Speculative appreciation

Highland Park Golf Course, Photo by Michael McKinney

Highland Park Golf Course, Photo by Michael McKinney

Minneapolis Mill District, Photo by Michael McKinney

Highland Park Golf Course, Photo by Michael McKinney

Como Park Golf Course, Photo by Michael McKinney

Winter Cycling Commute, Photo by Michael McKinney

Highland Park Golf Course, Photo by Michael McKinney

I've been trying to think of what specific bicycle ride from 2013 stuck in my mind as my favorite one. It seems a little pointless, and maybe the value of doing it is not so much about making a point about that particular bicycle ride or myself, maybe it should be more a focus of what did not happen to me in 2013. There were not a lot of dramatic failures, crashes, car accidents, altercations, sporting event fracases, nothing stands out in my memory as profoundly dissident from the rest...which is why I have been trying to think of something that happened that was more important than all of those other calamities that had previously relegated my attempts. I'll get back to you.

Okay, I found one. I went Cross Country Skiing in December, and rode my bicycle to the trail and back home. The day was a little colder and windier than I would have liked, and the snow pack was pretty soft, so the skiing was challenging...by the time I got home I was a little frustrated with the whole exercise. Which is funny because a month or two later the roads were so covered in ice and packed snow I skied on the road to the trail, did a few laps and skied home. Anyway, the bike ride was just a couple of miles to the trail and back home, so I am including the Nordic skiing portion of that days activities from my Strava feed,



...and a few pictures I took from that day and a couple others.

Dig in and growl.

Photo by Michael McKinney

Photo by Michael McKinney

Photo by Michael McKinney

Photo by Michael McKinney

Photo by Michael McKinney

Photo by Michael McKinney

Photo by Michael McKinney

Photo by Michael McKinney

"...and every time you drive that ski forward in the track, you launch yourself out onto it, gliding until you compress your weight down on that kick zone, push that ski flat and kick out onto the next ski, driving that one parallel and gliding until you compress and kick that ski...like tiger claws, gripping into the snow and pulling you down the track...just think of tigers claws...gripping...kicking..."
- Jake Moody

Imagine a math teacher, standing in front of a ski team, raking his fingers through the air, climbing an invisible ladder to describe the physical act of compressing a Petex ski on snow and ice, utilizing a special soft wax for grip, and creating forward propulsion out of that glide, compression and kick - if you do it wrong, you slip, fall down and no matter how many times you re-wax those plastic bases, your ski will always be too slippery to gain any traction. 

I think about that speech every year when the snow and ice become omnipresent - a person can not get through their day without at least once slowing their gait, gingerly weighting their steps and re-balancing their progression on a sidewalk, a driveway or a parking lot.  On a bicycle, it is dangerous to whisk over those patches on road tires.  I've used cyclocross tires the past couple of years, riding occasionally through the winter, but always dreading the next patch of hard packed snow and ice, or just glare ice, waiting for my knobby tires.

Suomi Tyres are made in Finland, and I bought a pair with my Felt F75X, back in January of this year.  They work.  They work so well I'd like to gush about them.  Done...they're just that effective.

I completed another pottery course, and held my first official showing, with fantastic sales to friends and family - for Thanksgiving, I made some bread and tried making Belgian brownies, which had a lot of flour and were too long in the oven...they wound up closer to a bitter truffle than a scrumptious brownie,  Oh well. 

I am currently reading A Civil Action, about a TCE water contamination case in Woburn, MA, made into a movie starring John Travolta.  Lots of legal proceedings, broke lawyers driving Porsches with multiple credit card debts, bankruptcies and Leukemia. 

I did capture a few decent pictures the past week, and posted them on a couple social media feeds.  I hope not having them "daisy chained" is less frustrating for anybody interested in reading this blog and seeing the photos as dealing with another hacked account would be for me. 

Tight lines, Rubber side down, Ciao, Take care, Peace love and happiness, happy holidays.

(Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you.)

Spring Pottery

Red Earth Pottery, Photo by Michael McKinney

Glazed, fired, greenware pottery, Photo by Michael McKinney

Lake Harriet, Minneapolis.  Photo by Michael McKinney

Snapping turtle, Minneapolis.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

With the last of winter finally letting go sometime around May, I registered for another six week pottery course through the Saint Paul Community Education Program.  This six week course covered throwing basic vessels, glazing and firing in a small volume, low heat kiln and took place in a different studio than previous classes.  The clay was also different, utilizing Red Earthen Ware clay rather than the Raku clay I had gotten accustomed to over the past year.


As the reader might accurately predict, I was disappointed with my results.  By my count, that leaves 9,900 pieces of pottery to be thrown before I can call myself a master potter, meanwhile the rivers streams and lakes are full of fish - I went fly fishing on Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Creek last week and caught a mess of panfish, (a bluegill, a pumpkinseed, some sunnies and a couple of crappies) and a Smallmouth Bass.

Of course, a few got away.  Robert Traver has a great story about his fishing rig, and the appropriate amount of fly fishing equipment to carry to and from one's destination while using this vehicle.  A veritable feast of spacial management, a Doctor Who's Tartus of nets, poles, fly boxes, waders, creels and coolers stacked under the seats and behind the passenger compartment.


Riding my bicycle with a fly rod and a pair of stinking running shoes I use for wading isn't what he had in mind I'm sure, and the assumption is that some things are better left unexplained, for want of encouraging fools to try...not that it stopped me from lashing my St. Croix Avid 5 Weight to my horizental tube, loading up my messenger bag and standing in the foulest smelling water I could find for three hours.


Two big events later this month are taking up some of my discretionary thinking - The Saint John's University Red Ride Century and the City of Lakes Loppet Tri-Loppet.  Both events I have participated in before, and both events I would encourage anybody else to as well.

Swing State, part 2

Riding to Wirth, Feb. 3 2013.  Photo property of Steve Kovtis.

Last week I rode out to my hometown of Stillwater and back, about a fifty mile ride, using my single speed mountain bike.  I had the wind at my back heading NorthEast, and cycled into a pretty direct, cold headwind on my return.  Half of the ride was recorded on Strava, using my iphone app, and I took a picture about two thirds of the way out - there was a solid half hour difference in having a tailwind versus a headwind.




This past weekend, I spent some time riding into Minneapolis to volunteer for the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation, as well as again racing in their annual cornerstone event, the City of Lakes Loppet.  I see other cyclists every time I am riding, be it on a solo shot to Stillwater and back or along the Greenway corridor in Minneapolis - not all on modified mountain bikes or single speed fixies.

Here are a couple of photos from the Loppet weekend, as well as a link to my Flickr set.  Enjoy.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlmck/sets/72157632685148733/

Hoigaards Classic, Feb 3, 2013.  Photo courtesy of skinnyski.com

Gateway Trail, 1-25-2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Ski Orienteering, Feb 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney

Snow Sculpting, Feb. 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Skijoring race, Feb. 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Ice Bike races, Feb. 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlmck/sets/72157632685148733/

Finally, I sold my Schwinn steel frame Worldsport yesterday, that had caused me trouble in the past, (4-23-2012).  A really good piece of advice, about selling one's own property; "Don't sell your bike, your books or your tools."  As I've had trouble learning the trade of salesmanship, both on the floor of a retail shop and on the interent with E-Bay, it makes a lot of sense to me.  Hopefully the time that went into the maintenance of the bike will have its own rewards, as I have to wait a month for the bike's identity to be verified with the police before receiving any profits from the sale.

Scratching on the Break

I thought briefly of posting a long blog entry about how many different types of vehicles I've single-handedly crashed, without injuring anybody but myself, or recounting the tale of my Big Wheel, circa 1983 or something, but after getting into an accident over the weekend, I had this thought in my head, about a guy who got stuck in an elevator not once, but twice in the same day.  It happened in Chicago, and was making the rounds on Twitter earlier in the day.  I am including some photos I've taken the past couple of months, as the Flickr Gadget has unexpectedly ceased to function....most of these were taken in and around Minneapolis / Saint Paul, while riding one bicycle or another.

Photo credit Michael McKinney

Photo credit Michael McKinney

Photo Credit Michael McKinney

Photo Credit Michael McKinney

Photo Credit Michael McKinney

Saturday afternoon ride to Trader Joe's in Saint Louis Park, followed by returning a movie at Merriam Park library and following my standard route to Summit along Fairview avenue. At Fairview and Dayton I was struck by a motorist. I'm pretty sure it could have been a lot worse, but I'm a bit disappointed with myself for not avoiding the driver. The driver presented a rolling stop while travellng West on Dayton, then gunned across Fairview and "T-Boned" me. All fingers and toes accounted for, but I am starting to deal with the inevitable fall out. My frame is a little bent, my wheels are shot and my knee is not satisfied with the situation...some groceries were also harmed in the making of this map...post...route. Or workout. Whatever it is you hipster kids call this.
The driver's stereo was blasting, and he couldn't hear me yelling at him to stop. He apologized and did stay at the accident site...I am getting the impression from bike shop personnel that his willingness to comply is commendable. For economical reasons, I haven't owned a car since August of 2009. When I did own a car, and did drive, turning on the stereo was action number two following engine ignition.  It is a small world.




Find more Bike Ride in St Paul, MN

Seems a little redundant and unnecessary to credit myself on my own photos, doesn't it?  You'd think a blog, by its very nature would be narcissism enough, let alone allowing oneself to be delusional enough to think another person would actually try to take validation or credit from or for your work, which is beyond narcissistic.   Here's a one act play about it, including the ocean - The internet is a huge ocean, this is my buoy.  Get your own...right?  Whatever.  Enjoy.