1/ I went to the Alex Pretti Honor Ride in Minneapolis. I allowed time for traffic disruptions, there were no traffic disruption. So I got there early. There was a guy with boxes of high vis safety vests, getting there early meant that I got one. There were several boxes, 1000 in total.

A November sea cave tour in Chequamegon Bay south of Washburn. The bay is nice in that if the wind is from the north or west you've got sheltered water. Click through and I will tell you all about it. You will need a wetsuit in November, don't kid yourself.

Took a tour of Happy Island in the Chippewa River, the original site of Meridean and, in the 1800s, a sawmill. When the lumber industry played out, farmers moved in. Flooding was a constant problem and eventually it was cheaper to buy out the farmers than to repair roads and bridges.

Nice day for a ride.

Hiking trip in the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan. I have done this exact trip several times with younger hiking companions. It has lots of waterfalls, a big lake, thimbleberries in season, and tree color in season. What's not to like. Click through the thread to see it all.

Out enjoying the autumn sunshine.

A bikepacking overnighter exploring the NW Wisconsin Sand Barrens. Lots of dirt roads and two track. Along with hints of fall color. More detail in the Alt text.

Sandhill cranes stopped for lunch before continuing their migration.

Swapping rims on a 12 year old wheel. Setting up newly purchased tires as tubeless was getting to be more trouble than I was interested in. And the difference in rim beds is pretty stark.

Railroads own bridges over tracks, not municipalities. That means there are a few old wooden bridges out in the country. They're rare, but they still exist. Municipalities don't tolerate them. This one is west of Chippewa Falls.

I rode the Duluth Traverse, highly recommended. It goes from Lester Park in the east to Mission Creek Park in the west. Maps vary a little but it is 42 miles or so with 3,000 ft of climbing. Mostly but by no means exclusively singletrack. Click through the pictures for the full narrative.

Six hours in the saddle yesterday. Among other things I saw a wild turkey hen cross the road with her chick. She didn't say what was so compelling on the other side to cause them to cross.

This is the time of year where I like to ride my bike to the farmers market and buy a shit ton of fresh strawberries. I've already eaten a lot from this morning's haul. None of these are going in the freezer. Down the hatch. All of them, over the next few days.

I've been throwing down race entry fees this year. The Fat Bike Birkie, Hungry Bear, Rochester MN MTB Series race. This is from the Gordon Pine Barrens 50. Which is worthwhile if for no other reason than being able to go up the fire tower. Click through the responses for a 360 view from the tower.

McCormick Wilderness, hoping to beat the black fly hatch. Testing equipment for a late fall trip to Isle Royale. Phil has a brand new Alpacka Scout that he wants to evaluate for lake paddling. I've got a Kokopelli whitewater boat that I also want to evaluate for lake paddling.

I've been getting 'Help Wanted' postcards in the mail from the Postal Service. That's new, never gotten one of those before. Doesn't anyone want to work for the feds anymore? Maybe not.

Rustic Road #51. Near the edge for me at this time of year, so I went straight out and back. #51 is a narrow gravel road that crosses Pine Creek four times. Needed to prove to myself that riding the Hungry Bear is a good idea. wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel...

Branford Marsalis Quartet @The Dakota, Minneapolis.

Saw this on my ride today. Stay on the marked trail.

Architecture tour of New Orleans. Click through the pictures for a description. I mostly avoided Jackson Square since that is where everyone goes.

Azaleas along St Charles Ave. The neighborhood is higher elevation so if you had money you built here. There are many homes similar to these. There are larger lots with attention paid to landscaping.

I'm finding New Orleans surprisingly bike friendly, including this improvised gravel route. This is the St Charles tram line, which is more popular with joggers and dog walkers than cyclists. It's smoother and safer than the road. And no, the trams are not a threat.

Audubon Park. Absolutely loaded with Live oak and Spanish moss.

New Orleans library. All libraries should be framed in Live oak.

Calas, a fried Creole pastry with West African roots. Very tasty. And historic. Most calas vendors during slave times were women. The best were able to do well enough to purchase their freedom.

Snug Harbor. Of the 5 Marsalis musicians we have seen three here. We saw Wynton and Branford in Eau Claire. But we saw Delfayo and Ellis here in 2019. And Jason, the youngest, last night. If you get the chance to see a Marsalis at Snug Harbor, don't screw around. Highly recommended.

2025 Sweaty Yeti. 19th out of 50 starters. Close but not quite the oldest entrant. I'm happy with the result. Photos by Karry Johnson. The Mastodon fork is new. I'm glad I bought it. I bled air out of both the fork and tires before the start and given the frozen trail conditions I'm glad I did.

Birkie spectating on a fat bike. Started at Mosquito Brook. Singletrack was *very* soft. Wound up at 2.5psi. The road section was OK. Hwy 77 has a wide shoulder and the side roads are all blocked off from cars for the ski race. Lake Hayward was easy riding with, of course, a good view of the race.

1) Went for fat bike tour of Chequamegon Bay ice caves. There are two clusters, Bono Creek and Houghton Point. They are not as spectacular as the Meyers Beach caves. But the Meyers Beach caves will likely never open again in winter due to NPS policy and climate change.