Riverfront Park

Riverfront Park 

7.5 miles

I finally found a moment to dust of the bike and get out and ride and boy was Oreo excited to come!  We took off after work last night around 7pm and tooled around Riverfront Park until it was dark enough that I couldn't see anymore.  We had a rough start with Oreo trying to lead and constantly getting in my way and stopping.  Once she finally figured out that I needed to lead, it was smooth sailing.  I was surprised to see how overgrown the park had become since the last time I was there.  I rode through parts where I could only see a few feet in front of me and the grasses were just below my eyeline.  I couldn't see Oreo but knew she was there because of the constant clanking of her tags.  I felt like I was in the grassy fields of Isla Sorna just waiting to be picked off by veracious velocoraptors (Jurassic Park II - Lost World reference). 

As the evening progressed, I stayed more in the densly overgrown canopy of the woods, my favorite part of the park.  There was an eerie feel to it as dusk settled upon us.  If Oreo was spooked at all though, she didn't let on.  It got particularly crazy when I came into thickett where the ground was covered with cotton.  I could hardly see at that point but the cotton ground cover gave off a faint glow almost reminiscent of a low lying fog or a dusting of snow.  Pretty creepy.  I think I want to lead a group of cyclist through here on a Friday the 13th or Halloween moon-lit ride. 

Lake Elmo

Last week I was finally able to upgrade my car to something more reliable, and yes, it has a roof rack.  With most of the house repairs done, I decided to take the girls canoeing at Lake Elmo for the afternoon. 

I spent most of the day on the bank while the girls played in the water.  We didn't get much canoe time but that's ok.  The girls had a blast!  As you can see, there is a fishing pole in the boat, 3 actually.  I got my fishing license for the first time in 15 years.  The girls weren't interested in fishing and all I did was drown worms.

Big Changes

I think it's time I revive this blog.  It's been awhile since I've posted and obviously lots has been going on since my last post, too much even.  Because my life has been up in the air, I've been avoiding documenting it on the web.  I think I'm going to abandon the Tree Squirrels blog and either revive it here or create an new blog describing my new conquests as a single dad exploring all new avenues of life that I hadn't thought I'd ever have to deal with.

Either way, keeping with the current theme of this blog, this year has been a slow riding year.  My foci have been elsewhere and though I long to put on some major mileage, the oportunities have not presented themselves.  Life is hectic and busy and I've been lucky to just ride my bike to work on occassion.  However, with the avent of Spring upon me now (yes, I did say avent of spring. I do live in Montana), I have high hopes to get back on the bike and putting on some mileage.  And hopefully I'll be able to do so with a few more companions!

Me and Oreo hanging at the river waiting for the girls

Back in March, the girls and I decided that it was finally time, we needed a dog!  We no longer had resistance to that idea so it was time to make the jump and try our luck.  On April Fools Day we brought home Oreo and boy did I turn out to be the fool.  It's been a long two months of adjustment to a dog with hyper energy, separation issues and a cunning wit.  She has foiled me on multiple fronts destroying many of the kids toys and shoes and escaping whenever the oportunity presents itself.  I've had to take some unusual methods to keep this dog within the confines of a kennel and our back yard.  That could be it's own post.  Heck, maybe it's own book, for example, Marley and Me.  However, despite our challenges, Oreo has been a great companion, both at home and on the trails.  So far I have ran her up to 14 miles and she's loved it.  I can't wait to take her out again this weekend.

Oreo resting on one of our runs

Oreo as a pup when we first met her

I'm also excited for the possibility of riding with Tara, my 9 year old.  She just asked for a new bike for her birthday and I opted to go for the real deal with an 18 speed Trayl bike from Sport's Authority.  Not the top of the line by any means but a big step up from the Target brand bike she was riding.  This is a 24" bike too so it should last her awhile.  I hope she's as excited for it as I am.

I am excited to be back in the blogosphere and hopefully can keep this up a little better than I have been recently.