p>\n<p>The tour experience on this first day was really amazing. It&rsquo;s not like any other sporting event I have ever experienced. First, the race goes by you so fast that you see it for minutes, yet thousands crowd the road as it goes by. The electricity in the air and the love that the people have for this event drowns out the commercialism of the sponsors. I was perched in a spot waiting to see the riders come down the descent and around me were men and women, young and old and everyone was eyeing a tiny piece of blacktop at the top of the descent. At the first site of a rider the group erupted in a roar as they came down. It was amazing to experience. The lead group came through as the crowd cheered. Personally I could hardly get a picture off. I was just fumbling around at the first site of the tour, <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> in the lead group down the descent, the speed and power of the race. It was amazing.</p>\n<p>A few minutes later the yellow jersey group came down with Thomas Voeckler still in yellow. Voeckler at this point had held the yellow jersey longer than any French rider in the last two decades. He&rsquo;s under 25 and looks like a kid. And, the French <em>love</em> him. Another roar erupted as they went by. It&rsquo;s hard to describe the energy and experience of such a brief event. I&rsquo;m simply not a good enough writer to do it justice. But it was amazing.</p>\n<p>We ended our day with a very long and fast descent back to <a href=\"http://www.grenoble-isere.info/accueil_eng.htm\">Grenoble</a>. Tammy described that descent as the hardest thing she&rsquo;s ever done on a bike. Your hands and arms ache on these descents because you must brake smart and hard at the right times. You cannot brake all the time or you will blow a tire. So you must let your speed get up to 50-60 kph and then as you get to the switchback brake hard and come out. It rained a little on the descent making it even worse. We had dinner around 9pm in <a href=\"http://www.grenoble-isere.info/accueil_eng.htm\">Grenoble</a> and called it a day.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-19T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/19/tour-de-france.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/17/ready-to-go.html",
        "title": "Ready to go...",
        "content_html": "<p>I was pleased to wake up this morning feeling better than yesterday. A good nights sleep thanks to Nyquil and variety of other incantations seemed to have helped me out. Hopefully Tammy wont get any whiff of this quick cold.</p>\n<p>The car is completely loaded and we&rsquo;re just waiting to head to the airport. Tonight we sleep on the plane and wake up tomorrow in Paris! Tammy is starting to get really worried about the flight. She hates flying. It seems like we have half of our house with us for this trip. Putting both cycling and hiking in a vacation means you end up needing to bring a lot of stuff with you.</p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> has been awesome the last two days with <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> showing that he does indeed have what it takes. I&rsquo;m terribly excited about seeing it all in person!</p>\n<p>The next time you hear anything from us will be from France!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-17T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/17/ready-to-go.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Europe 2004"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/14/chequamegon-fat-im.html",
        "title": "Chequamegon Fat 40 — I'm in!",
        "content_html": "<p>Way back in February I submitted my entry for the <a href=\"http://www.cheqfattire.com/\">Chequamegon Fat Tire</a> race. I&rsquo;ve done the &ldquo;Fat 40&rdquo; for the last three years and it&rsquo;s always a great time. Of course, while I&rsquo;m slogging myself across the 42 miles (there are 2 more miles at the end just to slap you around a little bit) I don&rsquo;t always think it is so much fun.</p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http://www.cheqfattire.com/\">Fat 40</a> is limited to 1,700 riders (there is a shorter 12 mile race that comprises another 800 entrants but I&rsquo;ve never applied for that one). This year I received the <em>wrong</em> notice back &ndash; the one telling me I did not get selected in the drawing! See, over 3,000 people applied and there is a lottery. I was not one of the lucky ones.</p>\n<p>There was only one more option. They have an essay contest &ldquo;50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon&rdquo;. I entered it months ago and have been waiting, and waiting. I just got my letter today telling me&hellip;</p>\n<p><em>&hellip;your essay was selected as a winner in this year&rsquo;s contest.</em></p>\n<p>Yes! Now I get to suffer with everyone else. I also get to suffer with my brother-in-law who I convinced to enter for the first time ever (he of course got selected in the lottery right off).</p>\n<p>Time to start training! Eek!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-14T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/14/chequamegon-fat-im.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/12/getting-ready-for.html",
        "title": "Getting Ready for France",
        "content_html": "<p>Tammy and I dropped our bikes off at <a href=\"http://eriksbikeshop.com/\">Erik&rsquo;s Bike Shop</a> tonight to get them packed in the <a href=\"http://www.tricosports.com/case/\">Trico Iron Cases</a> that I got on eBay what seems like forever ago. I had also just gotten a tune-up on my bike and replaced the chain which led to the unfortunate issue of realizing my rear cogs were all worn out so my new chain was slipping (always take some test rides!). So, new cog set is going on and I&rsquo;m taking the opportunity to go from a 12-23T like I usually ride to a more &ldquo;Alpe d&rsquo;Huez friendly&rdquo; 12-27T. I think I&rsquo;ll be very thankful for those four additional teeth when suffering up the climbs.</p>\n<p>Will pick the bikes up on Thursday. Rest of packing will be happening soon. Need to download French and Swiss maps to my <a href=\"http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVista/\">eTrex Vista</a> GPS (yes, I will be posting some GPS data as well &ndash; I can&rsquo;t help myself). <strong>Fly out on Saturday!</strong></p>\n<p>I also got one of my books to read during the trip. Amazon delivered <em><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400052408/\">Heft on Wheels</a></em> today by Mike Magnuson. Looks like fun reading, and probably some stuff I can relate to.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-12T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/12/getting-ready-for.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/05/watermelon-ride.html",
        "title": "Watermelon Ride",
        "content_html": "<p>Every year <a href=\"http://www.mtn.org/tcbc/\">TCBC</a> holds it&rsquo;s annual 4th of July ride called the Watermelon Ride. It&rsquo;s aptly named since there is a lunch afterward where large amounts of watermelon are made available. Tammy and I had not done this ride in the past but had wanted to. It is a great route, very flat which makes it a very managable fun ride for the holiday weekend. Two ride options are available with milage of 25 or 55 miles. We did the longer route. Couldn&rsquo;t have asked for a nicer day on the bike to get some comfortable miles in.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-05T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/05/watermelon-ride.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/03/the-tour-is.html",
        "title": "The Tour is On!",
        "content_html": "<p>It is really a treat to be a cycling fan in America these days. As little as 4 years ago it was hard to get any coverage on TV other than a weekly melodrama that CBS or NBC would air giving you 30 minutes of coverage for an entire week of racing &ndash; and that includes the boring &ldquo;story&rdquo; pieces.</p>\n<p>These days courtesy of <a href=\"http://www.olntv.com/\">OLN</a> and the popularity of cycling thanks to <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Armstrong</a> you can get a full, heaping plate full of <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> coverage. Simply put, it&rsquo;s awesome.</p>\n<p>Today the business of the 2004 <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> got underway. It was a nail biting prologue with <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance</a> putting seconds into his biggest rival Jan Ullrich. However, he didn&rsquo;t take the prologue. Instead that was courtesy of a 23 year old rider from Switzerland named Cancellara in his first tour. He was in tears as he realized he would be wearing the yellow jersey on the first road stage of the biggest bike race in the world.</p>\n<p>The excitement of the Tour is now on and it&rsquo;s so fun to watch. This year has a special tone since in only 14 short days Tammy and I will <em>be there</em> on our vacation watching the action go down as the race goes into the high mountains.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-03T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/03/the-tour-is.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/07/01/race-across-america.html",
        "title": "Race Across America",
        "content_html": "<p>The hardest sporting event in the world is finishing up right now. <a href=\"http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/\">RAAM</a> (the Race Across America) has concluded for another year and there was a bit more excitement this year with teams getting close on the road and even some espionage between teams. It&rsquo;s amazing what happens as you pedal yourself across the country without sleep.</p>\n<p>This <a href=\"http://www.caida.org/~dmoore/raam2004/\">animated progress map</a> for <a href=\"http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/\">RAAM</a> is a nice way to see the race progress.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-07-01T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/07/01/race-across-america.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/27/rain-and-the.html",
        "title": "Rain and the Average Cyclist (Tour of Saints)",
        "content_html": "<p>Here is the scene&hellip;</p>\n<p><em>You&rsquo;re sitting in your car watching the rain drops steadily hit the windshield. It looks cold and is obviously quite wet out there. You&rsquo;ve been up for a couple of hours now, even though it&rsquo;s only 8 a.m. right now, and to top it off it&rsquo;s a weekend. You look up through the sunroof on the car and see the bikes that you put on the roof rack the night before mocking you as they drip with water. The car is telling you it&rsquo;s a little over 50 degrees out. It really is cold. Is this actually the end of June? Man, Minnesota is a downer at times.</em></p>\n<p><em>You scan through the radio stations for a while trying to get some read of the weather. If only you had an Internet connection in your car! Doppler radar surely would give you the answers your looking for. Of course, if you weren&rsquo;t a wimp you would simply walk out in that rain, get your bike down and scoff at the world for thinking twice about riding and getting a little wet. However, last you checked you weren&rsquo;t wearing the yellow jersey in the <a href=\"http://www.letour.com/indexus.html\">Tour de France</a> nor were you putting food on the table by winning bike races. No, you are just an average Joe, weekend warrior out for his fix of adventure.</em></p>\n<p><em>You spend a few minutes cursing the weatherman. 70 degrees and sunny? I mean really. How can you be that far off. Sure, 60 degrees and cloudy would be no problem. Wouldn&rsquo;t fault the weather services in anyway. But 50 degrees and raining? That is a far, far cry from 70 degrees and sunny. How do these people stay employed? But, given the summer you&rsquo;ve been having so far it seems that it&rsquo;s time to build an arc and don&rsquo;t forget your fleece because the sun just isn&rsquo;t gracing your presence.</em></p>\n<p><em>You get outside and just feel it. Yeah, this is no good. Here is where you have a real battle. You may actually leave. Really, why are you here after all? You don&rsquo;t <strong>have</strong> to do this. Just go home. But you drove for over an hour to get here. And really, how can you just leave. So, after a lot of internal debate you decide that the war stories are worth the suffering and get on your bike and start to pedal.</em></p>\n<p>If you&rsquo;ve ridden a bike for a few years, you&rsquo;ve been through this scene (you maybe didn&rsquo;t drive away, Tammy and I did this morning though!). We were excited to go do a new ride that leaves out of St. Joseph, MN called the <a href=\"http://www.tourofsaints.com/\">Tour of Saints</a>. It is billed as a very nice &ldquo;fun&rdquo; ride with great food stops and wonderful roads. However, the weather was miserable. The ride offers both a 35 and 50 miles option. We embarked on the 50 miler but the weather turned it into a 35 miler. Given the weather forecast we didn&rsquo;t come geared up for an entire day of riding in the rain which only combined to make matters even worse. I rode for a long time just dreaming of the cache of gear at home that would make this ride fine. Booties, leg warmers, full-fingered gloves. All just sitting there in a nice dry bin at home doing me absolutely no good here. Tammy gets the absolute trooper award since she did the entire thing in her sandals with nothing more than a soaked pair of <a href=\"http://www.defeet.com/\">DeFeet</a> socks.</p>\n<p>After riding a few miles we finally got warmed up and it got a little less miserable. We bypassed the first food stop at 12 miles, that&rsquo;s too soon anyway in favor of the stop at 29 miles. In hindsight we should have simply rolled all the way to the finish, it was only 6 more miles but Tammy really wanted to warm up a bit so we stopped. The food stop was nothing to get excited about but we did get to sit inside for a bit. Here is the thing though, when we walked back outside it felt 20 degrees colder. And getting going again on the bike was incredibly frigid. I hammered up a few hills just to get some body heat going.</p>\n<p>Among the more amazing sights today though we saw a guy riding in <strong>blue jeans</strong>. In the rain! Riding in blue jeans! That&rsquo;s insane!</p>\n<p>As several riders veered off for the extra 15 miles we sprinted into town to get out of our wet clothes and go get some hot food. It was miserable. But as suspected, the war story was worth it. :-)</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-27T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/27/rain-and-the.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/25/what-is-that.html",
        "title": "What is that yellow thing on your wrist?",
        "content_html": "<p>If you are curious it is a Live Strong wristband. This is part of the <a href=\"http://www.nike.com/wearyellow/index_f.html\">Wear Yellow</a> fundraising campaign from the <a href=\"http://www.laf.org/\">Lance Armstrong Foundation</a> to raise money for cancer research. As many of you know I&rsquo;m a fan of professional cycling, and as almost any US fan of american cycling I&rsquo;m also a fan of <a href=\"http://www.lancearmstrong.com/\">Lance Armstrong</a>.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-25T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/25/what-is-that.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling","Giving"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/22/bicycle-hit-and.html",
        "title": "Bicycle Hit and Run",
        "content_html": "<p>It&rsquo;s amazing to me how hostile some drivers are to people on bicycles. <a href=\"http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4840168.html\">This article</a> in the Star Tribune highlights another recent hit &amp; run. It just makes me sick.</p>\n<p>You can help, even if you don&rsquo;t ride a bicycle. If you see someone driving aggressively against a cycling you can <a href=\"https://www.dps.state.mn.us/patrol/unsafe/report.htm\">report the unsafe driving</a> over the web to the police. Also, you can support local <a href=\"http://www.bikeped.org/\">advocacy groups for pedestrian and bicycle safety</a>.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-22T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/22/bicycle-hit-and.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/13/stillwater-classic.html",
        "title": "Stillwater Classic",
        "content_html": "<p>On our way back from our camping excursion we stopped in Stillwater and watched the final stage of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival. Today was the horrendous criterium in historic downtown Stillwater. There are a couple of climbs on the course including a brutal one that is over 25% grade. The race was fast and seemed to be more competitive than other years. The looks on the pro riders faces reminded me that this was no walk in the park.</p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s great to have one pro level bike race in Minnesota. I hope it continues to improve!</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-13T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/13/stillwater-classic.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/11/bike-racing-in.html",
        "title": "Bike Racing in Downtown",
        "content_html": "<p>We just got back from watching Stage 3 of the <a href=\"http://www.minnbikefestival.com/\">Great River Energy Bicycle Festival</a>. This is the Minneapolis downtown criterium. It looked like they might have to cancel it as the race approached because of the weather. There were very ominous skies and the rain was pretty hard for a while. The race did get off about 45 minutes late, but it did finally get off. It&rsquo;s so exciting to see pro level cyclists just hammering along in a big &ldquo;train of pain&rdquo;. I stood on the side of the road on one of the sprint laps and the wind coming off the peloton was awesome.</p>\n<p>Going to go see the final stage on Sunday in Stillwater as well.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-11T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/11/bike-racing-in.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/08/tailwinds-are-nice.html",
        "title": "Tailwinds Are Nice",
        "content_html": "<p>I&rsquo;ve been commuting to work on my bike again. It&rsquo;s such a great way for me to get to work and with the superb trails that are at my disposal it&rsquo;s really a shame for me not to ride in. On the way home tonight I felt like I was in paradise as I pedaled down the path. I was cruising along at 22 mph and the gears were turning over so easily.</p>\n<p>At that time I was reminded of something that I heard when I was at Hellweek in 2001. An older cyclist that I was riding one of the centuries with joked with me that &ldquo;Whenever you are enjoying it, you&rsquo;ve got a tailwind.&rdquo; Tonight as I rode along the path feeling light as air these words came back to me. I hesitantly looked to the side of the trail and there I saw the grass gently but firmly bent in my direction from a steady wind.</p>\n<p>I had proven this saying true yet again.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-08T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/08/tailwinds-are-nice.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/06/lance-commercial.html",
        "title": "Lance Commercial",
        "content_html": "<p>It&rsquo;s prime time for the cycling season right now. Over the course of the last 4 years I&rsquo;ve developed a strong interest in professional cycling. I admit, like many it started just as a US Postal and more specifically a Lance thing. But I&rsquo;ve really started to love all that there is about cycling from the spring classics to the grand tours.</p>\n<p>Anyway, there is a new <a href=\"http://www.nike.com/wearyellow/seelanceride/main.html\">Nike commercial with Lance</a> that has been shown on <a href=\"http://www.olntv.com/\">OLN</a> a lot lately. I&rsquo;m not usually one to comment on commercials, but this thing is really cool.</p>\n<p><em>Warning: watching this may make you get up and go on a ride if you are a cyclist!</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-06T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/06/lance-commercial.html",
        "tags": ["Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2004/06/05/apple-duathlon.html",
        "title": "Apple Duathlon!",
        "content_html": "<p><strong>I&rsquo;m exhausted!</strong></p>\n<p>Tammy and I completed our very first multi-sport event. We did the <a href=\"http://www.appleduathlon.com/default.asp\">Apple Duathlon</a> in Sartell, MN today. A duathlon for those of you that are not aware is one less than a triathlon (imagine that!). It only involves running and cycling. However, to keep it interesting you still do three sessions which are typically a run, then bike, then run again. This duathlon was a 5k run followed by a 20 mile cycle finished with another 5k run.</p>\n<p>I&rsquo;ve done plenty of running races before. I&rsquo;ve also done my share of cycling races. But putting them together with the transition area and such was very new. The duathlon was extremely well run and if you are interested in these kind of events I highly recommend it. The staff did a great job. The race hosted everyone from elite male/female racers to two gentlemen over 70! They even had an Athena/Clydesdale division - I raced in the Clydesdale division. These divisions are for <em>bigger</em> people. Athena is for women over 150 pounds and Clydesdale is for men over 200 pounds. I&rsquo;ve always wanted to do a race with a Clydesdale division so that was fun. The race is <a href=\"http://www.usatriathlon.org/\">USAT</a> certified and is the longest running multi-sport event in Minnesota. It was also fun to get marked up triathlon style. There is no guessing about ages at these events &ndash; it&rsquo;s in marker right on your leg!</p>\n<p>The race took off in 6 waves, separated by 3 minutes. The elite athletes went first of course. Tammy went in wave 5 and I left in wave 6. I started three minutes behind her on the road.</p>\n<p>Tammy set a new personal best on the first 5k. I came in a minute after her. Tammy has developed really good running form and I&rsquo;m finding it hard to keep her pace. I hope to remedy that shortly. 🙂 On the bike I made up the gap and actually caught up and passed her, taking the 3 minute start lead she had away.</p>\n<p>The transition from the first 5k to the cycling wasn&rsquo;t too bad. Tammy and I both felt pretty strong. However, after pedaling for an hour at an all out pace (my average speed was just under 20 miles, and that was with some hills) my quads were absolutely killing me. I can&rsquo;t quite explain the sensation of getting off the bike and then starting <strong>another</strong> 5k. A lot of interesting thoughts went through my head. I actually at one point on the cycling leg, when my legs were really hurting, thought it would be really nice if I could just have a flat right then. My wish wasn&rsquo;t answered.</p>\n<p>I about died on that last 5k, my time was horrible and I gave all the time that I had gained on Tammy back to her. (No, we aren&rsquo;t competitive at all.) I ended up barely finishing ahead by about 20 seconds. Feel free to check out the <a href=\"http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=1313\">complete race results</a>.</p>\n<p>We both had a good time (sick, I know) and I doubt this will be our last multi-sport event. Tammy absolutely loved it and is already making plans to come back next year!</p>\n<p>Couple photos from before the race are here.</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2004-06-05T00:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2004/06/05/apple-duathlon.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Cycling"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/16/hellweek-day-rollercoaster.html",
        "title": "Hellweek, Day 7 - Rollercoaster Ride",
        "content_html": "<p>We followed up <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/15/hellweek-day-the.html\">the death ride</a> with the Rollercoaster. I have to admit, aside from the headwinds and the rather cold weather and a general lack of convenience stores, this ride is gorgeous. The ride goes through some really pretty canyons where you ride along streams up through Majestic Rock state park, and has some incredible views. While the ride has a respectable amount of climbing, it didn&rsquo;t feel like it was beating you on the head all day. All in all, great route. Believe it or not, there was even a flat stretch for a little while!</p>\n<p>Here is the ride map.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/30cc3672be.gif\" alt=\"Road map of the Texas Hill Country near Fredericksburg showing a highlighted yellow cycling route through Crabapple, Eckert, Willow City, and surrounding mountains and creeks.\">\n<p>Like I said above, this ride didn&rsquo;t seem to have that much climbing, but looking at the numbers it did. There were only a couple of real steep climbs. Maybe it&rsquo;s just that I&rsquo;ve seen enough of them now that they don&rsquo;t scare me as much. 😊</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/f7d4d4466a.gif\" alt=\"Line chart of elevation and total climbing over time on 3/16/2001, showing a rollercoaster profile between roughly 1100 and 2100 feet across 102 miles.\">\n<p>Nothing too exciting on speed on this route, but I did all 102 miles of it at an average speed of 15 mph, not bad considering how tired these legs are.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e80d60d221.gif\" alt=\"Speed profile chart for a 102-mile cycling ride on 3/16/2001 from 7:12am to 6:00pm showing speed fluctuating mostly between 10 and 25 mph with periodic drops to zero indicating stops.\">\n<p>I&rsquo;m debating tomorrow, I may ride the short loop, or I may take the day off. I&rsquo;m happy with my milage and I would like to see a little bit of Fredericksburg before I leave. Also, I hear there is a good massage shop in town and a 2-hour rub down sounds like near heaven at this point. I&rsquo;ll decide in the morning.</p>\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-16T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/16/hellweek-day-rollercoaster.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/15/hellweek-day-the.html",
        "title": "Hellweek, Day 6 - The Leakey Death Ride",
        "content_html": "<p><strong>I SURVIVED THE DEATH RIDE!</strong></p>\n<p>Before I get into the details of the death ride, let me give you where we are, day 6 of Hellweek:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>You wake up and before you even get out of bed, your quads hurt.</li>\n<li>Your ass hurts before you even get on your saddle and Chamois Butt&rsquo;r is your best friend.</li>\n<li>You&rsquo;ve already rode 440 miles and spent over a full day on your bike.</li>\n<li>You wonder if your Advil is expired or something, doesn&rsquo;t seem to do anything.</li>\n<li>You&rsquo;re &ldquo;working&rdquo; at eating enough at night to keep you fueled up.</li>\n<li>You&rsquo;ve eaten more bananas than a medium sized family of apes.</li>\n<li>Mars bar? Donut? Sugary thing with Peanuts? Who cares! It&rsquo;s got calories!</li>\n</ul>\n<p>These pictures pretty much wrap up what the death ride is all about (thanks to Don for taking these!)&hellip;</p>\n<p>There are no items to display from the selected collection.</p>\n<p>The death ride took a little over 7 hours to finish and totaled 109 miles. It&rsquo;s our only &ldquo;away&rdquo; ride. We leave Fredericksburg at about 7:00 am and drive our bikes down to Bandara and leave from there. The climbs on this ride are hard to really convey in text, they are steep and they go on for as long as you can see. You don&rsquo;t want to look up since you may just want to stop. You pass other riders walking there bikes up.</p>\n<p>Here is the ride map.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/bfe98f1b2c.gif\" alt=\"Road map showing a 109-mile cycling loop near Leakey and Bandera Texas with the route marked in yellow dashed line.\">\n<p>There are 6 major climbs to the death ride. The first is the most arduous, it&rsquo;s dead straight and you can see the entire beast as you begin to climb it&rsquo;s nearly 1,000 feet without any break. The first three are all bundled together, then you get three more on the back. The worst is when your 100 miles into the ride and ready to collapse, and there is the last climb staring at you.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/5b4d538377.gif\" alt=\"Altitude and total climbing chart for a 109-mile ride on 3/16/2001, showing elevation ranging from about 1100 to 2150 feet over roughly 7 hours.\">\n<p>Who care&rsquo;s about average speed on this ride, it&rsquo;s dead on those climbs. I can tell you that you can climb standing at under 6 mph for about 10 minutes straight with your heart pounding at over 90% max, it hurts, but it can be done. I also set a new personal record for speed, hitting 50 mph on the descents. After one 47 mph descent I pulled over and found my newly rebuilt wheel had 6 &ldquo;wiggly&rdquo; loose spokes! WHOA! I deserve that nickname they gave me, Lucky. A little roadside truing of the wheel and I was off again.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/4bfb6d7652.gif\" alt=\"Line graph titled Speed showing MPH recorded every few minutes from 7:12am to 6pm on 3/15/2001, with speeds mostly between 5 and 20 MPH and occasional spikes near 40 MPH.\">\n<p>I decided to skip the heart rate chart today and instead show you an exertion chart. This chart shows you my &ldquo;typical&rdquo; training program on the left, and you can see the exertion factor that Hellweek demands. Yikes!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/9a45c068db.gif\" alt=\"Bar chart showing daily cycling exertion levels from December 2000 through March 2001, with a dramatic spike on March 13 2001 reaching near 700.\">\n<p>I made it! The death ride is the hardest and longest ride of Hellweek, and I successfully pulled it off. Only two more days left.</p>\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-15T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/15/hellweek-day-the.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/14/hellweek-day-born.html",
        "title": "Hellweek, Day 5 - Born to Boerne",
        "content_html": "<p>Todays ride was a mentally exhausting ride. 102 miles that took nearly 7 hours to complete. We started the morning in a light drizzle, 3 hours and 50 miles in it was raining pretty hard and the temperature was in the 50&rsquo;s, read as, miserable. By the time we got to 70 miles the sun was showing itself a little. Even though the ride &ldquo;only&rdquo; had a little over 5,000 feet of vertical climbing, it felt like we were going uphill all day!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/8b84b34ad3.jpg\" alt=\"Four cyclists in cycling gear posing together outdoors on a wooden overlook with trees and blue sky behind them\">\n<p><em>Here is the group riding today. From left to right: Don, Bill, Don and me!</em></p>\n<p>Here is the ride map.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/f004b41314.gif\" alt=\"Road map centered on Texas Hill Country showing a dotted yellow cycling route looping through Fredericksburg, Boerne, and surrounding towns near US 290.\">\n<p>Like I said, this ride felt like we were climbing all day, but the numbers aren&rsquo;t as bad. There was one really steep climb at 80 miles.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/0414cab5e3.gif\" alt=\"Line chart of altitude in meters over time on 3/14/2001 from 7am to 6pm showing roughly 5000 feet of climbing over a 102-mile ride.\">\n<p>Speed was terrible on this ride, this was the longest century thus far and average speed was below 15 mph. Tough, tough day.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/dfeaf40eb7.gif\" alt=\"Line chart of cycling speed in mph on 3/14/2001 from 7am to 6pm, averaging below 15 mph with frequent fluctuations and dips near zero.\">\n<p>And here is a chart I was just playing with, it shows acceleration profile. 😊 Not terribly useful, I don&rsquo;t think.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/02c8afe466.gif\" alt=\"Line chart showing speed and acceleration data from a cycling ride on 3/14/2001 between 7:12am and 6:00pm.\">\n<p>Average HR was low today.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/08a135406c.gif\" alt=\"Heart rate zone chart over 6.5 hours showing 79.3 percent in zone 1 yellow, 20.6 percent in zone 2 green, 0 percent in red zones\">\n<p>Tomorrow is the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/15/hellweek-day-the.html\">Death Ride</a>! Wish me luck!</p>\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-14T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/14/hellweek-day-born.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/13/hellweek-day-freds.html",
        "title": "Hellweek, Day 4 - Fred's Ride",
        "content_html": "<p>Fred&rsquo;s Ride is named after a friend of Nick&rsquo;s, the Hellweek organizer who passed away a couple years ago, and this route was his favorite of Hellweek. It serves as a memorial ride for any cyclists that are no longer with us.</p>\n<p>Today involuntarily turned into a short day for me. I made the climb up Eagles Nest Mountain (wow, steep!) and at the bottom of the descent as I was going about 35 miles an hour, my rear tire exploded on me (literally!). The tire itself came off and the tube blew up and wrapped around my cogs numerous times, stopping the wheel. I then skidded on my rim for a while and luckily I was able to stay upright and didn&rsquo;t wipe it. Pretty lucky on that one! A couple riders and I tried to pull the tube out of the cogset and thought I may be able to put a new tire on and finish the ride, but the wheel was toast. The rim was all cut up and terribly out of true. They went ahead and called the sag-wagon for me which arrived in about an hour. My wheel is at the bike shop in town getting rebuilt right now, so I&rsquo;ll be back in business for tomorrows ride.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/76722386aa.jpg\" alt=\"Shredded black bicycle inner tube and tire debris tangled together, lying on a red paisley fabric surface after a blowout\">\n<p><em>What was left of my tube after the blowout!</em></p>\n<p>Because of the unfortunate problem with my tire, I only got in around 40 miles of the ride today. 8-( You can see the mark &ldquo;BLOW&rdquo;, that&rsquo;s where my tire went on me.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/16d35212d5.gif\" alt=\"Road map of Kerrville Texas area showing highways 10 98 173 290 501 783 and nearby towns including Fredericksburg Center Point and Ingram\">\n<p>This ride was on track to be about 6,000 feet of vertical climbing. You can see the Eagles Nest climb on here, very steep!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/eb6fc7a67c.gif\" alt=\"Line chart of altitude in feet versus time from 8:09 to 11:31 on 3/13/2001, with Eagles Nest peak labeled near 2100 feet around 11:02.\">\n<p>For the part of the ride that I did get in, I put in the fastest pace yet. I averaged 16.1 mph and hit 42 mph max. That&rsquo;s over a half-mile faster on average than any of my previous days and is the fastest max speed yet. You can see my speed was pretty high right before I blew.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/163fd2ee35.gif\" alt=\"Line graph of cycling speed in mph from 8:09am to 11:31am on 3/13/2001, peaking near 31 mph before dropping to zero after a tire blowout.\">\n<p>Despite this being my fastest day, my average HR was lower than all the previous days, at 116 bpm.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/c307f809d6.gif\" alt=\"Heart rate graph over 2.5 hours showing mostly yellow zone around 80-130 bpm with green zone spikes, dropping sharply near the end at roughly 2 hours 20 minutes\">\n<p>Tonight is the Hellweek Banquet. I&rsquo;m going to take my camera so I can get some pictures of people in normal clothes! 😊</p>\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-13T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/13/hellweek-day-freds.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/12/hellweek-day-southern.html",
        "title": "Hellweek, Day 3 - Southern Comfort",
        "content_html": "<p>We had a re-route on the beginning of today&rsquo;s ride since one of the bridges was flooded, this cut a couple miles off of the route so &ldquo;only&rdquo; came in at 96.6 miles today. Was a good ride, however the wind seemed to be always in front of me. One of the riders got hit by a truck, he&rsquo;s gonna be okay but had to have an ambulance come and take him out. His name is Bill from Oklahoma City if I remember right. (Update on Bill, found out at dinner that they ended up taking him out by helicopter to San Antonio to be worked on. He fractured a vertebrae, otherwise known as breaking your neck. He&rsquo;ll be okay, but that&rsquo;s a tough one).</p>\n<p>I think I finally got my eating right. Day 1 I ate 1,100 calories during the ride and was starving at the end. Yesterday I bonked at 80 miles and ended up eating 1,300 calories and starving. Today I ate 2,000 calories during the ride and felt much, much stronger during the ride. Think I&rsquo;m figuring out how to fuel these centuries in a row.</p>\n<p>Onto the ride, here&rsquo;s the map. Todays is more impressive, looks like we went further. The default path was to go to highway 16 and then go up to Frederickburg, but that road has too many cars going too fast, so I backed up and went up 2093 back into town.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/de09e76833.gif\" alt=\"Road map showing a cycling route near Fredericksburg Texas with yellow dashed lines marking the path through Kerrville Center Point and Comfort covering roughly 96 miles\">\n<p>The altitude profile wasn&rsquo;t as bad as yesterday, still had some serious climbing and that climbing was into the wind, adding insult to injury.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/444d31dd78.gif\" alt=\"Line chart showing altitude profile for a 96.6-mile bike ride on 3/12/2001 from 7:12am to 4:48pm, peaking near 2150ft around 2pm.\">\n<p>Had some nice fast runs today. When we climbed out of the valley had about 10 miles on flats. I can&rsquo;t tell you how cool it feels when you&rsquo;re five hours into your ride and you can still hammer out at 25 miles an hour for a good while (of course, the wind at your back, shhh!)</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/787f3410c1.gif\" alt=\"Speed profile line graph for a 96.6-mile ride on 3/12/2001 from 7:12am to 4:48pm, showing speed in MPH ranging 0 to 40.\">\n<p>Average heart rate today was 119, lowest of all three days. Makes sense since we had less vertical climbing. As well, the body just gets tired.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/872f05eb32.gif\" alt=\"Heart rate graph over 6-plus hours showing values mostly between 100 and 130 bpm in yellow zone, with 29.9 percent in green zone and 0 percent in red or cyan zones.\">\n<p>Tomorrow is <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/13/hellweek-day-freds.html\">Fred&rsquo;s Ride</a>. Semper Fi! 😊</p>\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-12T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/12/hellweek-day-southern.html",
        "tags": ["Fitness","Travel","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/11/hellweek-day-the.html",
        "title": "Hellweek, Day 2 - The Harper Image",
        "content_html": "<p>Today was a long ride. 😀 Little over a thousand more vertical feet of climbing than we had yesterday, add onto that wet morning with a hot afternoon (read as your clothing is always not right) and a headwind that seemed to follow us wherever we went, no matter what! However, the &ldquo;roller coaster hills&rdquo; were a lot of fun, hitting some pretty good speeds. New GPS method worked excellent, just put it in a zip-loc and throw it in the mesh part of the CamelBack.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/40dabc6496.jpg\" alt=\"Two cyclists near a rustic wooden building, one in a red shirt sitting on steps, another in a yellow jersey working on a bicycle.\" style=\"width: 300px; \" /><br/>\n<em>This is Don and Foster. Don is from Texas and Foster is a fellow Minnesotan. We road together most of Day 2.</em></p>\n<p>Anyway, here&rsquo;s today&rsquo;s ride&hellip;</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/fdf1b495a6.gif\" alt=\"Road map showing cycling route near Harper and Fredericksburg Texas with yellow dotted trail markers highways 87 965 73 3 and 16 visible\">\n<p>This ride had a lot (let me emphasize that!) of up and down, rolling hills. Tack onto that a couple of serious climbs and you have the reason my quads still are yelling at me. (Notice the new chart, basic altitude and then I&rsquo;ve added a second line for total vertical feet, sweet!)</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/4defe06fd9.gif\" alt=\"Altitude profile chart for Harpers Bazaar ride on 3-11-2001 showing elevation between 1600 and 2400 feet from 7am to 5pm.\">\n<p>Speed was average. You can see today had 3 breaks. This ride looped through the city of Harper three times (hence the name). (Note the new chart here as well, basic speed is in light and an average of the speed is in the thicker line, gives a better representation.)</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e1dd714427.gif\" alt=\"Speed profile chart from 7:12am to 4:48pm on 3/11/2001, showing MPH fluctuating mostly between 10-25, with 3 visible stops at zero.\">\n<p>Heart rate was actually lower than yesterday, averaging 123 (yesterday was 125). Other than that this chart really looks about the same.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/753f753561.gif\" alt=\"Heart rate zone chart over 6-hour bike ride showing 58.2 percent in zone 1 yellow, 41.7 percent in zone 2 green, 0.1 percent in zone 3 red.\">\n<p>Tomorrow is another brand new ride, <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/12/hellweek-day-southern.html\">Southern &ldquo;Dis&rdquo;-Comfort</a>. Another 100 miler. Whew&hellip;</p>\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-11T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/11/hellweek-day-the.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Technology","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/10/hellweek-day-lbj.html",
        "title": "Hellweek, Day 1 - LBJ Ramble",
        "content_html": "<p>Let&rsquo;s actually start with yesterday, Friday. Got into San Antonia, got the bike from luggage, all went very easy, to my surprise. Got the gate upgrade on the car rental to a Ford Explorer, much better for putting stuff into. Made my way to Fredericksburg and put the bike together, with one big gotcha. One of my spokes on my rear wheel had been damaged. There is a single bike shop in Fredericksburg, but they were closed. Luckily, another rider Tom had extra spokes and one actually fit. Got the spoke fixed and all was better. YES!</p>\n<p>The next day came early when I woke up at 5:30 am and couldn&rsquo;t fall asleep! Got over to the ride start area about an hour early and just chatted with people. Cyclists are almost universally pretty good people.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/2c3660bace.jpg\" alt=\"Large group of cyclists in helmets and colorful jackets gathered on a road before a group ride, overcast sky and houses in background.\">  \n_Group getting ready to go..._\n<p>LBJ Ramble was the ride of the day. 99 miles total distance, I clocked it off in 6 hours and 15 minutes of riding. There are breaks in this track from an unforeseen GPS issue. On fast descents on the road bike, there is a lot of vibration on the handlebars and the eMap kept on turning off! I finally just took it off and put it in my pocket. A little later, I figured I would try just turning it on and putting it in my Camelback. This proved to be very effective, except I lose the ability to navigate with it, oh well. (The nice thing about this approach is it will definitely work off-road on a mountain bike as well.) This map just doesn&rsquo;t do justice to how long these rides are. Note that all those names are actually different cities! (You can also see where I missed a turn here.)</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/0f9c561711.gif\" alt=\"Road map centered on Fredericksburg Texas showing highways routes 16 187 and 648 with a yellow dashed route overlay marking the LBJ Ramble cycling course.\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/2ee70ff810.jpg\" alt=\"Two cyclists in helmets and cycling gear stand with road bikes leaning against a brick building wall.\">  \n_This is Bill and Leonard, I rode with them for a long time on Saturday. Bill is an ex-cycling coach and he and Leonard have logged thousands of miles together._\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/f39e43fd78.jpg\" alt=\"Weathered sales room entrance with metal security gate, hand-painted sign reading SALES ROOM on exterior wall, Open sign visible on door.\">  \n_Leonard knew about this place called Rabge's Meats. Yes, this is the \"sales room\". Got a bunch of turkey and beef jerky here, best damn jerky I've ever had. Gotta have some of this shipped up to Minneapolis._\n<p>There was only one serious climb on this ride (although the entire thing was riddled with &ldquo;Minnesota Hills&rdquo;). The Gypsum Mine Road was a good climb, pushing hard. All the veterans here keep talking about the hills on the Leakey-Death route, apparently we haven&rsquo;t seen anything yet.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/4925fcb9a2.gif\" alt=\"Altitude chart for a 99-mile bike ride on 3/10/01 showing elevation between roughly 1400 and 2200 feet over about 9.5 hours, peaking near Gypsum Mine Road.\">\n<p>Some nice fast descents. Texas seems to have a habit however of putting cattle gates at the bottom of hills, usually on a turn. So, you need to keep your speed in check or you will have a mishap on those things. Luckily no rain, so they weren&rsquo;t very slippery. Most of them you can just &ldquo;float&rdquo; over, but some rattle you pretty big!</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/e02f6d9312.gif\" alt=\"Line graph of cycling speed in MPH from 7am to 4:48pm on 3/10/01, averaging 15.6 mph with peaks near 44 mph.\">\n<p>Heart rate strategy was straightforward, stay around 130. Came in at an average HR of 125. This is well below my anaerobic threshold so I was limiting lactate buildup. Stayed aerobic through the majority of the ride. Consumed a little over 1,200 calories during the 6 hour ride, while burning around 3,600 calories. Ate like a horse when I got back to the hotel.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/1e733fc6cd.gif\" alt=\"Heart rate graph over 6-plus hours showing mostly yellow zone below 125 bpm with green zone around 140 bpm making up roughly half the ride time.\">\n<p>Tomorrow is a brand new ride, <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/11/hellweek-day-the.html\">Harpers Bazaar</a>. Another 100 miler. Stay tuned&hellip;</p>\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-10T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/10/hellweek-day-lbj.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Technology","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/03/hellweek-gear-test.html",
        "title": "Hellweek Gear Test 2",
        "content_html": "<p>Second gear test, got everything working the way I want this time.</p>\n<p>Below you can see the ride that I took, total distance of 15.9 miles:</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/f73e5559b8.gif\" alt=\"GPS route map of a 15.9-mile bike ride through Minneapolis lakes including Cedar Lake, Lake Calhoun, and Lake Harriet, shown with a yellow highlighted path.\">\n<p>Here is an elevation profile of the ride. I was also able to put speed on here as well, the GPS tracks the distance from each sampling point and the time difference, from that you can derive you speed at any point of your ride.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/b275822f83.gif\" alt=\"Line chart showing altitude between 780-960 feet and speed 0-40 mph during a bike ride on March 3 2001 from 2:04 PM to 3:06 PM\">\n<p>Last but not least is the all important heart rate graph. I may experiment with exporting this and putting it on the same ride profile chart above, it would correlate more directly with climbing and speed anyway.</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/153f256eea.gif\" alt=\"Heart rate graph over a 1-hour bike ride showing beats per minute fluctuating mostly in the 130-150 range across color-coded heart rate zones in yellow, green, and red.\">\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-03T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/03/hellweek-gear-test.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Technology","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2001/03/02/hellweek-gear-test.html",
        "title": "Hellweek Gear Test 1",
        "content_html": "<p>Took my GPS on my ride with me to do a gear test before heading to Texas. Had the heart rate monitor on as well, but for some reason I got no signal, not sure what the problem was with that.</p>\n<p>Below you can see the ride that I took today, total distance of 29.8 miles:</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/6cfded723a.gif\" alt=\"GPS route map of a 29.8-mile bike ride through Minneapolis showing a yellow dotted path looping through city streets and around lakes.\">\n<p>Here is an elevation profile of the ride. This was good as the vertical climbing per mile is similar to what I&rsquo;m expecting in Texas:</p>\n<img src=\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/890/2020/cf343e9fa8.gif\" alt=\"Altitude chart of a 29.8-mile bike ride from 2:02 PM to 4:04 PM showing 933 feet of climbing between roughly 800 and 975 feet elevation.\">\n<p><em>Part of the <a href=\"https://www.thingelstad.com/collections/texas-hellweek-2001/\">Texas Hellweek 2001</a> collection.</em></p>\n",
        "date_published": "2001-03-02T01:00:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2001/03/02/hellweek-gear-test.html",
        "tags": ["Travel","Technology","Cycling","Texas Hellweek 2001"]
      }
  ]
}