Can we talk about PRIDE?

What a weekend, huh? Well if you weren't here, let me take this time to tell you a little story about last weekend.

I had been hearing all weekend that it was suppose to storm, but of course I blew it off. NOTHING was going to ruin my Pride weekend.

When I hopped on my bike to ride home from work on Friday, it was just starting to sprinkle a little bit, so I hauled ass home, and hoped for the best. Well the rain held off and A got home and we started getting excited.

As we were getting ready, we heard the dreaded *beep beep beep beeeep. beep beep beep beeeep* "severe weather is heading towards the following counties...." and of course Hennepin was on the long list. We looked outside and the skies were getting darker by the minute. But we stayed calm. Patrick Hammer told that it would be a strong storm, but pass us by around 9. Well it got CRAZY out (it was about 6:30) rain, thunder, lightning, winds, branches flying past windows, dogs scared and hiding under the table, me opening another beer, you know, a big storm. And we waited and waited, and FINALLY, we decided it was clear enough to go. It roughly 9:30. We headed to uptown to the Bryant Lake Bowl, just to hang out. We got a few drinks, ran into some friends and had a nice time there. We even had our photo taken by metromix or something like that. After a bit, our friends Anna and Jen (aka Jeffy) invited us to their friends house-or "club house" rather. So we headed over there. When we arrived, a group of about 10 lesbians were hanging out in the backyard in said club house. It was a screened in porch connecting to the garage-super spacious and super nice. That's when the night got hilarious. I don't know about you, but I don't always hang out with only lesbians. I should do this more often, because they are so damn funny. The things said, even side comments, made me laugh until I was crying. Before we knew it, it was 2:30. We needed to head home. And that we did. The next morning we got up early and headed to Loring park, where the festival is held. We brought the Pugs and they were a hit, as always. We walked around for a while, checking out different booths, and watching assorted drag shows (that weren't very good, as usual.) Soon the dogs were to hot and tired to handle it, so we left. We brought the pups back home and headed BACK out to watch some World Cup soccer. The US were playing Ghana and it was going to be a big game. Whoever won was advancing to the next round. Ghana is the last African nation still in the tournament. We headed to Downtown to watch the game and after standing in line at Brit's for 30 minutes and realizing it wasn't worth it, we headed to the News Room. It had a lot of people there, but wasn't packed. We had a drink while waiting for our table and some D-bag fake tan asshole started shit with A. He kept bumping her, so she asked me to switch with her and under his breath he said something to the affect of "well don't stand so close...think." He was really fucking lucky I was feeling love because I came very close to dumping my whole drink over his ugly stupid face. shortly after, he left with his other cocky-asshole friends. thanks goodness. We got a table and I spent the next 45 minutes explaining how soccer is played, the rules, strategies and so on to A, who had never really watched the game. Turns out she likes it! We also had a killer lunch (did you know you can add almost ANYTHING to a burger at the News Room-see their menu...its pretty awesome http://thenewsroommpls.com/home.aspx )After we lost in overtime (sad day, I know) we headed home to nap. It had been a long day already and it was only 4pm! So we went home, relaxed a bit-watched some Ghostbuster's as we drifted off to sleep. Before we knew it, the alarm was going off and it was time to head out to the Dyke March. This was very exciting to me. A had never done something like this, and I remember my first one and how empowering it made me feel. This was going to be fun!When we arrived at the Walker Art Center (where everyone was meeting us)there were good looking ladies all over the place. A was in shock. Lots of girls had signs and crazy outfits on. We reviewed "the rules" mainly that we did not have a permit, so we needed to stick to just one lane in order to NOT get arrested. There were Dykes on Bikes(our local Lesbian Motorcycles gang) to lead the pack, along with several girls on bikes to help stop traffic. After our quick review, off we went. We marched across Hennepin and turned to head into the heart of downtown. There were probably 200 or so Lesbians or friends of Lesbians involved. We marched the streets and chanted things like "We're here, We're Queer, we're Fabulous, Don't mess with us..." and "what do we want? RIGHTS, when do we want them? NOW!"It was an amazing experience. It almost takes your breath away to be part of something like that. After marching through downtown and back to Loring park, we headed back to the Walker. Just as the march was breaking up, it started to drizzle...what luck!

A and I had driven, and were parked near by. We headed back to our car and over to an old friends house, where we hung out and listened to live Phish shows(of all things) for the next few hours. Before we knew it, the storm was building again. We decided it was time to go, and did that again, just in time. By the time we got home, it was pouring BUCKETS. we both got soaked just running into the house. we decided to stay home that night.

The next morning was the parade. I'm just going to post a handful of the photos Ive taken and pick up after the parade. Rainbow Step Show!

North Star Roller Girls

Amanda hugging Alexis and Jason from FM107.1(our favorite gay boy) We ran into Amanda's biggest crush in the cities-this girl does burlesque dancing and is amazing!

Rainbow dog

Drum and bugle corps quad players giving us a show!

So the parade was AWESOME. A met a little boy, whose mom was with her girlfriend behind us, and hung out with him the whole parade. he was about 8 and way into it. He even had a little drum he was playing. Sara and I enjoyed the parade from the curb. After that, we headed back to Loring park and met our new friend Warren (who goes by Warr N. Piece) we hung out with him for the rest of the day, and again enjoyed some drag. Although this time was better. One of the Queens had all the little dancing kids come up on stage with her for her last number. TOO CUTE! After enough bad pop to last me a lifetime (except Lady Gaga..she is rad) We headed to the 19 Bar. We tend to do this every Sunday of Pride. We met a lot of very nice people, and eventually ran into Anna and Jen and the group of ladies again. It was a real blast! After the alcohol started to catch up to us, we headed home. But all in all, it was a wonderful Pride (minus the poopoo weather.) Hope you were able to go and enjoyed yourself! CHEERS!

(PRIDE) Weekend Mix!

Happy Friday! and HAPPY PRIDE WEEKEND!!! Both A and I are pretty excited for this weekend. And that is why I made a mix that will help you all get pumped up. There is a little dyke rock (like T&S) a little dyke folk/rock (think Indigo girls and Ani) a little get you going (Bone thugs), MJ because we will never forget June 25th, and some other stuff too.



So that's the skinny. I hope you like the mix and I hope it gets you as excited about pride (maybe half as excited?) as I am!


http://mixtape.me/p/16944




1. Pop Life-Prince. I love me a little Prince. He's a Mpls dude and he knows how to get you dancing. This song (pop life) makes me want to dance with one particular friend (MANDY!) because for whatever reason, I picture us getting down to this jam. She likes prince A LOT!
2. Everybody Got Their Something-Nikka Costa. I played this song everyday at least once my freshman year of college. My roommate finally put her foot down-I was no longer aloud to play it when she was *in the building* not just our room. Sometimes she would start dancing to it, like the music stole her body and she wasn't in control of herself. Then she would yell at me, because it gets REALLY stuck in your head and I would laugh. Oh the good old days....I don't really know much of her other music, but this song is sexy. I like it. the bass line is hot, the horns are hot and she has a pretty hot voice. 3. Come Back(light therapy) Josh Rouse. Can you believe this song was written in 04? To me it sounds like it is from 1972 (which happens to be the album title.) He does such a nice job giving this song and entire album a throw back feel. Just wait for the break down in the middle. Have you ever heard strings that sound so awesome, alone with the horns? and the Vibes? See a Vibraphone is different than say, a xylophone because the bars/keys are a soft metal. When you plug a vibe in, there are little motors that turn on within the tubes which creates a really unique/vibrant sound. Listen at the end. This is another song I listened to ALL the time in college.

4. My Lovin' (Your Never Gonna Get it)-En Vogue. Last year, or maybe the year before En Vogue played Pride. I have never had that much fun with a bunch of gay boys. The whole crowd sang along. We all remember the video, where she slaps the cheatin' boyfriend? Hell yes. This song is awesome. Jazz Flute! And again a killer breakdown. So, so good. 5. All I Need-Air. Another college favorite. This is a nice chill song. I'd like to just take this moment to have you all RELAX. it is Friday. you made it through the week. good work.

6. Two Little Girls-Ani Difranco. I loved Ani long before I knew she, or I was a dyke. But it all turned out okay. however, I think she has a husband now....anyhow, Righteous Babe (her label) is kick ass. She knows how to write a song. This one sort of helped me understand a few things back in the day. Listen to her guitar work. just amazing.
7. Get it While you Can-Janis Joplin. I don't think I have put any Janis on any of my mixes. Silly me,. She is the original bad ass mama. I wish I could have drank whiskey with her. I bet she was a blast. Anyhow, I love this song. So much soul in there! So much emotion. love it.

8. Least Complicated- Indigo Girls. I bought this on tape back in 6th grade. A camp counselor of mine had it and I loved it. I listened to that tape SO MUCH. and then I met my dear friend, Krueger, at the tender age of 11. throughout our friendship (and I bet still today, if it came on and we were together) we have broken this shit down and sung it in the 2 part harmony. Keep in mind that I have a terrible voice and krueger has an alright voice, but neither of us, by any stretch of imagination, are great singers. Man, do I miss driving around our hometown streets in one of our busted up high school cars, singing this at the top of our lungs. 9. Generator Second Floor-Freelance Whales. I put this on one of my first mixes before i figured out how to *actually* have music for you to listen to. So I added it today, because I think it is a great song. Nothing more than that.

10.Notorious Thugs-Notorious B.I.G. and Bone thugs n harmony. If this song doesn't get you pumped up, i dunno what will. This is another HUGE jam for me from high school. I would listen to it before big soccer matches, or on Fridays when walking home from school. I think I put it on every mix I made my junior year. It is GREAT for cruising. I can also sing along to most of it, believe it or not (by "sing" i mean "rap")

11. Back in Your Head- Tegan and Sara. This is a pretty catchy tune. Also, being that these ladies are A. awesome, and B. queer, makes this song very appropriate for the mix. I wish we could get THEM to play our pride. We will have to settle for a band you will see later on this mix.12. PYT-Michael Jackson. It was a year ago today that we lost our beloved king of POP. PYT is (i think) my favorite song by him. I have it on vinyl and whole currently the needle on my player is broken (curse me!) I typically throw this on right before we head out for a night on the town.


13. Dare-Gorillaz. They didn't have the new album up yet on the mix program I use, so I'm settling for this song, which was one of my favorites off their last album. I think Gorillaz know how to party, or get you ready to party. I remember playing this song a lot when I lived in the big old house in uptown with 5 other people. This house was know for elaborate-themed parties (ie: the hoe-down had bails of hay all over our house). I think the single came out right before out legendary Halloween party, because i remember hearing it a lot that night.

14. Fat Bottom Girls-Queen. I love Queen, I love this song, and Freddy Mercury helped make some of the close-minded people that actually loved Queen realize that gay people aren't too bad, or scary. we are, in fact, just like anyone else.

15. In The Navy- Village People. They are playing PRIDE tomorrow night. the one and only reason this song is on the mix.

ENJOY! and for real, come to PRIDE. even if it is for 5 minutes. You may not realize it, but a little support can go a long way! HAPPY PRIDE WEEKEND FRIENDS!

Need Weekend Plans?

Hey All. Happy Solstice! Well, a few days ago. This past weekend I went on bike camping trip and it turns out a handful of "unique" people were camping to celebrate the solstice. We have LARP-ers (live action role play) and a group of ladies all into Wicken. But of course we didnt see them. We were too busy celebrating the solstice on our own.

That is not what this post is about. So I'll move on. This weekend, as many of you may or may not know, is the MPLS (well, twin cities , I guess) PRIDE!!! Very exciting for the Queer community.
Every year, I look forward to PRIDE. It is typically a fun filled weekend of music, art, queers and some booze, among other things. My favorite part of PRIDE is the Parade, but that's because I love all parades. But I also love just hanging out in Loring park among other people either in the same boat as myself, or in support of the boat I'm in.

Friday night marks the 6th annual Uptown PRIDE block party. This year black Blondie, Chasity Brown and a handful of other will be playing. Here is the link: http://www.uptownprideblockparty.com/

This Block party is usually a really good time. Lots of people out dancing and celebrating and just having a good time. I'm hoping to make it to see a few bands.

Also on Friday night is a special edition of TWILIGHT at the Kitty Kat Club. I personally LOVE the KKC. The atmosphere is great, along with the smoking deck and photo booth. That is where A and I had our first date:) I'll be honest though, I've never been to Twilight. Neither has A. We are both interested in possibly hitting this up too.

Lastly on Friday is a burlesque show at Patrick's Cabaret. This is pretty close to our house. would be a fun time. we have never been there either. But we will see what Friday Bring.

Saturday is all the fun of hanging out and walking around and stopping at different booths all in the wonderful Loring Park. Well, i like it anyhow. It is a nice big park right on the cusp of Downtown. And it has a big pond/lake in the middle of it. I always see people canoeing on that pond during pride.

We usually BYOB, and watch drag shows, or check out different bands (some of which are terrible...) and maybe get some food. I think we will go early on with the pugs, then take them home and head back out later in the eve to possibly see THE VILLAGE PEOPLE! that's right, The Village People are playing our Pride. I think this is ridiculous and amazing. It is all because the MPLS Pride is the 2nd biggest (to San Fransisco) in the US. pretty sweet, huh?
And Sunday is the Parade. I love the parade. You could really see just about anything there. I think the Parade starts at 11. We will probably go back down to Loring after that, at least for a little while. Then perhaps hit up the 19 Bar, the oldest Gay Bar in MPLS. Who knows.

One pretty stupid/cool thing that is going on this year (I'll mini explain and leave a link to read the full article) is that the people in charge of PRIDE and the Park and Rec board are in a huge battle over free speech versus harassment/safety, or something to that affect. This is all because some dude and his bible thumping wife keep coming into the park (the one that is RENTED OUT FOR PRIDE, thus "Private-ish property" for the weekend/people who rented have a say as to what message is coming out of it and what is going on in that park) and trying to pass out all this biblical stuff, including bibles. The people of Pride have no problem with the guy standing across the street, or even setting up a BOOTH across the street. But coming into the park? It's like letting a bunch of Nazi's talking about Anti-Semitic stuff at a Jewish wedding. What the hell? Anyhow, way to go MPLS Pride peeps. Read more at the link below.

http://minnesotaindependent.com/60597/minneapolis-pride-parks-anti-gay-group

Well everyone, if you are planning on going, give me a jingle. I'd love to see you. HAPPY PRIDE!

Songs I've Seen LIVE!

Happy Friday! We've made it through another week, and survived the OVER 60! Tornado's that came through MN yesterday. Man, that was crazy!

Anyhow, Friday Mix Time! I hope you all enjoy listening as much as I enjoy making these. It is what I look forward to on Fridays!

This weeks mix is all about songs that I have seen live. Ive been to so many shows, it is ridiculous. Although there is always room to see MORE shows. While this collection is not my top 20 or anything, they are notable songs that I have heard live, and enjoyed. Yes, I put Phish and DMB on the mix. Ive seen both bands many times, so I needed to add them. Hope that works for you guys. So, enjoy this stuff. I will say, while they aren't my *all time favorites* they all sounded real real good when I saw it up close and personal.

MIX: http://mixtape.me/p/16800

1. The KKK Took My Baby Away- The Ramones. I grew up in a house where the Ramones were played a lot. My older brother really likes them a lot (and even has a tattoo of them on his ribcage.) So when they came to MKE back in 94 or 95, and I knew my brother was going, I had to go too. I remember it was a hot summer day, and I (at the time had been into "moshing" and stage diving) got hoisted up on top of the crowd-I was like 11 years old, and passed around all over the crowd. Everyone thought I was super cool for being 11 and at the show. At the time I had no idea what a musical dream it was to see the Ramones. It was a f*ing awesome show!

2. French Navy-Camera Obscura. This past Thanksgiving A and I took a road trip to visit her family and friends to Detroit (where she is from.) Over the long weekend we did a handful of exciting things, including seeing Camera Obscura live. It was a really nice show. I know *nice* seems like a weird word to use, but it was. The crowd was respectful-not too crazy (I mean how crazy can you get at a show like that...) and the venue was very clean and sort of fancy. Anyways, they were a great band to see live. 3. Possession-Sarah McLaughlin. This album is on my top 10 ever list. It has don't so much for me over the years. I owned the tape of it when I was in grade school, and listened to it until it was destroyed. I did the same with the first CD copy I had. So now I'm on my third copy of it, and hopefully that wont get scratched. Her voice is AMAZING, and her lyrics are killer. Not to mention she is great live. A and I are going to Lilith Fair in Chicago this summer and cant wait to see her.

4. Sunrise-Yeasayer. One of the best live shows I've seen (twice!) I dunno what it is about them, but I love these guys. Seeing them at the 7th street entry was especially cool because it is so small and we were right up front. At Rock the Garden last year we ran into the guys and ended up talking to them. They were very humble and polite and Rad.
5. Beach Comber-Real Estate. My last trip to New York was wild and crazy-as per usual. However this trip was extra cool, because we saw a show. We went to see Real Estate and Woods. Both these bands were awesome. But Real Estate was especially cool to me. I just like their flow a lot. They all seemed to be having a good time, and I loving it. So, get "beachy" and enjoy this little number.

6. Turn Off the Light- Nelly Furtado. You may think it is silly that I have seen her live. It was freshman year of college and we were real into the album Whoa Nelly. I was actually really sick the night of the show, but really wanted to go. So I went to Roy Wilkins all sick like and ended up dancing my ass off all night. Her stage presence was amazing and she had backup dancers. How cool is that? real cool because they were damn good dancers

7. I Saw the Bright Shinies-Octopus Project. Have you ever heard of a theremin? It is musical instrument that basically involved manipulating sound waves with your hands. Have you heard the song good vibrations by the Beach Boys? The weird high pitch stuff going on right before the chorus is a theremin. It is AMAZING to see it played. This song has a lot of theremin. and this band seriously kicks ass. Not only is there instrumentation unique, they write unique songs that are exciting to hear. I suggest you see them if you ever can.

8.Smash Your Head-Girl Talk. I know Ive told you to see girl talk live before, but Ill say it again. He is amazing. So much energy. So much throw back. So much fun!

9. Gumbo-Phish. I know I know-I am a damn hippie. While I don't listen to the constantly anymore, I still really like Phish. They are an amazing band to see live (if you enjoy their music.) Jams 20 minutes long, covers of ridiculous songs like Gin and Juice, jumping in unison on trampolines while playing and glow stick wars that will blow your mind (picture HUNDREDS of glow sticks constantly flying through the air while the band jams the fuck out of a crazy song as you are peaking on happiness. good times.) I like the song Gumbo. It also is not 12 minutes, like a lot of their other live songs. I thought I'd spare you in case you aren't a huge Phish Phan. But check those horns! Hot, no?

10. Lazy Lover-Brazilian Girls. Ive seen them live 2 1/2 times (the half was because it was only half the band.) They are wild and crazy and hypnotic. The first time I saw them was at Bonnaroo about 7 years ago. It was 2am, and the mood was right. As soon as the lead singer started singing, the whole crowd was locked in. We sang along even though we didn't know the words. We all felt like she was sing to just us. Shit, I felt like I'd take a bullet for her by the end of the night. She had me under her spell. ok, enough.

11. Fuzzy Pink Hand-Cuffs- Dillinger Four. When my brother found out I was moving to MPLS to go to school, the main piece of advice he gave me was to go see D4 and hit up the Triple Rock. I did both, but T-rock is much more fun when you are of age. I myself am not the biggest punk fan, but I can really get down for a night of good music. And these guys are fun to see (mpls band made good.)
13. Subterranean Homesick Blues-Bob Dylan. Ive seen Bob Dylan 3 times. 2 times it was almost like watching a dead man on stage. The third show, however, was awesome. He was much more interested in being there and didn't sound like someone cut out his lungs, backed over them with their car and put them back in. The good show I saw of his was better than good. It was great (not legendary or anything....)

12. Murder of One-Counting Crows. Talk about amazing lyrics. Yes, they tend to be on the downer side, but in that good way-like hurt so good. Ive seen them a few times and even met the band once. Very cool. Also, Adam Duritz has fake dreads. Up close his hair is grey underneath. August and Everything After is a phenomenal album (IMO) and this song was always my favorite off of it.

14. Long Train Runnin'-Doobie Brothers. I liked them a lot as a kid, so when they came to the WI state fair, I had to go. For no other reason that the radio played them a lot, I thought they were awesome. and seeing them (I was young-maybe 10?) Made me feel way cool. So, throw back to old Cayla-good work 10 year old self. Then I saw them again in college. Not as fun, but still a good time.

15. Hold On, Hold On-Neko Case. I saw her live with an ex of mine, and sometimes it is hard for me to listen to her and not think about some of the bad (and good, i suppose) times. But she is just so damn good. Her hair like wild fire-you just can't turn away! My lady loves her, so Ive been able to change my association a bit, making the whole thing much easier. Still not too sure about the New Pornographers, however.

16. Anna-Taken by Trees. I just got into this band this past year. They came to the Minnie and I surprised A with tickets. And what a pleasant surprise. So good. Also, the Cedar is a great venue to see bands like this. So intimate, and the sound really comes out well.

17. I Turn My Camera On-Spoon. Y'all know how I feel about Spoon. Ive only seen them once, but that was enough to really turn me on to them (isn't it funny how sometimes going to a show gets you into a band, and sometimes you like a band forever and never get to experience a show. I feel fortunate.) I hope to see them again, but their shows are often pricey.

18. Slow Hands-Local Natives. Read a review of their recent Mpls show HERE: http://c-bicyclediaries.blogspot.com/2010/05/local-native-have-my-heart.html

19. When You Come Back Down-Nickel Creek. Ill admit I was much more into these guys back in college, but when I hear them now, I'm brought back to a different time. This is a real mellow song, but the vocals are beautiful. This group really knows how to work well together. I saw them live in MKE back in 2002. It was Summerfest, they were playing before Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and we had a GREAT spot (big picnic table that we were dancing on all over the place. and the peeps behind us yelled at us.) Fun times.

20. Lie in Our Graves-Dave Matthews Band. This is me really letting you into some shit. You can laugh, you can cry, you can sympathize. Ive seen DMB 25 times. All across the US. I was OBSESSED when I was age 11-21. I have a drum stick from sitting 2nd row and holding up a sign that said "Carter is God." He is a great drummer. I actually have several (IMO) cool stories in regards to seeing Dave live. Going to those shows really helped me become who I am now-good bad and ugly. One of my favorite moments was having last row in Madison and getting approached by a guy who worked for the band who then gave us 3 row tickets. I held up a #40 sign (song they hadn't played in years-literally) and Dave looked down at me at the end of the show and started to play it before going into a different encore. later that week at the MKE show, someone (random) approached me to say thanks for holding up the sign. how did he recognize me, not too sure. But it was an amazing moment in my life. I still have the homemade #40 poster.

OK friends, that is it. Enjoy your Friday afternoon!!!!

cassttes ramones sarah real estate the octopus project phish D4 neko spoon nickel creek

Duluth, eh?

Good Day, Friends. How's about a little story time today, huh? I think it is a great idea. Today I'm going to tell you all about a little trip I took (via bicycle) to Duluth and back one windy June (long) weekend back in 2008.

This story is being told today because I happen to be riding to Afton Alps (campground about 25 miles or so from MPLS proper) with a few friends of mine, and it has been a while since I have done any sort of "touring." The other reasoning behind this is that a friend of mine asked me about it....so here we go.

As you know, I enjoy riding my Bicycle. I have a handful of friends who also love this activity. A few years back, two of the gents I know (who love biking) and I started talking about the possibility of riding our bikes to Duluth and back. It was a saucy January night, if I remember correctly, so we got WAAAAY into this idea. We actually thought we could do a ride into Wisconsin, but decided that riding to Duluth and back was a good place to start. And the next morning, when I wasn't so saucy as much as spiny/pukey, I thought to myself, WHAT THE HELL! let's do it.

So we planned and planned (trip would be in June, so we had a few months) and PLANNED. Al mapped out our route, I made our menu and Huss, well Huss supported us with whatever choices we had to make. As the trip got closer, I had to get more supplies, because while I had never done a serious tour, I knew that there was a handful of things I needed to make sure I'd be successful. First thing was to find Panniers. These are the "saddle bags" that carry all your stuff. I was fortunate and have a friend who let me borrow his. Most of the camping gear I already had-stove, pots/pans, tent, tarps, sleeping bag...you know, all that good stuff. I also bought a new cycling cap (because that's how I roll) and some other neat-o stuff (like fireworks that we never used). As the trip got closer, June weather started to take over. In fact a week before we started our ride, a Tornado danced through a town we were riding through, destroying houses, schools and trees (do you remember the Hugo Tornado from a few years back? scary!). This made us a little nervous about what the weather would bring us. (The picture above is an aerial view of Hugo after the Tornado came through. Our trail ran along side of these homes.)
Even the morning we left was rainy and yucky, but by the time we were leaving (roughly 5pm) is was really nice out. We all met at my buddies house, finished packing our bikes, S-ed a B and got ready to go. While I took a TON of pictures on this trip, they are sitting on my old computer, trapped in time, locked in a file that maybe someday I will get at....So below is the one picture I have of us with our bikes just before we left. Huss is in the BLUE jersey, Alex has on a fleece, but was wearing a GREEN jersey and that is me in the RED. As the trip progressed, we dropped our names and called each other by our colors. I liked that. It made me feel like we were in a movie, or my imagination as an 8 year old, part of some team ready to conquer the world. Anyhow, We left Roseville around 5 and headed north.

The first leg of our trip was mainly on county roads. We weaved in and out of different towns, basically riding along side 35North. We eventually made our way up to the Lino Lakes area and planned on staying there for the night. On our way to the campground, we stopped at a booze store and stocked up. We bought a bunch of PBR and some Whiskey. We were just so damn excited that we were on our trip, that we decided to set up camp and drink a bit the first night. Well, we DID set up camp, but we drank A LOT, not a bit. We cooked some good food, and played cards and drank PBR and were proud of ourselves. The weather held the first night, and besides the fact that we were all feeling that PBR and Whiskey the next morning, all was well. We packed up everything and got ready to hit the road. We ate some snacks for breakfast and planned a bigger meal later in the day. We got going, knowing that we had an hour or two of county roads before we got to our trail head. That time went pretty quickly, and soon we were on the trail. It was SO nice, big enough for us to ride side by side, or draft (depending on the weather, or legs and our goofiness.) We stopped for lunch, and noticed that the skies were growing darker. It was our goal to make it to Hinckley that day. As the sky grew darker, we kept an extra eye on our map to make sure we knew where the closest town was. When the rain finally came, we had all already stopped and put on some rain gear. But of course Al just had a giant poncho that we had to duct tape around his body, because with the rain came wind. We passed through a town in the rain and thought we could make it the last 15 miles to Hinckely. We were WAY wrong. After about 5 minutes of riding in crazy down pour, we turned around and went BACK to that small town, which happened to be Pine City. In Pine City, they had a gas station, an Italian restaurant and a Lion's Club. We went to the Lion's Club. We tarped up our bikes and gear and headed inside. When we pushed through the double doors, into a swanky vintage looking bar, all 7 people inside turned and stared at us. It was as if a group of zebra's came in. They gave us the funniest looks. We explained the situation, ordered some beer and food and figured out our next move. Near the front door there was one ad taped to the wall. It was for a Taxi that would go anywhere between Hinckley and Mpls. So after about an hour we swallowed our pride and gave the taxi a call. He was there within 20 minutes in a Taxi-Van. We loaded our biked up (still cannot believe they fit!) threw our packs in and got in the mini van. "Hinckley, please!" we told him, and away we went. We got to Hinckley and told the driver than any Motel would do. He said there were only 2 or 3 to choose from, besides the casino. The cheaper the better. So we payed him ($76! for a 15 mile drive) and got ourselves a room. It was actually good, because we were able to clean and dry all of our gear, and ourselves, actually. And we slept *really* well. The next morning we got up super early and hit the trail. That night we would be in Duluth, possibly camping, possibly staying at some lake house of a friend of Huss's. That day brought a bit more rain, but it was WAY more manageable. in fact, we had the wind on our side and we were getting really good at drafting each other at that point. Just around mile 80, we were getting close to the dudes house that Huss knew. We attempted to find a campground, but it was not that nice and off the beaten path a hair too much (think Friday the 13th....no thanks) So we just decided to try to find Huss's buddies house.

Arriving at that house felt very good. We were able to put the bikes down, enjoy some food on the grill (it was SICK-they made these little popper things that were tiny fish battered and deep fried and you just eat the whole damn thing. I didn't dare, so I have frozen Pizza instead, which was great!)and we drank beer and made a big campfire. The crazy thing was we were staying with this guy, well actually his Dad and step mom. The dad was fucking ridiculous. SUCH a north woods, conservative, hunting redneck(but not trashy-or kinda). When we first got there he called us God Damn Hippies on silly bicycles. It was actually kinda funny. He kept saying things like "what, you gonna save the world pedalling those bicycles, you damn liberal hippies!" as we drank more beer, it got even funnier. Then he proceeded to pour motor oil on the fire to "really get it going!" I knew I was up north in the woods at that very moment. We also got to sleep in the dad's hunting/ice fishing trailer. It was pretty nice! The next morning we were ready for the next 150 miles or so back to MPLS. We said our goodbyes, and headed back to the trail head. We had to go through a small town on our way and as we were getting closer and closer to the trail head, we noticed there were an awful lot of bikes going by. When we finally got to the trail and saw people watching the bikers, we asked what was going on. "Oh, it's the MS150 this weekend." WTF? how did we NOT know that! While now there were thousands of bikers on the trail that just yesterday was pretty dead, we saw that it had it's advantages. With all the cyclists, we were able to draft other people. And let me tell you, those that drafted us LOVED that we had all our camping gear and such-it made their ride super easy. We also were able to stop at all of their checkpoints, pretend we were part of it and get food, drinks and mechanical stuff taken care of for free. that was solid.
So the whole day we rode with this giant charity event, and it was great. We finally got to Hinckley and knew we had to leave the massive group. However, I realized that I was breaking spokes and did not have the knowledge (at that point) to fix it on my own. So I saw a mechanic who offered to help and fixed 3 spokes for 5 bucks. And after that, off we went! We had an idea to go a bit off the trail we were on to find a different campground. So we headed East, which also meant going downward to the river level. We were back on country roads, riding by LOTS of farms. We had about 5 miles until our campground and finally hitting the 90 mile day. We were BEAT, tired, drained and ready to relax. Then, out of nowhere we heard a jingle, which sort of sounded like a dog collar. That jingle got louder, closer and more intense. We realized that a farm dog was running towards us. It started barking like crazy and I realized I had to get my shit together and RIDE. Like RIDE as fast as I could. We all started screaming as the beast of the dog was about 10 feet away. I have never pushed that hard in my life, and as the dog got closer, it jumped up at me. I screamed in it's face and road like I was never going to ride again. I looked back and the boys were behind me, also safe from the dog. This happened about 2 more times on the way to our campground that night. We were so exhausted, we barely finished putting up the tent and Huss was asleep inside. Al and I found wood for the fire, tried to defend ourselves from the most brutal mosquitoes ever and felt almost as if we had eaten Acid, we were for tired we were hallucinating. But the night went on and we ate dinner and went to sleep. The next day would be our last on the road. To be honest, I don't remember too much from that last day. I know I climbed the biggest hill of my life and kicked it's ass(by that I mean I made it all the way up and beat the boys!!!) I also went the fastest Ive ever gone on my bike-going down one of the giant hills. My computer said 37mph. crazy. We also got chased by 2 more dogs, again very scary. When we were about 50 miles from where my car was parked, I felt a spoke break. I knew that it had already happened , and been fixed, but I also knew that once one goes, more will probably go. That last 50 miles were killer. I was losing spokes, one an hour about, and my knee was starting to ache. At one point, we were just outside of Roseville at a gas station and I saw that 5! spokes were busted. I was starting to freak out a bit. But I told myself, hey, I can always buy a new wheel. I just NEED to make it to Al's house/my car. And after roughly 315 miles, we finally made it home. Throughout this trip I was using a men's saddle. At that point in my life, I knew little about bicycles, or rather, how to adjust them properly. This really matters when you are riding a long distance! My princess (as A calls it) was killing me. When I arrived home, I threw the bike in the corner and didn't touch it for a year. Of course it took me about 3 days to get back on my commuter. But I needed a rest. All in all, it was amazing. Most fun on a bike Ive had (maybe....)Also, my tips: don't get wasted the first night. Use your water bottle to spray dogs in the face if they chase you. bring extra spokes. even if you don't think you will need them, you might. Don't let your pride get in the way of comfort, or safety. Taking a cab isn't the worst thing ever. Also, just have fun. that is all you need.
If you have ever toured and have tips, or stories, just holler at me. I'd love to hear about it!