Random Blogging Well it's been a while since I blogged, so here it goes in "Random Blogging Mode" Spending a lot of time lately getting everything ready for the Arrowhead 135 race that starts next Monday. I think I finally have all of my gear where I want it. I hope I don't forget anything. The pugs weighs in at a svelt 56 lbs so far with no water or food. Ouch! I'll try and get some pictures up on Thursday. The weather forecast looks pretty good for next week. Highs in the low to mid 20's, and lows around 0 degees F. Hopefuly the trail will be solid. I can't wait for it to get here. I went to the Sioux hockey game on Saturday. They lost again. What's going on with that team Brian? Too much talent? Bad coaching? I did my taxes tonight. Looks like I can start looking for some new toys : ) Cyclocross bike? Trans-Iowa 29er? New road wheels? Hmmmm. Any other suggestions? Finally. Congratulations to Mr. Bill Mastre on a new baby boy! Way to go man! Until next time. Good night.

Winter Camping Austin and me went camping at Turtle River State Park last night. Winter camping is cold! It got down to 5 degrees F. It was pretty windy out, but we found a campsite in the trees so it wasn't too bad. I need a down jacket and some down booties for sure. I also need a four season tent. The bivy sack felt like a death trap. It's bad enough in a mummy bag, but then to put another restrictive bag around that is too much. It was warm, but I got little if any sleep. Overall it was a fun experience, and I can't wait to do it again using what I learned from this outing. Here are the pics:

Home for the night. Easy to set up, but to small for me. Good for an emergency when you don't plan on having to camp out.

I need one of these, minus the feet sticking out.

After we set up camp we started to make supper. These MSR stoves are amazing!

Spaghetti, it's what's for dinner. Mmmmm.

After a good hour, lots of matches and half a roll of toilet paper we got a fire started. Need to work on my fire building skills.

Put another log on the fire Austin.

Midnight snack of Pop Tarts. Brown sugar cinnamon flavor is the best.

Austin obviously ate too much. "He's gonna be a soccer player, he is, he is"-Billy Madison.

Off to bed. It's gonna be a cold night.

Snowshoeing Went snowshoeing with Austin tonight. It was my first time. "Go easy on me please" : ) It was fun. Here's some pictures. Here's Austin at the shop before we headed to Lincoln Park. I think Pat is reprimanding Josh in the background : ) For what, I don't know. Any guesses? Austin is an animal. He loaded up his pack with a sandbag that most people put in their vehicles for traction. Crazy! I could barely lift it. Austin trying to stay upright with all that weight. He had to prop himself up with a pole : ) I'm on fire!

Gratuitous photo op. Me with the MSR Lightning Ascents. They are super lightweight with a ton of traction. I was very impressed.

That's all folks. This post was brought to you by the letter M and the number 7.

Went on a fun ride tonight. Two hours on the river bank trails. Beautiful night. 12 degrees F, no wind. I brought along the camera to try and capture what its like to ride in the snow along the banks of the Red River. Here is my photo blog:

Here is the Pugsley relieving itself on a tree.

Here's the footprint of the Endomorph tires.

Another bathroom break on a fallen tree.

This is the funnest part of the trail. It winds through the trees with some hairy off camber sections.

Watch out for open water and skunks. I saw a one around this area a few weeks ago.

End of the trail at Riverside Dam. You can barely make it out in the background.

Well that's it for tonight. I hope you enjoyed them. I'll try and get some action shots this weekend. Goodnight.

Here's some pictures of the Pugsley. Enjoy : ) Here's a pic of the front rack loaded with sleeping bag. Here's one of the rear rack with bivy tent, thermarest, cookware and stove. After being set up for expedition mode. Like the fuel bottle mount? In "beater bike" mode. There's still some work to be done before it'll be ready for the Arrowhead. Thanks to Pat White for being my chief fabricator and rack loaner. I'd also like to thank Dave Sears for a borrowed frame bag (not shown), and "Budget Biker" ,Rick Mangan, for a lot of great ideas. Stay tuned, I think I have this picture thing figured out finally!

Mmmm McGinest! Hello all. Long time no blog. The Great Greg Ames swung through town tonight. Me, Greg and Greg's old "roommate" ,Matt, headed to The Hub to try and get a Hub Special. Well I guess the third time is a charm because we got a Hub BURGER! The always entertaining bartender Matt, was our host, and good times were had by all. We watched as the Patriots spanked the Jaguars. Willie McGinest had a dominating performance with 4.5 sacks. Greg and Matt, not the bartender Matt, but the other Matt, kept saying how much they liked the warm, dark and frothy drink known as McGinest. Must be a military thing : ) Anyhow, we went back to my place, were Greg proceeded to take multiple pictures and dry hump my Surly Pugsley bike. Maybe he'll post some of the not so risque' pics on his blog. Then he took it out for a ride in the snow. Just then Dave Sears happened to be driving by and shouted out how "gay" Greg is. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I still love ya Greg. : ) Good luck on becoming the next Top Gun! Not much else happening in this neck of the woods. Since there are no woods here. Going to try and get a long ride in tomorrow. Until then, Goodnight.