Trip 18 -- Uphill Both Ways...

Remember when I said the posts might get shorter and lack substance once school starts? Well, this is one of those posts unfortunately. It sucks getting older in college, the classes definitely get tougher. I already have a test on Tuesday! ARGHHHHH

I did go on a ride today, but it was just to school and back, so I won't bore you with the details. I do not have class on Fridays so I'll be definitely hitting the trails this weekend.

I'll actually post pictures of my bike this weekend, as per a reader's suggestion. But don't expect anything remotely fancy.

Oh, and NFL starts tomorrow...awesome.

Trip 17 -- Saying Goodbye to the Heat

This trip actually happened yesterday, when I left it was almost 90 degrees and windy (of course). I rode all the way over to the west side of town to visit some friends and while I was there, the cold front started to move in. Right when I decided to leave it started to rain, but it only lasted a few minutes. On my way home I could see that it was going to get worse, it was very dark to the south...so I decided to pick up the pace a little bit. Luckily I made it home just in time, a few minutes after I got home it started pouring and the wind increased. That would've been a nightmare to ride in...not to mention the dangerous lightning.

Well, as I look at the forecast it looks like it's gonna be cool for a while. Today's high is only 57 degrees (though the current temperature is 61 according to the NWS website). Pretty much the exact opposite of yesterday afternoon. I don't know if we're done with the heat for the year but it looks like we're done with it for at least a week. That's fine with me, I prefer this kind of weather.

This is from the University Ave. overpass in between downpours.



A view of a bunch of trains from the Columbia overpass over DeMers.



Hopefully we're done with the 80+ degree heat, I don't know if I'm alone here, but I prefer the cooler weather... I said cooler not cold. Winter can wait.

Time: N/A since I spent a while hanging out my friend's place.
Temp: 88 at the start and about 65 at the end





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Trip 14 -- Me: 1 Wind: 0

I already triumphed over rain, today's test was the high winds. The Weather Service says it's a south wind of 23 mph gusting to 35 mph. Riding north with the wind was no problem at all, but coming back was a beast. I had no idea bicycles could catch wind so bad, sometimes I felt like I was gonna get blown over. There was a point when I was on 55th st. and I came to a stop to take a picture. I stood up on my bike and my body was like a sail, the wind alone was pushing me down the road...it was pretty cool.

So I beat water, wind, and I guess you could say earth. I really hope I don't have to deal with fire, because I already concede.

Anyways,


Very windy today..that tree should be standing up straight.


So what exactly does a storm water pump station do?

Talk about homes being close to each other... at least they have alternating colors.


When I said I wanted to find crazy stuff in Grand Forks, this is what I meant. I have no idea why someone would put a chair on the top of a large dirt mound, but I'm glad they did.


The new welcome sign entering Grand Forks through highway 2. I do like it, it brings a little breath of fresh air to an otherwise unsightly road in GF.


Found this on the fitness trail by UND. I am completely stumped by what it is, but someone else was apparently curious as well and started taking bricks off.





People can be pretty frustrating sometimes...where the fitness trail crosses 17th ave there's one of those blinking light crosswalk beacons that I love so much. I pushed the button and a lady was nice enough to stop for me, even with like 5 cars behind her. I cross and the guy behind her just lays on his horn...I don't know if he was mad at me, her, or both...but really, guy? Did I slow you down that much? Did I make you late for some extremely important appointment? Jeez people, can we have just a little more patience? I never expect people to stop for me at those things, but I sure am grateful when they do.

Due to extremely high gas prices and a more health conscious nation, there are going to be more bicyclists than drivers are used to...we're going to have to find a way to coexist. Drivers are going to have to be more aware of bicyclists and vice versa.

Thanks for reading.


Start: 4:40
End: 6:20
Temp: 83
Trip: 12.66



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Trip 13 -- Morning Ride

I'm going to have to start getting used to these morning rides with fall semester on the horizon. It's been nice staying up until 2 am and waking up at noon...but it's time to adjust my sleep schedule back to college mode. One huge perk about riding in the morning is the temperature...it was still in the high 60s when I left, so that was really nice on a day where the high looks to be in the high 80s.
Some less aggressive birds...but the falcons were still cooler.


This is a very purple house, pretty cool though. Bravo to the owner for standing out a little bit from the crowd.


I was glad to see that the path had easy access to the downtown area, I haven't been down there yet on my bike so I thought I'd check it out.


This playground looks a little more fun than the lonely pull-up bars further south on the trail.

I've never actually been in the little ampitheater right by the bridge until now. That's what I love about doing this blog, I've seen a lot of things up close that I've always wondered about from afar.






That's all I got for today. You may notice that posts will (or already have) decreased in length and substance. That is the challenge of writing a daily blog...not every post is going to be a home run, but I'm trying. When school starts, these posts may become even smaller, but I will continue to put as much effort into it as I can. Thanks for reading!


Start: 8:17
End: 9:24
Temp: 69 degrees
Trip: 8.3



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Trip 11 -- Grand Forks Fitness Trail

I decided to navigate the entire GF Fitness Trail today, a map of it (and the Greenway) can be seen here. It is a really nice trail, and I wish there were more like it in Grand Forks. I didn't even realize it goes right by Sertoma Park, which I recently discovered for myself this week.

The trail was great, I loved how it was marked with the smiley faces. My only complaint is sometimes it's hard to tell which way the trail goes when you come to an intersection. I did figure it out for myself, but accidentally left the path a couple times.

I went early because the forecast calls for more rain, it still looks pretty nice out as I type this but according to this, it's supposed to pour soon.

I'll start off with another question for anyone who can answer it. What the hell are these greenish things I see everywhere? They're usually unmarked too so it's been a big mystery to me for a while. Not that I've been losing sleep over it, but I have faith one of you knows what they are.


Someone else was apparently frustrated by these things too and wanted to get a look at their insides.


I've been trying to take more pictures of wildlife, but I keep scaring them away before I get a chance. Luckily this guy decided to hang out for a little bit.


This is a pretty cool marker near Sertoma Park, off of the Fitness Trail. For reference, I put a placemark on my Google Map of where the marker is. It is pretty crazy to stand there, read that, and think of what it was like during the flood.

Click the image to make it larger

I could've either continued on the trail or gone down the path through this rickety bridge. I definitely had to choose the bridge.

I thought this a pretty cool area and was surprised I'd never heard of it before. I continued down the trail to see a familiar area...the same spot I was in earlier this week. A sign that said Sertoma Park. It all makes sense now.


The Ralph Engelstad Arena is definitely one of the coolest things in this entire region. We are really lucky to have it.

Saw this guy on 20th street near 24th ave. They are a good idea, but I gotta think it backfires sometimes. I know I've seen people gun it just to see how fast they can go when they drive by these things.



If you noticed, I just added a blogroll of some of the blogs I read, if you want yours on there, shoot me an e-mail.

That's all I got for today, thanks for reading!


Start: 11:27
End: 12:40
Temp: 79 degrees
Trip: 9.6 mi


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Trip 9 -- West

Wait, it stopped raining? I wasn't sure if i needed to start gathering supplies to build an ark, but it looks like we're safe for now. I ended up going to see the Twins/Yankees game yesterday with a few friends. A great game it was, the Twins shut out the Yankees...I won't go into detail, but it was awesome. We then decided to leave for home right after the game, it always seems like a good idea until around Fargo when it really hits us. I don't recommend driving while tired.

Today I decided to head west. I was pretty disappointed to see that the sidewalk on 42nd doesn't span all the way from 32nd to Demers. I really don't like riding on busy roads where there's not much room for bicyclists.

I've decided to make a change, I'm not going to be taking as many pictures from now on to help reduce the time it takes for the page to load. So from now on, the posts will be a little bit smaller.


So that's where Sertoma Park is. I hear about it all the time, but I've never actually seen it. I always associate this park with rubber ducks. Isn't there some kind of annual rubber duck race or something here?

Some construction right off of 42nd, I believe these are going to be apartments. Not sure when they're supposed to be completed.



A view from the University overpass. Kinda intense having cars go nearly 80 right below you.

Now this kind of housing development is cool. The houses are actually unique from each other, not the Stepford Wives style houses in one of my earlier posts.


A view of the western edge of town, now I just need to explore the extreme eastern edge.



One more thing...I really hate when people park their cars so that it's blocking the sidewalk. Today I was on the sidewalk and a girl drove by me, looked at me, pulled into her driveway and parked right in the way of the sidewalk...come on people.


Oh well, thanks for reading!


Start: 4:06
End: 5:43
Temp: 81 degrees
Trip: 11.66 mi



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Trip 8 -- Heading East

Today I decided to explore that mysterious land known as East Grand Forks. This was not without hardships, however. I definitely got lost on the path a few times. At one point, the path just ended and I'm pretty sure I was on some kind of construction site. I really should print out a map of the Greenway path. I think the city should do a better job of keeping travelers of the path informed though. Some more informative signs wouldn't hurt.


Traveling some of the paths in East Grand was pretty lonely. I only saw 2 other people the whole time I was lost...I saw more when I finally made my way north. There was a point when I was in a pretty heavily wooded area and it was dead quiet. I was pretty sure a wolf was gonna jump out at me. Don't worry, there were no wolves, just TONS of grasshoppers.


I went off the path a few times onto some pretty rough terrain, but hey that's what a mountain bike's for right? Speaking of which, I hope mine holds up. Sometimes, the chain sticks and clicks...kinda makes me nervous. But so far, so good.


On to the trip:


I took the usual route to the Greenway, and didn't snap any pictures until I crossed the river. As you can see in the first picture, it was another cloudy day. There were a few sprinkles, but nothing nearly as bad as it was the last time I rode in 'cloudy' weather. Right when I got into EGF I was already presented with a choice, there were numerous forks in these paths..and it just became frustrating after a while.




I guess I'm on a frisbee golf course now. I just keep following the path, assuming it's taking me north.




Where's the river? Where am I? It was around this point where I was thinking about the wolves.




This looks strikingly similar to the path on the other side of the river...I'm almost positive I've taken this same picture earlier this week in Grand Forks.





For all you bench connoisseurs, this one has a great view of the Red Lake River, and of the large tree planted right in front of it.



Yikes, I don't think it's necessary to keep the black tube around this tree. Looks pretty dead to me.


Uhh... I can only assume this is a city vehicle. I heard an engine behind me and was pretty surprised to see a pickup behind me going the other direction. I have no idea where it came from.




Oh you've got to be kidding me. I've already been up and down paths trying to find the right direction, and just when I think I've made progress I see this thing.




90% of Hummer owners will probably never take theirs off road, although that's what they're built for. Well, I don't know what the made-up statistic is for mountain bike owners, but I'm definitely taking it off the path at this point.




WHERE AM I?!



I rode through the empty construction area and popped up on James Ave. SE. I was just relieved to see any kind of road. I followed back to the path and eventually navigated my way north...finally on the right path!




So I go under that sketchy railroad bridge and see this. Why it's there, I have no idea.




A view of the flood marker from Minnesota. Imagine that water at the top of the monument....yeah.




Hey look at that, I get into Minnesota and immediately see trees. Who woulda thunk?




A Minnesota view of the dam I never knew existed.




Good ol' pedestrian bridge...I finally found you.




I was done taking pictures at this point and just wanted to get home...definitely felt the burn during this trip, and that's a good thing. I was pretty exhausted when I got back.

Well, I will definitely be back to explore more of East Grand Forks' winding paths, and even venture into the actual city to take some pictures. I might need a light day tomorrow after today's trip.

Thanks for reading!

Start: 12:30
End: 3:00
Temp: 72
Trip: 18.1 mi




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Trip 5 -- Alpha Ave?

I was so intrigued by the southern part of yesterday's bike path, that I decided to explore the northern part of it. I thought it would be as cut and dry as the southern part...man was I wrong. The northern part looks even better than the southern part, but there's a ton of forks in the road and decisions to make. I felt like I was in one of those children's books that let you choose the ending, but there really wasn't a wrong choice. It wasn't as easy as just following the southern trail to a sign that says "End." I kept exploring north and found some interesting things that I've never seen before. After a while, the trail led me to a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river to East Grand Forks. That's where I decided to end today's progress. Don't worry, the East side will have it's day in my blog eventually. As I began my journey back home, I ended up on a street named Alpha Ave...I used to work for Red Pepper and did delivery for about a year. I thought I knew every street name in Grand Forks, but that one's new to me.

On to the trip:


I entered the bike path where I usually enter it, near 24th Ave. S. Near that entrance is the Lincoln Park Golf Course. I love the way they incorporate the path into the course, it all looks really nice, I'll have to try this course sometime. But for now, I'll stick with slicing through it with my bike. Near the golf course is this pedestrian bridge which goes to the mysterious land of East Grand Forks. Like I said, you'll have your day, EGF...just not today.


Still trekking on, looking for an end. The dike actually looks very nice, it doesn't have the feel of a giant fence seperating the river from the city, it actually is easy on the eyes.



Looks like I finally reached the Point Bridge. Here's one of the forks I was talking about, I could have gone three different ways. I stuck with the middle.



This thing can support trains? Glad I'm not in the railroad business.


I gotta say, we do have a very nice city building/ courthouse/ whatever you wanna call it.




The flood marker which marks the height of the Red River during the 1997 flood. I've driven by it numerous times, but seeing it up close was pretty awe-inspiring. I didn't live here at the time of the flood, but looking up and seeing how high the water was...wow. I recommend you check it out for yourselves.




Took a little breather and noticed there's a nice view of the Herald building from this spot.

This used to be a hospital as far as I know. My grandmother as actually born here. It's located right by the Gateway Dr. bridge.

Another fork...so many decisions. Around this point I caught a gnat in my right eye...that really hurt. Definitely one of the hazards of riding a bike around here.


I found a swimming pool that's definitely seen better days. It looks like it's been closed for years, but for all I know it's just been closed for the summer. It's definitely all dried up though.



We have a dam? At this point, I'm hoping the end is nearby...this is getting ridiculous. I'm wondering if I'm even in the city limits anymore.


So the trail turns into a pedestrian bridge heading to East Grand. I might not have reached the end, but I think I've reached the northernmost point of the trail. As I said, one day I'll head east, but I was starting to get exhausted.


A view of the dam from the pedestrian bridge.


Uhh...where am I?




Oh, on the corner of Alpha and 6th of course.




On the way back I saw a medical helicopter outside Altru, just thought it was cool. My dad used to fly these things.


Well, that ends my longest trip to date...I'll definitely be trying to top it soon. The longer the trip, the longer it takes to post these blogs...so I could definitely use a nap right about now.


Length: 12.16 mi.
Temp: 79 degrees
Start: 4:35
End: 6:15



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