Fifty Plus (50+) - Did I see Tom Bombadil today?

This story is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

I went on my first 40 mile ride today...on a railroad path of crushed limestone. All of us who meet on the path give each other a nod and a smile. Life is good.

Then along comes a guy on a cross bike with flat handlebars. It is a nice day, high in the mid 70s. This guy is going all-out on this cross bike, with arms and legs kind of flying akimbo. He's not even breaking a sweat, and he is wearing a sweatshirt with a matching helmet. He looks serious, but definately Fred.

As I approach him, I nod. He turns to me and shouts, "HELL NO!" and keeps going. I turn around to look at him, and he's wearing a Wisconsin Badgers sweatshirt. For real.

Tom Bombadil was attending a hot rod show this afternoon, in Madison, WI. So it wasn't I who was the overly rude Wisconsinite. (By the way, hot rod shows are dominated by 50+'ers. I'd guess that close to 90% of the rod owners were 50+, with at least 2/3rds of them being 60+.)

And congrats on your 40 mile ride!!! How did that go? You still feeling pretty good at the end?

Right now I have a plan to go to Red Wing on Sept 13th, to ride the Cannon River Trail on Friday the 14th. Roughly 40 miles from Red Wing to the trailhead and back. Then on the 15th, on my way back home, I hope to stop & ride the Great River Trail along the Mississippi, or perhaps stopping in Sparta and hitting some of the tunnels on the Elroy-Sparta Trail.

It went really well, considering I was surprised by the limestone. My Atlantis was in the shop, so I was riding my old Bridgestone with 1.25" tires on it. It did fine, but I averaged only 10 mph on the hard pack and it was tough going. I can feel it a bit in my knees. I still had energy at the end, though, and did a stretch going 14 mph before I started a cool down. The limestone jostled me a bit the whole ride, so I had to stretch out a bit to shake out the stiffness.

I'm kind of proud. I have never* ridden 40 miles before, even when I used to ride.

Those trails are high on my list. I'm doing a Mille Lacs ride in Sept, and I want to make sure and do my Duluth ride, which was my summer goal. Seems kind of wimpy now, at 28 miles, though.

Tom Bombadil was attending a hot rod show this afternoon, in Madison, WI. So it wasn't I who was the overly rude Wisconsinite. (By the way, hot rod shows are dominated by 50+'ers. I'd guess that close to 90% of the rod owners were 50+, with at least 2/3rds of them being 60+.)
And congrats on your 40 mile ride!!! How did that go? You still feeling pretty good at the end?

Right now I have a plan to go to Red Wing on Sept 13th, to ride the Cannon River Trail on Friday the 14th. Roughly 40 miles from Red Wing to the trailhead and back. Then on the 15th, on my way back home, I hope to stop & ride the Great River Trail along the Mississippi, or perhaps stopping in Sparta and hitting some of the tunnels on the Elroy-Sparta Trail.


Compensation???

Solveg, it sounds like we are on parallel paths this summer. Setting goals of getting into the upper 20's and then venturing into the unexpected territory of the 40 mile ride. Except for my one wild metric century ride, we are pretty much at the same place.

It feels pretty good to say that you've done a 40, doesn't it!

Compensation???

It may be that younger hot rod owners aren't interested in these types of shows. This was a large one, the Good Guys Midwest National, and had hundreds of rods there. Several of them were very nice.

Solveg, it sounds like we are on parallel paths this summer. Setting goals of getting into the upper 20's and then venturing into the unexpected territory of the 40 mile ride. Except for my one wild metric century ride, we are pretty much at the same place.

It feels pretty good to say that you've done a 40, doesn't it!

It really does! I was only going to do 30 today, but it was such a nice day and I felt so fresh after 15 miles that I didn't want to turn back--kinda like how you did it. So I figured I'd see if it killed me or not. I'm a little amazed it didn't... but I'll sleep good tonight. Maybe as soon as 1/2 hour from now. Dang...I still have to walk the dogs!

Sure he didn't yell HELL LOW?

LOL! Well, maybe. He was yelling so loud the words could have run together... but maybe he was on a huge adrenaline rush. Makes a lot more sense than "Hell No".

He turns to me and shouts, "HELL NO!" and keeps going.

Why in the world would someone say such a thing??? That doesn't sound like our Tom Bombadil.

Congratulations on your 40-mile ride!


I have a question.... how does one recognize a crushed limestone trail? I've never heard of one until I came to these forums. Is there a sign by the side that says "Crushed Limestone", are you a geology majors, or what? I know cement and asphalt and gravel and glass, but I don't think I'd know a crushed limestone trail from a crushed marble trail from a crushed granite trail.

Why in the world would someone say such a thing??? That doesn't sound like our Tom Bombadil.

No, no, not at all.

If it had been me, I would have also flipped her the bird.

I have a question.... how does one recognize a crushed limestone trail? I've never heard of one until I came to these forums. Is there a sign by the side that says "Crushed Limestone", are you a geology majors, or what? I know cement and asphalt and gravel and glass, but I don't think I'd know a crushed limestone trail from a crushed marble trail from a crushed granite trail.

I only know because it says so in the book. It's the next step down from paved: light colored sandy gravel. It can get hard packed, but you can still see the paths of other bikes in it. You have to watch it because they patch it with sandy stuff in spots.

It is less unlikely that you will find a crushed granite or crushed marble trail. Most gravel trails will be covered in shale, limestone or dolomite. Although it is possible if you live in an area that has mostly granite, that it could be covered in crushed granite. In most places that would be a more expensive option. Some trails are covered with cinder.

No, no, not at all.

If it had been me, I would have also flipped her the bird.

And just when I thought we had bid farewell to that old avatar acting up.....