this ride was life changing. i've had so much going on in my heart and head this past year...this ride helped me come to terms with so much. from roseville to hinkley we just laughed and laughed. sean, who was with us for just that first part, is one of the funniest people i've ever met. i laughed and smiled so much my rib dislocated several times. after the sun set, and darkness fell, many times i would turn off my lights, since there were no cars around, and be surrounded by darkness and twinkling of stars and fireflies (and sometimes each other's blinkies). in hinkley, sean left us in favor of a soft bed at a hotel. dan, joe, and i hit the munger trail and rode through the night. as the sun was coming up, i plugged in my nano and rode on my own for about 45 minutes (the trail is straight and flat, so i knew we would eventually find each other again). it was one of the most euphoric moments of my life. words won't do it justice, so i won't even try. after moose lake, we started to get into the air that felt like home. dan complained of the cold, but for me it felt like home - the air smells of the lakes and pines, and is so clear you can feel the contentment in your lungs. i was riding home. eventually we started to run into ms 150 riders. dan dropped trow a few times (as he is prone to do), and made plenty of people laugh. eventually the traffic got so thick that we almost got nailed. decided at this point that stopping in carelton, 15 miles from duluth, was a smart idea. we met my parents for breakfast, then hopped back on the bikes and headed back south down the trail again (this time with the ms 150 traffic). in moose lake, we surprised scott and michael at the county cycles booth, each had a beer (BIG BIG BIG mistake), and i took a 20 minute nap in the grass. i felt HORRIBLE when joe woke me up and was really tempted to hop in the shop van and get a ride to hinkley. instead we stopped at a grocery store, bought some coke and strawberries, and then hopped back on the bikes. after about 10 minutes, i started to feel better again and knew i would finish the ride. my friends are amazing, and their strength helped me be strong and stay on my bike. we had a headwind for a while, which sucked, but overall it was lovely out. got to forest lake as the sun was starting to go down. at this point, dan got a little grouchy. i have heard stories of these guys not wanting to talk to each other for days after. dan, joe, and i never fought...just laughed and kept each other going. getting to hugo seemed to take forever. in hugo my mug flew off my bike AGAIN, this time dying completely. will have to send the story and pictures to soma. anyway, before we knew it we were at ron's where the shop folk had made us a huge meal. alex, who should have been riding with us, baked us a cake. we showered, ate, ate some more, fell asleep (finally!). took our time in the morning, then rode home (yea, i was able to get back on my bike the next day...and have riden every day since).

MOVIE!!!! http://fidean.net/flix/07duluthride1.mov

+ my hands went numb, so i need to change my set up. i built this bike up for riding 3 miles to the pool, not for touring. joe bought me some new soma brake levers, i bought some bar phat, and scott will do a fitting before i do it again. its taken me 2 weeks to get my hands back to normal, and my left hand (pinky and ring fingers) still have some numbness. my tush was fine, thanks to lots of shammy butter, so i know i can shift weight off my hands more and be okay.

+ not have a beer in moose lake. tasted great, but BAD idea.

FIRST WOMAN TO ATTEMPT AND FINISH THE DULUTH RIDE. time to pack for the same thing next week! :)