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Theodore Wirth Park
Slim and I made use of a nice chilly Monday afternoon to get out on our bikes at Theodore Wirth Park. Theo Wirth is a trail that is truly unique in that it almost falls in the shadow of downtown Minneapolis. I can’t imagine there are many trails that allow you to hit dirt so close to a major metropolitan area.
The weather was brisk and the first bits of snow we’ve seen this year fell upon us while riding. But the leaf strewn trails were fast and we only saw one other rider the entire time we were there. It was great to be out.
I also made use of my new remote camera trigger and took my first ever self portrait mountain bike shot (see the last image). Of course I set the shutter speed a bit to slow and I ended up with a blurry shot. I’m hoping to go out again on Friday and give it another shot. I’ll try and take some close-ups of my setup as well.
Elizabeth & Steven Hagen
I met Beth while attending school at Winona State.� She and I held the same position at the university’s communication office as staff photographers.� Beth, though going to school for advertising had a knack for photography and was multi faceted around the office, not only doing photography but also helping with writing and layouts for different projects.
When she contacted me to let me know that Steve had proposed and that she had accepted 🙂 I was thrilled to find out she also wanted Laura and I to be her photographers.� I wasn’t just thrilled because Beth & Steve are a great couple who have a lot of fun but also because I knew she would set up her wedding to be photographically friendly.� She did not disappoint with a game of bocce ball, a ride on a trolley, frolicking through a park, a photo booth and a reception where there was never a lack of people on the dance floor.
We went a little long with the slide show but there were just so many wonderful photos to pick from.
“Night” Riding Murphy-Hanrahan
MikeyB:Sunrise is 7:36 AM’ish these days. Park opens @ 5am. This is the only way we will be able to get a “night” ride in at Murphy since the gates close at sunset.
Scott: Are you crazy? Keep me posted.
Pete:I am totally in. Do we drink before? I am confused…
And so it began. Up at 4 a.m with just a few grumbles to Laura as I got out of bed. Loaded the bike and gear and was in the car by 4:20. The forty minute trip to Savage, Mn turned into the one hour forty minute trip as my sense of direction is completely off once I head south of the cities and I couldn’t find the road to the trail head. Arriving at the trail head I meet up with Pete and MikeyB. Get the lights up and running and there is still plenty of darkness as we head off for a ten mile jaunt. The wind chills you to the bone as we all find our groove with only the occasional “branch, bridge, rock!” to break the silence. Three miles in and I’m hurting, my stomach is in knots and I pull over and out goes the blueberry muffin I ate in the car. Much better. Back in the saddle we continue our way along the trail and watch as the sunrises. The last few miles the legs start to complain about the time but they hold out and we make it back to the parking lot for beers and coffee.
Drinks consumed:
Peppermint Schnapps on the trail
One pint of Boddingtons Pub Ale
One bottle New Glarus Totally Naked
One mug of coffee and Irish whisky
Blog Action Day
In helping promote Blog Action Day The Haraldson’s blog will be covering a topic as lackluster as the paint on a ’36 Ford. Lackluster it may be but practical and effective as a ’07 Accord. Your interest now being piqued I hope it’s not too much a let down that today I’ll be presenting a solution to a small part of the world’s litter problem by suggesting that people stop using throw-away coffee cups. I work in an office in which I seen dozens of people walk in and out of everyday, many off to the local coffee shops for a morning cup. Everyday single day some of these same people come back with a brand new, un-tattered, shiny paper coffee cup that they drink from and then without a second glance throw into the waste basket.
I am of the opinion that disposable coffee cups are quite uncomfortable to drink from as the little plastic caps are sharp and the hole so small the coffee never has a chance to cool off properly. The come with those silly cardboard sleeves that never actually keep your hand from getting too hot as you grip it. And shape and size of the mugs are almost always prone to spilling or being tipped over onto your precious keyboard, drawing, paper or whatever other precious items you may have on your desk.
Granted there is a certain convenience in just being able to drive to a coffee place and grab a cup because you didn’t have time to make any before work or you keep forgetting to bring a mug from home and that excuse is acceptable about one percent of the time. If you use that excuse any more than that then you are ignorant. There, I said it, I called you ignorant. If you throw a paper coffee cup into your waste basket everyday then why don’t you just go straight to the source and throw it right into a lake, river or ocean because that’s where it’s going to end up ultimately anyway.
Make it your goal over the next days, weeks and months to have a couple re-useable coffee mugs located in all the places you like to drink coffee. Keep one at the office, one in your car, a few at home. And even better, have a few available for other around you who may not be as enlightened as you are.
– Sam Haraldson