Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Mille Lacs - what's the plan?

I'm planning on driving up Thursday to visit a friend in Minneapolis for a couple days - what's the plan for Saturday/Sunday?

Next time I get up there, I'll reserve a camping spot. We may not need it if noone shows up, but it sounds like fun to camp. I'll just be up there, so everyone else will have to chime in with their plans.

I'm in for camping. Solveg, were you considering a group campsite? Usually the parks have rules about how many campers/tents occupy a single space. I can't make it up on Friday, but plan on an early start on Saturday. Might even be able to squeeze in a warmup ride. I was considering the full 70 mile ride length, but my Sunday evening schedule makes it doubtful.

Caincando, GregCavi, are you in? I'll bring stuff for smores, but someone else will have to bring the guitar. :)

I'm in for camping too. Do they have showers and stuff?

I'll be leaving Minneapolis to drive up to the lake sometime Saturday noon/afternoon, depending on everyone else's plans.

They do have showers... the group campsite is "rustic"...not sure exactly what that means...

I'm in if I can find a way to do it cheaply. I'll have to go back find the enty form, was there a fee to join the ride? Anyone know what the camp site fees are? It will just be me, so I can crash on a couch or in the back of the Expedition if I can find a place to park it.

I'm paying for the campsite... it's enough that all of you are driving there!

I'm paying for the campsite... it's enough that all of you are driving there!

WOW! Thank you!

I'll be coming up Saturday. I have to stop for a couple hours at a house warming party south of St. Cloud. I'd be willing to take anyone with it they are looking for a ride. Maybe, Gregcavi from Roch., or I could stop and pick someone up in the cities. I plan to sleep on an air mattress in the back of our Expedition. I'll be heading home after the ride on Sunday.

What about food? I plan to bring a cooler with and/or stop and get something to eat. Are we thinking about a group meal at the campsite Saturday night? If so, should we all decided what we all should bring.

Here is the registration form. They are suppose to be in by Sept. 5th. I'll mail mine in this week.

http://millelacs.com/events/bramlbro.pdf

I'll be signing up for the 35 mile ride. I had my heart set on the 70 mile ride, but I don't think my bottom is up to it.

WOW! Thank you!

I'll be coming up Saturday. I have to stop for a couple hours at a house warming party south of St. Cloud. I'd be willing to take anyone with it they are looking for a ride. Maybe, Gregcavi from Roch., or I could stop and pick someone up in the cities. I plan to sleep on an air mattress in the back of our Expedition. I'll be heading home after the ride on Sunday.

What about food? I plan to bring a cooler with and/or stop and get something to eat. Are we thinking about a group meal at the campsite Saturday night? If so, should we all decided what we all should bring.

Maybe you and Becky should hook up, even if you drive apart... she doesn't know the area and maybe she could follow you. It's easy, but the traffic in the cities can make you miss turns. The turn-off to 169 from 10 is particularly sneaky both directions if you're coming that way.

The grocery stores up there are nasty unless you're getting something pre-packaged. The produce is old and wilty, and, well, it's all pretty bad. I bring up everything I can from the cities, buying only stuff like cereal and dairy when I'm up there. If you're coming from a long way away, you probably want to stop maybe in Elk River... there's a few grocery stores and I think a super target there.

Thanks for contributing the campsite, solveg!

I plan on bringing a cooler and stopping at a grocery store in Minneapolis before driving up. A group meal Saturday night sounds great - and we should definitely figure out who's bringing what, food-wise. I don't have a stove or anything, but I have a set of cast iron pans...

Solveg, do you have a charcoal or portable gas grille? I can probably borrow a big Weber charcoal grille if not. I also have a propane camp stove. That way, everyone can grille or heat up what they need without the need to rely on an open fire or one of those grungy public grilles.

No, I don't have a portable grill. I have a kitchen, though... :rolleyes:

v1k1ng? You coming? You need a ride?

I assume everyone's heading home Sunday afternoon?

I sent my registration in today, so I'm officially in.

Yep, I'll be heading home Sunday.

I'm doubtful. It's the first weekend back from vacation for me and you know what that means.
As to what "rustic" means at MN parks, it means you may have a spigot with cold water to drink and an outhouse. Fire ring use may well be out of the question with drought conditions.

Solveg, I can't find any route maps. Do you have any idea what the terrain is like for the ride?

I did see a route map somewhere, but can't remember where. I'll bet there tomorrow and will ask.

Looks flat to me, but Becky said she did a route online and it came up hilly. I think there's quite a chunk of it on the SE side that is old railroad bed, so that should be flat.

BTW...do you guys really want* to camp? Unless v1k1ng speaks up, it looks like it only 4 of us? pupsocket, caincando, Becky and me. Even if v1k1ng comes, you guys can all crash in my place, and Becky and I can stay at my brother's. However, for just "hanging out", camping would be more spacious with everyones bikes and stuff. We'd be packed like sardines at my place, because it's small with just me and my dogs!

Doh...I feel dumb. this is on the 16th... maybe I can swing it

I think it's going to be fun... try and make it. The deadline to sign up is the 5th.

I'm just glad you didn't get washed away in the flood. We did a thread wondering about you and Caincando, but we didn't hear from you! Were you affected by it?

not directly, but it sure made biking and getting around the roads tough. Things are slowly getting back to normal around here.

My town's little festival...like every small town in MN, is that weekend...so I hate to bail on everyone..since friends, relatives, whatnot will be here. We'll see

I don't think I actually found a route map, but there was a description of the starting point on the registration form, and I assumed that since it's 70 miles around the lake, that would be the route for the longer ride. It wasn't' particularly hilly when I put that into mapmyride, just gentle 40-ft ups and downs. Flat is relative, and I tend to think of Florida-flat or Oklahoma/Texas-flat (where you can see for miles until the earth curves, and roads don't bend) as flat, and "normal-flat" as "flat-ish." :)

Camping will take a little more planning, but I think it would be fun. Either is fine, though. Thanks for offering your cabin and your brother's house, solveg!

OK, we have the campsites set up for the 15th and the 16th. I know we won't need the 16th, but checkout time is 4 pm, and I didn't want people to feel like they had to break down camp before the ride, and they might not finish by 2. So we can take our time on Sunday.

If you want to break down camp and keep your stuff at my cabin, we can lock everything in the porch.

Our campsites are in the Petaga campground, #55 and #56. There's a car limit at the campground... I think it's 2 cars per site. Which means that some people may have to park the cars at the front gate, and then ride their bikes back to the site. Check in is at 4, but you can come up anytime before 10. If you come up earlier than 4, we'll hang out at my place.

Do not bring your own firewood. There's a restriction because of bugs or something, so you have to bring in only certain types of wood... my eyes glazed over at this point so I just asked if we could get wood at the main building.

Does everyone have their entry mailed? You'll have to do it Tuesday to make the deadline.

Unless a miracle happens, v1k1ng won't make it.

Also, everyone who is going to go, send me a PM and I'll tell you some info you'll need that I don't want on the net.

Oh! And one more thing... even though checkin time is 4, we can take the sites early if there's noone there. Since SAT and SUN were free, I'm sure we can get the sites as early as we want. If not, the back-up would be to hang at my place.

My entry form went in the mail last week... I'll drive up to arrive sometime around 3-4. I'm PMing you.

THANK YOU for setting up the campgrounds!

What did we decide for meals? Everyone bring their own food and grill/cook on shared equipment? Or do we want to plan a group meal Saturday evening?

btw, I'll be bringing a single-burner and a stovetop espresso-steamer - it makes about 12 oz STRONG coffee per batch :)

Is anyone doing the 60 miles?

I can make a big salad, since I have a refrigerator.

I signed up for the 35, but I have this pipe-dream that I'll hit the 23 mile mark where the routes split (according to the brochure - that still doesn't make sense to me), not be a bit tired, and decide to go for the long route... LOL... not likely, though ;)

35 is a good long ride. When Pupsocket went on our big adventure, we went much slower than normal because we were talking the whole time. 60 miles would take me forever. I may ride to the race start in Onamia, though, which is about 10 miles from the campground. That would give me 55 for the day. Plus, I got a saddle sore of some type just doing 40 that one day, and I've been on reduced miles since. Granted, that's because I was on a saddle I'd never ridden before, but still... ouch.

Also, when I rode with pupsocket, the 20 miles seemed like 10.

Very good points. I knew it was unrealistic.. :) I don't even know if 35 will be "fun and not too hard" or if it'll all but kill me... LOL :) I guess that's part of the fun of it!

What do you guys do for breakfast before a ride like this? I'm a little uncertain about being able to eat during the ride, though I think the problems I had with that before were more because of heat/dehydration than anything, and that shouldn't be a problem.

Becky, start drinking a ton* of water a couple days before hand. Seriously. So you have to pee several times at night. As far as food, I usually just don't eat anything right before I ride. I will maybe have eaten an hour before, though. But I usually have a bar that I'll eat a quarter of every once in a while. I really* like those gel packets! They totally do the trick for me. I drink gatorade about 1/3 of the amount of total liquids.

Wear sunglasses. The lake is bright, and you'll get a headache from the reflections. Make sure they're polarized glasses, or they won't really do any good. Polarization actually gets rid* of the stuff that gives you headaches.

There shouldn't be any huge hills, and I'll be hanging with you, talking, so we shouldn't be over-exerting ourselves. I'm fine with taking breaks as much as we want. Lots of scenic little beaches and areas to enjoy a view from. If you start to feel sick, it means we've been pushing it too hard. It's important to pace yourself. If you normally do 12 mph for, say 15 miles, you might want to go 10 for 35, especially if you've never gone that far. That's 3.5 hours on a bike!

We'll just enjoy the day and get to the finish line! When pupsocket and I went riding, he forgot his computer. In the beginning, I think it kind of bugged him not to know how fast we were going, but then I think we both got into the "social" groove of it, and we didn't really care, except to compare the downhill return to the uphill beginning.

If the guys want to leadfoot it, they can have lunch waiting for us at the campsite!

And, I suppose if you get too* hot, you can jump in the lake! :D

Anyone else who wants to come, you can register up until the moment the race begins, but T-shirts may not be available. There can only be 2 tents per campsite without special permission. We can fit one more tent if I don't sleep there, but beyond that let me know if you plan on coming and I'll try to get special permission.

Sounds like a fun trip. I printed the flier and thought about it but I just can't get away that weekend.

Have you ever tried the quaker "oatmeal to go" snacks? Little square bar-like things. I've been using them to re-fuel mid ride and they are great, They don't upset my tummy and they don't go all sloppy in the heat. I often eat 1 or 2 of them before a ride too - the oatmeal takes a while to deliver all the energy it contains and it works out good on a ride.

Solveg, do you have the name and address of the camp ground that we are staying at?

We're at Kathio State Park... here's the website. The address is at the bottom, but it won't mean anything. Basically you go N on 169 until you see a sign that says Kathio State Park.

You and Pupsocket need to send me a PM so I can send you private info.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/mille_lacs_kathio/index.html

Actually we should probably all exchange cell numbers. Pupsocket and Cain, I'll PM you.

Anyone else who wants to come, you can register up until the moment the race begins, but T-shirts may not be available. There can only be 2 tents per campsite without special permission. We can fit one more tent if I don't sleep there, but beyond that let me know if you plan on coming and I'll try to get special permission.
I have a large tent that sleeps up to 6 with room to spare. Cain, unless you'd rather bunk in the car, you're welcome to stay in the tent. Viking (any other guys?) the offer is the same. I'm not sure how many firm attendees there are.

Glad registration is open on site, since I forgot to mail mine in. :rolleyes:

I have a large tent that sleeps up to 6 with room to spare. Cain, unless you'd rather bunk in the car, you're welcome to stay in the tent. Viking (any other guys?) the offer is the same. I'm not sure how many firm attendees there are.

Glad registration is open on site, since I forgot to mail mine in. :rolleyes:


We'll figure it out when I get there.

Are you riding the 70 mile route? I really had hopes to ride the 70 but losing 3 weeks of training because of my perineum issues really slowed me down. The 35 won't be a problem for me, I'm just not sure if I'm up to 70. If you are going to ride the 70, what kind of pace do you plan to ride at? I'll probably average 14-15 on the 35, if I dropped to 12-13, I could probably do the 70. But it would take me a day.

I'm getting excited for this! None of us has ever gone on a group ride before, so it will be fun to try and figure out how the sag wagons work, and, well, just to figure out everything* for the first time. It would be nice to do this with someone who has done it before, but it's also fun to be completely in the dark with 3 other people!

Very good points. I knew it was unrealistic.. :) I don't even know if 35 will be "fun and not too hard" or if it'll all but kill me... LOL :) I guess that's part of the fun of it!

What do you guys do for breakfast before a ride like this? I'm a little uncertain about being able to eat during the ride, though I think the problems I had with that before were more because of heat/dehydration than anything, and that shouldn't be a problem.

The breakfast of choice for me before a significant bike ride is a PBJ on whole wheat, a banana (or two) and a really big glass of milk. There is serious nutrition in that breakfast. One does need to eat during a longer ride. Bananas are great during too. If it's a supported ride, they'll have ride appropriate snacks at the rest areas.

Good luck and drink lots of gatorade or whatever.

Hmmm... I want to join you guys if you are cool with that. I have somehow missed this thread until now.

BeckyW and others, if you are coming from the South, I am right off of I-35 in Ames so it would be a good carpool opportunity. I have asked the activity director and she is cool with me getting away for a bit.

I have a 4 bedroom tent that is easy to deal with. I also drive a king cab pickup so I can haul bikes, bikers, and gear if we carpool.

Solveg, how close is parking to the tent site? I may need to get some longer cables rigged up to run my CPAP machine from my truck.

I've never seen these campsites, except from the road. It looks like they're just the woods, and you could probably pitch your tent by your truck. There are lots with electric, though, too. But I didn't get them. You might want to go to the website and call the number there and ask some more specific questions! If we need to switch to electric, we could check that out...

There are a lot of mosquitos in these woods, and it might the second tick season. Lymes is a problem up here, so you want to do thorough checks, wear your pants tucked into your socks, and bring a hat and insect spray.

Bring your camera, too, because there are lots of loons in Mille Lacs, and they're pretty cool!

tom, what distance are you thinking of going? There's a 12 mile, a 35 mile and a 70 mile route. I think* the rest of us are doing the 35 miles, but the 12-mile is on a rail-trail and is nice and flat if that's what you want.

Also, send an email to Pupsocket, Caincando1, Becky and me with your real name and cell #..... we'll respond with ours...

Glad to have you on board!

EDIT: Never mind about the 12 miler! I just looked through your posts and found out you weren't just starting out...

Also, the tent pads are 12x16, and there's only one on each site. So if people are bringing huge tents, I wonder if there will be an issue? I don't know if you have* to pitch on the tent pad. One is sand, one is grass. I have a small tent that can be used, but it hasn't been out of its case for years. I'll have to see what shape it's in.

I can't really ride-share on the way up - I'm going up to Minneapolis a few days early to visit a friend. My tent is a small one - about 4 x 7 (about 6 x 7 with rainfly staked out to make a vestibule), and I'd personally rather sleep on sand or grass than on a concrete pad...

Would love it if you can join us though, Tom and any others.

My tent is a big nylon coleman. It will probably fit the tent pad, but if it overhangs a bit, then that will be where the gear is stored.

As for ride length, I'm certainly up for the 35. While I usually average 12-14 for that length trip, as solveg and I found out, when riding + talking, speed doesn't matter and usually ends up a bit slower. While I am probably physically able to complete the long route, I have to be back to work Sunday evening in the TC around 9. With the drive home, I'll probably have to skip the full circle if I want to make it through the night shift.

My plan is 35+. I can probably do the 60 over 5-6 hrs unless the hills are killers, but if no one else is up for it, I can see doing the 35 like solveg is talking about with the 10 miles from the campground.

Ok, I will drive up Saturday morning. I plan to bring my big tent (should hold 4 queen size air mattresses
so yeah, 4 people could share with separate rooms even), my air mattress, etc. I typically use a flashlight-based lantern and just put the tent on reasonably level ground.