What a surprise the weather is! We left around 7 a.m. to beautiful overcast skies and 69 degrees temp. I finally got to wear the sweatshirt that I brought along for the supposedly cool Duluth weather (104 degrees on Friday!). Tim Power joined Gordie, John and Tom and they rode the Munger Trail from Duluth to Hinckley. This trail is most impressive! The first 10 miles are in need of some repair but the remainder is excellent. It's very well planned and is one of the first bike trails in MN. There was a lot of brush and tree limbs across the trail all along the way due to recent storms. Many native prairie plants (big blue stem, grasses and flowers) grow along the trail and much of the trail was in wooded areas. There were very few bikers on the trail but they did meet around 20 ultra-marathoners who were running 50 miles in a race. Not much roadkill was seen-just one woodchuck and Gordie ran over a mouse! Gordie biked the required 85 miles and then joined me in air-conditioned comfort in the van. However the stalwarts (Tom and Tim) went on to do 100 miles and the record setter of the group was John who biked 125 miles to Forest Lake! Isn't their stamina incredible especially in this heat and humidity?! This brings me to the subject of nutrition, etc. on a bike trip such as this. All of the fellows are great bikers and are very pnysically fit. Their regime goes something like this--they drink gallons of water and Gatorade supplemented by Gu or Hummergel, Cliff bars, GORP, bananas and peanut butter on pita bread. Gu, Hammergel and Cliff bars have been around for over 20 years but weren't well known except by the serious athlete. However now these items are readily available at grocery stores and sport stores. Gu, Hammergel and Cliff bars are high in protein and carbohydrates. They are quickly digested and provide quick energy. The Gu and Hammergel are syrup- like and act faster than the bars. The Clliff bars are like a semi gooey, slightly chewy candy bar. All of this special nutrition certainly must help because they had lots of energy all day and were able to bike great distances in varied terrain and hot weather. Naturally they all have state-of-the-art bikes. Most everyone had a bike personally made for him. You start with a model and then add a seat, pedals, gears, etc. to suit your taste. The frames can be made of aluminum, steel, titanium or carbon fiber and depending what you choose your bike can be incredibly light. All kinds of high tech gadgets can be added but everyone has a cycling computer (odometer, speedometer, records maximum and average speeds, shows your cadence)and some show the temperature, calories burned and have a gear ratio meter. A heart monitor is used by anyone who is serious about his training. This helps then gauge their effort and shows your pulse. Bikes even come with GPS systems! The price for one of these marvelous bikes varies but they gene--rally start around $1000 all they way up to $10,000 --that must be for the Tour de France caliber biker! A good bike helps you perform better and adds to your enjoyment. The main thing is to be on a comfortable bike--one that fits. And of course the best thing is to get out there biking and enjoying this wonderful rewarding sport!
