Save Helvetia

Posted At : August 28, 2009 1:13 AM | Posted By : Erik Voldengen
Related Categories: Misc

barn Do you ride out in the Helvetia area?  Buy produce?  Get your Christmas tree or Halloween pumpkins?

The Helvetia area is a real treasure for me.  I even have friends who got engaged on a ride out there.  I ride there all the time.

I buy my produce from a CSA here, and I get milk from a dairy just past West Union elementary school.  I've purchased wine from a small vineyard in the area.  I get my Christmas trees there, too. 

One thing I learned from my CSA (farm) about growing crops is it's hard! It took them years of spreading compost and TLC to get a field fertile enough to grow anything. Fertile land is precious, and once it's bulldozed, smoothed out and houses are built on it, you can't just change your mind and grow crops there later.

If you care about preserving the Helvetia area, check out saveHelvetia.org.  Send a petition and make sure your voice is heard.

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One of the odd ones

Posted At : August 25, 2009 10:25 AM | Posted By : Erik Voldengen
Related Categories: Bike

drillsTeam ride this weekend.  We don't do a training ride that often during the peak of the racing season, so it was nice to see some of the gang again.  We're primarily a track racing team, and since I don't race at the velodrome any more, I think I've become one of the odd ones. 

When I was younger and without kids, I practiced and raced with the team 4-5 times a week.  I remember guys who would only ride with us only on the Sunday training rides.  Now I'm one of them.  For the first time, I felt a little out of place on a BBC team ride.  That was weird. 

This road racing season has been pretty uneventful, and is winding down.  Nationals is over, Cyclocross bikes are arriving, people are gearing up for the fall.  Change is in the air, and I'm looking forward to it. 

 

    group2

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What's coming?

Posted At : August 13, 2009 2:46 AM | Posted By : Erik Voldengen
Related Categories: Bike

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Detroit Lake 2009, Barftastic!

Posted At : August 12, 2009 12:38 AM | Posted By : Erik Voldengen
Related Categories: Family, Misc

In what I hope to be a regular annual event, we returned to Detroit Lake for a big group camping trip.  Up to a dozen families come and have a relaxing time.  It's a lot of fun.

We also did this last year, and it was great.  The kids played, caught bugs, rode inner-tubes towed by ski boats.  The adults got their share of fun, too.

This year was a little different.  We arrived to cloudy skies and set up camp.  We awoke to raindrops hitting the tent.  Rain is okay, but there was more.

Sickness.  There seemed to be a 24 hour flu going around.  Some people were deathly ill just before vacation, while others contracted the bug on the trip.  I believe I was the first lucky soul to violently toss cookies over night.  After a full day out of commission, I was back to normal.  Donna and friend Julie also were hit with it.  And for those who didn't…I bet they're throwing up right now ;)

I had hoped to ride my bike every day I was there.  But the sickness, rain and cold weather threw me for a loop.  I did get one ride in on Saturday in the forest roads around the lake.  I was hoping to find the correct route I was looking for last year, but ended up missing the same turn.  It was a lovely ride, however.

The sun came out for our last two days, and we enjoyed ourselves.  The damp weather kind of slowed the adults down, but we still had fun.  The kids didn't even notice the rain, and played as hard as they always do.

Looking forward to returning in 2010.  Hopefully a more sunny, less barftastic time.

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