St. Patrick's Day Ride

 I decided to be "wearin the green" on my bike ride as I headed south into a 23 mph southern Minnesota wind.  Pretty warm for the middle of March at 74 degrees, my legs felt pretty good considering on Friday I did P90X Legs and Back workout.  I am trying to learn how to integrate the strength training into the bike riding season without hurting my muscle adaptation and growth.

Heading out, I don't think I was able to cruise more that about 12 or 13 mph until I got near the slightly wooded area of Otisco Creek (I think).  Otisco was about half-way as I turned east for a couple miles.  I ran into an older farmer driving his John Deere lawn tractor, with a flat bed hay wagon on the back, out to his mail box.  He stopped at the mail box as I rode by, and I briefly asked him if he was expecting a large package from the mail man.  He laughed at me politely.

I noticed farmers staging their tractors, with diggers on the back, at the edges of the fields.  It's early to get started, but they have to take what the weather gives them.  The earliest I have seen corn planted was the third week of March.  That was back in 1980 or 1981.  I was scouting those fields for emergence during the first week of April near Benson, MN.  If I remember right, their was about a 30% reduction in the plant population because of seed rot, due to the cold soil, and the length of time it took the plants to emerge.

Speaking of emerging, I rode by a dead snake on my way back south.  So, that means it's warm enough already to get the reptiles moving.  That is amazing.

I hit that zone you achieve when riding with the wind.  You now the one where everything gets still and its totally quiet as your bike cruises at the same speed as the wind at your back.  To this day, I marvel at that feeling, of being one with the wind at 23 mph or whatever the wind speed is.

Ok, back to grading E-Portfolio's and finishing up my internship.

Live Life to the PLUS+