Marty Cormack

It is supposed to get up to 70F (21C) this afternoon, but I have a commitment, so I went out early and rode the Eyota loop for 33 miles. The county roads are all clear and dry, so road rides are again possible. But the 2 state trails I passed this morning still have standing snow on them. Maybe by next week I can try state trail rides again. The winds picked up and the last half of the ride was more of a workout.
#BikeTooter

Every time I see "Epic Fury" my brain sees it as "Epic Failure."

Happy Equinox! This morning was also very pleasant for riding a bike, but I was again limited to where I could ride. The plowed #RochMN city trails were open, but the unplowed trails, like the Douglas State Trail, were not. The Bear Creek Trail did not have much snowmelt, but the other trails did and I have the water/mud stripe up my backside to prove it. There were a couple places where street plows created snow mounds to climb over mostly at crosswalks. I rode 30 miles total.
#BikeTooter

This afternoon was awfully pleasant for riding a bike, 52F (11C), sunny and very light winds. But the remnant snow limited my choices. The #RochMN city trails were mostly open but there were spots where I had to dismount and one where I had to climb over a huge snowbank. One other place had not been plowed so I had to detour. There was a lot of snowmelt on the trails, so a bicycle with fenders was the best option. I rode my Brompton for 15 miles.
#BikeTooter

We had a Clipper move through overnight which deposited another inch of snow on top of the foot that came on Sunday. So a fat bike ride was in order again. It was below freezing when I set off, but the March sun warmed things up and the melting has begun. It will take a while to dispatch the piles we have. I rode the #RochMN trails and around Soldiers Field Park for 11 miles.
#BikeTooter

I got back on the bike after 4 days off. I thought about bringing a bike on our trip, but the weather made any thought of riding impossible, especially Sunday and Monday. Today I went to see if the Bear Creek Trail had been plowed. It was, but with so much packed snow and ice still on the trail in many places, only a fat bike with studded tires was safe enough. I rode to Slatterly Park and back for 6 miles. I hope to be back on my road bike by the weekend.
#BikeTooter

We made it home safely and found the huge piles of snow the HOA left after plowing the sidewalks and driveways. The roads the last 45 miles had compacted snow completely covering the road in many places and other people were driving way too fast for those conditions. I was happy when they passed instead of hanging on my tailpipe.
#mnwx

RE: @AkaSci@fosstodon.org

#PiDay
When I was a freshman in college 52 years ago, I memorized Pi to 20 places, 3.14159265358979323846...
I knew someone even nerdier than me who memorized it to 100 places.

TIL that the 20 places was more than what was ever practically necessary.

At least it still gives me my nerd creds.

BTW Strawberry-Rhubarb is my choice for today's celebration.

If I have to hear that awful annoying jingle/song with the Caplyta commercials on ESPN+ hockey game telecasts one more time, I'm going to scream!
Ahhhhhhhh!

#BikeStreak Day 70:
It snowed this morning, less than an inch, but the sun came out and it went just above freezing so most of it was gone by the time I needed to go get my hair cut. We are now into 3rd Winter and it's gonna be yucky the next 6 or 7 days. I rode my ebike to the hair salon because of the strong Northwest wind and ended up with 6 miles. I have MNDoT open house later this afternoon so I will get a few more miles logged. I'll critique their unsafe intersection plans.
#BikeTooter

I arrived early for tonight's match between the Utah Mammoth and the #mnwild at Grand Casino Arena. Go Wild!
#hnom

#BikeStreak Day 69:
It's much cooler, cloudier and windier than yesterday, so today's ride required more clothing. I rode the #RocMN city trails to the Northeast end of town and then back around for 25 miles. I saw and heard a lot of birds when I started out, but less once the wind picked up. I see that the city finally permanently repaired the washed out trail segment in Essex Park. The newspaper says they're in the process of fixing the other washout at Foster Arends Park. Yay!
#BikeTooter

#BikeStreak Day 68:
It was a nearly perfect day (in March in Minnesota) for a ride up the Douglas State Trail to Pine Island for the first time this year. All the ice and snow is gone, and the winter debris was not as bad as it could be. I came back partially on Olmsted County 3 for a 46 mile total. Along with the longest ride of the year, I also had my fastest time of the year.
The American Robins are back, I saw and heard many on the ride; also Red-winged Blackbirds.
#BikeTooter

#BikeStreak Day 67:
With a church obligation in the morning and the #MNWild playing a matinee game on TV, I wasn't free to ride until late afternoon. But with the time change that still meant 3 hours of sunlight on an unseasonably warm March Sunday afternoon. I rode the #RochMN city trails and a couple county roads for 30 miles. The city trails were quite busy with folks walking and taking advantage of the spring like day. I may be able to ride the Douglas State Trail tomorrow.
#BikeTooter

#BikeStreak Day 58:
Because the forecast was for increasing winds in the afternoon, I went out on my bike ride early, while it was still cool. It eventually got to 55F (13C) but the winds weren't that strong. In any case I rode up the Douglas State Trail again to see how far I could get before hitting ice and snow across the trail, and this time I got to just South of Douglas, 4.5 miles up the trail. There's snow in the forecast for tomorrow, so I may be back on studded tires.
#BikeTooter

#BikeStreak Day 57:
Our hockey ice time tonight is pre-empted by high school boys hockey section finals. So not needing to save my legs, I went on a longer bicycle ride. I rode to see how far up the Douglas Trail I could go: not far (1.5 miles). But I still managed to ride 27 miles while the temperatures rose to above normal. In the process, I crossed 1000 miles for the year and set my personal best mileage for the month of February (587 miles and 2 days to go).
#BikeTooter

#BikeStreak Day 56:
It was cold (12F, -11C), sunny and windy this morning. I rode to a downtown coffee shop to discuss bicycle advocacy items with a small group. Then I ran errands to get a birthday card for my wife and ingredients for tonight's dinner, 12 miles total. But it felt a lot colder than I expected and with my fingers so numb, I neglected to take a photo along the way. At least the frozen rain from yesterday had evaporated or sublimated so it was clear and dry riding.
#BikeTooter

#BikeStreak Day 55:
It was warmer this morning, though cloudy and a bit windy. I thought about taking a longer ride, but the chance of freezing rain at about lunch time discouraged me, and that was the right decision as it started raining and sleeting minutes after I finished riding. I rode the #RochMN city trails and a couple streets for 21 miles. The rain has now stopped, but it remains to be seen what the roads and trails will be like tomorrow.
#Biketooter

#BikeStreak Day 54:
Just as cold to start as yesterday (12F, -11C) but with a lot less wind and sunny skies, it was a lot more pleasant for riding today. As I am running out of sunflower seeds for the backyard bird feeders, I hooked up the trailer to the ebike and went to Fleet Farm for a 40# bag. As that was only a 9 mile round trip, I detached the trailer at home and then rode up to and around Silver Lake and back for another 11 miles.
#BikeTooter

#HNOM
I've rewatched the OT of the Men's Gold Medal game several times and the play is astonishing. Both McDavid and McKinnon tried to win the game on their own by themselves, without using their teammates and it cost them. On Quinn Hughes near goal and on Jack Hughes goal, the US players did not go it alone but executed cross ice passes to each other. Then it is even more astonishing that on the very last shift, McDavid, Makar and McKinnon each failed to make a play which would have foiled it.