It’s SPRING! Or at least, in Minnesota, it feels like spring. We’ve had two days of mornings that are above freezing, after weeks of sub-zero or near-zero mornings. This is heaven.
What does that mean? I get to put away the trainer for the most part, and ride outside! I don’t mind winter riding, but I don’t do ice anymore, so I’m a wuss when the temps hover at a spot that melts in the daytime and freezes solid over night.
Anyway, this afternoon, Emily and I rode gravel county roads. We got in 23 miles, which is nothing too impressive, but at least it was a decent workout with the wind and sometimes soft ground. Charles joined us for the last section of the ride, and he’s always a great sport and fun to ride with.
I had to include our triple-selfie here, and also the sign on Industrial Blvd. that cracked us up. We tried to keep our rears clear.
Not so funny are these last two pictures: the Jordan Sand operation is in full swing. Both pictures were taken from my bike on Co.Rd. 5 north of Mankato. The first one looks east, toward the silica sand processing plant. The last one looks west, where the sluicing pipes come from the wet plant, sluice the sand under the road to the dry plant on the east side (pictured). The white mountains are silica sand. So far, temps and weather have kept everything under some sort of control (if you don’t count what this does to groundwater and general pollution, not to mention that it’s all for the sake of the fracking industry). But what’s going to happen to those mountains of white silica sand when the air gets drier and we have windy, windy days? I shudder to think about it.
Oh, fracking. One more bane of our human existence–a tribute to the avarice of the human species.
On the brighter note, it’s spring, and I love riding outside! Freya doesn’t mind either, but she’s already seeking napping spots in the shade!
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