Rides, July 3 and 4

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The heat and humidity will continue this Independence weekend, so you’ll want to get out for a ride early in the day. I’ll lead rides Friday and Saturday morning. The temps both mornings will be from the mid 70s to the mid 80s with light winds and some clouds.

Friday’s ride will be off-road along the Minnesota River. You’ll probably want an off-road bike, since there are stretches of sand and some mud. I’ll be leaving my house in west Bloomington at about 07:00 and riding my fat bike to the trailhead at Lyndale Avenue in east Bloomington by 07:30. From there, I’ll ride east to the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge and I will be there about 08:00. If you’re coming from Eagan or Rosemount, you can take Nicols Road to the Cedar Ave bridge and cross the river. We can follow the Long Meadow Lake Trail or the Fort Snelling Trail east and north before returning home. This ride will be at a slow, easy pace (~10 mph average). Contact me if you plan to ride, and let me know where I should expect to meet you.

Saturday’s ride will be from Rosemount to Northfield, clockwise. Meet at Starbucks and be ready to ride at 08:00. Our friends at Brick Oven Bakery are only open for pickup, so we may need to find another spot stop in Northfield. Let me know if you have an suggestions. Otherwise, Odd Fellows Park looks like a good place to stop.

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Ride Saturday, June 20

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We’ll have winds from the east yet again Saturday, but we’re not going to Hastings this week, we’re headed to Cannon Falls, starting at 08:00. Anyone wanting to add nearly 30 extra miles and 3 times more climbing can follow our Cannon Falls and Welch route or the slightly longer 89-mile version.

We’ll stop for a nature break at Lake Byllesby Park, since Hi Quality bakery isn’t open for dine-in service. The weather Saturday should be great, with mainly sunny skies, temps from 68 to 75 degrees, and ENE winds at 6 mph.

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Ride Saturday, June 13

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Saturday’s ride will be a repeat of last week’s ride, because the weather will also be a rerun. Again, we’ll start at 08:00, with a ride through Hastings following our 53-mile Revenna Trail route clockwise. The weather Saturday should be great, with mainly sunny skies, temps from 57 to 65 degrees, and winds from the East at 8 to 11 mph.

Gather in the parking lot near Starbucks in Rosemount by 08:00, while social distancing. I’ll divide the group, as needed, and the first group will head out. Each group will follow the previous one, until everyone is on the road. This worked well last week, even with a flat repair by the first group, and both groups had the same average-moving speed. So, the “slow” group wasn’t (although the “faster“ group rode a few more miles).

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Ride Saturday, June 6

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After a three-month hiatus, we will return to club riding Saturday at 08:00, with a ride through Hastings following our 53-mile Revenna Trail route clockwise. We’ll gather in the parking lot near Starbucks in Rosemount by 08:00. I’ll divide the group, as needed, and the first group will head out. The second group will wait a minute and follow, repeating that until everyone is on the road. The subgroups will stay separate until after the ride, and then you can do what you want. I think it may work best to have the slowest riders in the first group and the fastest riders in last group, so we don't drop and lose groups along the way. This route is pretty simple, so it will be a good test for us.

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Riding During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve only had one group ride outdoors this season. Hopefully, you and your family have been healthy and the pandemic hasn’t stopped you from getting on a bike to exercise. As things start to open up again, our risk of infecting COVID-19 may also be declining, as new cases in Minnesota very recently have been lower than they have been since April 22. Hopefully the downward trend continues and the recent George Floyd / BLM protests do not cause a new spike in infections. We won’t be able to return to the old “normal,” but we can manage our risk and do what we feel comfortable doing.

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Ride Saturday, March 7

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Spring has come and that often means windy rides. The forecast for this weekend is for temps in the 50s and 60s with winds of 12 to 20 mph. We can't avoid the wind, but we can still get outside and check our legs.

Saturday's ride will have some cross winds, but mostly head and tail winds. We'll follow the 44-mile alternate Castle Rock route, which is fairly flat and should be a good season opener. We'll meet Saturday afternoon at Starbucks in Rosemount and start riding at 1pm. If you drive to the ride, don't forget important things like your helmet and shoes.

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Order Your 2020 Club Kit

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For 2020, we are again offering custom RCC clothing from Louis Garneau. Our new thermal jersey and cycling cap are available now from Garneau's store for RCC, which will be open until Sunday, February 2 at Midnight. Those of you who have our 2018 and 2019 kit know the quality and fit of Garneau kit. You won’t have another opportunity to order these items from Garneau.

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Grand Performance 2020 Discounts for Club Members

Grand Performance
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Our club shop and sponsor, Grand Performance, is offering special club discounts on several product lines. Sale items include several models and builds of Wilier Triestina bicycles, HED and Zipp wheels, SRAM components for road and MTB, helmets and Sidi shoes, Speedplay pedals, Continental and Pirelli tires and tubes, and more.

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Ride Sunday, November 3

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Sunday should be the warmest day in the near future, and winds will be light, so we’ll ride from Rosemount at starting at 13:00. At this time of year, I’m tired of nearly all of our routes, so we’ll do the 49-mile Hastings & Hampton route counter clockwise. We’ll stop at the Lock and Dam for a nature break.

I’ve created a short survey for your feedback again this year. Please take two minutes to fill it out so I can see how we’re doing.

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