teaser

-yahn

Fire and Ice: Minnehaha Dog Park Edition (1-18-14)

Crew: Sam, Sam, Grant, Marty, Stephen, Leo, Collin, Anders

Beverages: New Belgium Ranger IPA, coffee, Steel Toe Dissent and Rainmaker, Fireball. NOT ENOUGH H2O

Route: Sam's house near MCAD to the Greenway to the West River Road to the Minnehaha Dog Park

My biking buzz has gotten duller this year a few different times due to the mass amounts of snow and extreme cold and the fact that my favorite commuter bike has a broken fork. Usually I like this weather as it amps up the level of badassery. I've never felt as hardcore and tough as I do when I venture out into the urban tundra on a bike that Minneapolis can turn into in the winter.  My go to commuter and speed machine in the past has been my dad's old REI special tour that I converted into a goofy looking but fast fixie.  I really learned to like this bike due to how fast it got me from point a to point b (even in the winter with slick skinnies).  The fork snapped not too long ago and the bike has been quarantined on  my porch for the time being until I get my act together and buy a new fork or bike to replace that trusty rig.  Ive resorted to riding a single speed 29er all winter.  These bikes are fun to tool around and hit big terrain and obviously a blast for single track but they are not the cream of the crop when it comes to commuting.  I feel sluggish and out of shape when I ride either of my ss 29ers.  The gear ratios are really low and I have recently dubbed myself Sir Spins A Lot when I'm on one of these monster trucks for long rides.  The advantage 29ers provide is the ability to rip on any random trails I encounter and hop curbs and other obstacles.  In short, riding this type of bike on any commute or road ride longer than a mile or so feels too laborous especially when its snowy and I end up feeling like a snow plow.  This issue has bummed me out and I feel ashamed that I am not as eager to ride everyday as I used to be when I had the fixie in working condition.  

These negative vibes are where my pals and the Fire and Ice experience comes to play.  I have been reinvigorated to be an everyday and enthusiastic bike rider as a result of the fun times I have had with the Fire and Ice crew and guests.  I think about where our next ride is gonna be all the time as well as what I want to bring on the ride and what I want to drink during the ride.  I have become more obsessed with group rides than ever.  This is good! I don't ever wanna lose the fire to ride!

For our second official Fire and Ice ride we got a little ambitious and again started a bit later than we would have like. We arrived at Sam's house and got the good moods stoked with some tunes and coffee and beer at Sam's house.  We headed out from Sam's house in the mid afternoon and had another fun crew.  We felt great and the sun was warm even the air temps were chilly.  We booked it on the Greenway and did some neat drifting and snow bank thrashing.  When we got to the eastern most end of the Greenway, we had some group decisions to make; did we wanna find a spit close to our current location on the river or keep riding south towards the Minnehaha dog park.  We opted for the second.  We found some sweet packed down hiking trails (with occasional bike tracks) jutting off from the bike path on the West River Road.  It was super fun to shred those trails and surprisingly rideable on any bike because it was fairly packed down by other outdoor enthusiasts.  Finally after a stop at the liquor store our sweaty and tired crew got to Ft Snelling State Park.  We took a breather and then ripped down a steep and packed hill.  All of us were cruising even those of us on roadies and fixies.  We encountered loads of k-9s and their owners and decided to slow down because we are respectful and like animals (all of us except for Grant and Marty; they tore it up like some greedy gnar addicted tools).  Eventually we found some quieter trails and were able to regain our desired speeds.  The terrain was packed and prime for riding hard.  There were fun bumps and and drops and we even had the chance to hop a little running creek.  I was so jacked at this point even though I was also exhausted.  We explored on our 2 wheelers for a little bit longer then settled down in a low spot  near a creek and away from all of the rambunctious dogs.  We started building a fire and at this point some of us realized how tired and dehydrated we were.  I was definitely bonking.  We got a good fire going and enjoyed some nice Steel Toe brews which is a legit brewery from St Louis Park as well as the mandatory Fireball.

Finally it was time to put out the fire and head home.  We cleaned up and headed out of the woods to the light rail.  We all got off at different spots and I think almost all of us crashed almost immediately when we got home.  The day was fun but there were some tough lessons learned too.  We need to hydrate and fuel our bodies with more than beer and whiskey.  Bonking sucks. Eat food! Any food is better than no food. Finally: HYDRATE YOSELF B4 YOU WRECK YOSELF! 

Most importantly: ride your bike ya goof!

Shadow Falls Rendezvous

Its time for round two.
First official fire and ice.
No further ado.
(Haiku by:______)

As promised, we offer prime tunes for whatever activity you choose. Produced by our good friend, blog affiliate, and sleazy music man, LUXCE (aka Luke Stettler). Its a free download, pretty snazzy eh? Also noteworthy, the photos are credited to Jessica Lynn, a kind female with a camera. Sit back, pump some decibels, and enjoy the rest of the post.



A fine image for our crew:

January 18, 2014. The first time we got together for a semi-planned group ride.

The crew: Grant, Joe, Leo, Marty, Sam L., Anders, Sam G., Stephen, Uncle Jerry, and a handful of Luther College graduates

Beer Present: 21st Amendment IPA, Ranger, Hauenstein tall boys.
Expert Opinion/Description: pretty damn good

The day...
Anders was so ambitious to organize a bike ride that he created a Facebook event for it dubbed Fire&Ice Pedal Powered Phun Phest. Those things are legit as hell and legally binding. The agreement was to meet up at Grant's house in Como around 11 AM. So we all woke up around noon and showed up to Grant's by 2. Sam and Uncle Jerry had to bike from North Minneapolis  to St. Paul because they wanted to be hard core. It was a sunny day and perfect for riding a bicycle. Our crew made its way from the Como area through Dinkytown and the University of Minnesota campus. Then we cruised East River road to the St. Thomas campus in St. Paul on a variety of bikes; fixies, squishy geared 26ers, rigid single speed 29er, a cyclocrosser, and geared roadies. We all had one thing in common, big smiles and backpacks full of beer. We reached our point of entry into a forested ravine. We took the gentlest decent and ripped down slightly packed snowy singletrack, winding over a stream on sweet ladder bridges. We eventually came to a cliff's edge where we set up shop. Wood collection was sort of tough seeing that dead and down wood was scarce. Luckily there was a bunch of dead buckthorn that we cut down with Joe's hatchet.

Sam and Uncle Jerry arrived after the fire was ablaze and got right in on the action.

Then ders's Luther pals showed up on foot to hang out and take a few photos. Anders was happy, along with everyone else.

We enjoyed the afternoon sun as long as it lasted and left Shadow Falls just after sunset. Anders parted ways with the group right away to have a date with his girlfriend who also biked the fresh snow to get to the restaurant. He says "I wish she would have joined us but I am happy that we could end my awesome day with a nice dinner date." A sweet chaz nostic that Anders. The rest of us went back the way we came and considered it a day to consider.

Also, the original artwork to accompany LUXCE's essential music melodies for urban enthusiasts.

Some parting words:

Good morning, good evening, goodnight.

An epic return to blog-hood.

Greetings followers of the urban riderz blog. It's been a while, but they're back! After a two year hiatus Anders and Aaron have returned to the streets of the world in steazy fashion. Let's hear what Mr. Martinson has to say on the situation, but first toss this sound into the air:

"Hey what's up. I guess Anders and I are going to blog again. Not much to say for myself other than the bird is't the word anymore. The new word is 'winter biking'. We've started to do group rides every Saturday called Fire and Ice.

Its all about exploring Minneapolis and the surrounding urban community. Every ride has a destination where we build a fire, listen to the latest tunes, cook some local butcher shoppe delicacies, and chat it up beer in hand. I want to give a shout out to the founder of fire and ice, Anders Borg Hanson. He's the one who got us off our hibernating asses.

Unfortunately he ditched us this weekend to participate in the Lutsen Mountain big air contest where he earned an honorary bronze metal for most dedicated bro. That deserves a round of applause.

Even without our great leader and the majority of the fire and ice crew, spirits were high for a fun ride. Saturday Feb. 9 marked the date of weekend ride number 4. Joe Lund, Sam Litin, and I set out to find a new semi-secretive hang out spot near hidden beach on Lake of the Isle. The first place we scoped out off the Cedar Lake Trail was kind of a dud.

The next spot we found was prime. Secluded, scenic, and an abundance of dead wood.

Veni, Vidi, et Comedebamus. For all my Latin lovers out there that's we came we saw, we ate brats roasted over the fire. The hidden beach fire site was a little piece of heaven where we were only interrupted by curious dogs drawn to our positive vibes. We spent three hours enjoying the day before we packed out and rode home.

Winter biking folks, as told by Marty himself. The Urban Riderz are back and better than before, or so it seems. There's a lot to be excited about if you're into this stuff.

The Urban Riderz have put together some plans for future posts:

1. Fire and Ice member profiles: get to know the fire and ice crew; who they are, what hair products they use, and the steamy details of their love lives

2. Guest writers

3. A ridiculously awesome video montage of all fire and ice rides coming Spring 2014

4. Downloadable playlists inspired by biking?

Thanks to all of those who have read up to this point for this post.

A parting word from the wise:

It would be nice if people were more like hobbits.