Riding the Cannon Valley Trail

As mentioned in my post yesterday, Mark and I rode the Cannon Valley Trail on Sunday.  If you enjoy cycling, and have never visited this gem, you MUST head down there this summer!  It is such a pretty ride and can be as easy or challenging as you want.  Here are my tips for making this trip a success:

- Start in Red Wing.  The trail runs between Cannon Falls and Red Wing, which is 40 miles round trip.  Welch is roughly halfway, so it would be an easy ride to just turn around there.  We did all 40 miles, which took us about 3 hours, not counting our stop for lunch.  We started in Red Wing because the elevation is lower, which means that you ride uphill first and downhill on the way back.  The hill grade is very slight though, but any little bit helps when you are tired!

- Bring cash.  You must purchase a wheel pass to ride.  You can buy these at either end of the trail or in Welch.  The cost is 4$ per person.

-Stop in Welch to stretch and refill your water bottle.  It's the only water fountain along the path, but there are several other rest stops that would be great for a picnic or a stretch.

-Speaking of food, we enjoyed a tasty lunch at a BBQ place in Cannon Falls.  Its easy to find the main drag from the trail and I enjoyed having 45 minutes off of my bike seat.

-Keep your eyes on the trail.  It gets really busy on the weekends so be prepared to have to share your space.  Also, watch out for wildlife.  A deer darted out in front of us, as did several squirrels and rabbits.

-As always, make sure your bike is properly fitted to you and that you are comfortable riding it.  40 miles is a long way if you are uncomfortable!  Also important are bike shorts, a helmet, and good sunglasses.

Ultimate Summer Weekend!

I am SO sad this weekend is over!  I had such a fun weekend filled with all of my favorite things!  Let's start with Thursday night.  I taught free yoga at Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Harrison Neighborhood, you may remember me mentioning this project if you came to the MN Bloggers yoga class. My yoga classmates and I were able to put on a great 6-week series for people in this community and plan to continue these free classes on a monthly basis.  I only had 3 students in my class, and one of them was 4 years old!  Most weeks we had anywhere from 2-6 students, which is pretty good for a new class.

On  Friday, I had my yoga teacher training graduation!!  We had a potluck while we discussed general info and ethics for starting a yoga business.  The potluck was pretty hilarious because, in true yogi form, virtually everyone brought either fruits, veggies, or chocolate.  That was my kind of lunch!

We had a nice little ceremony when we were presented with our certificates and given some time to reflect on the past 9 months.  I am going to miss these ladies SO much, but I am sure that I will still be seeing a lot of them!  We've been with each other several times per week since September, so it will be weird to not be with each other all the time now!

On Saturday, I went for my long run, which was 8 miles.  I didn't have hip pain or I would have stopped, so thats good!  I spent most the day cleaning and working on projects around the house.  That night, my parents hosted a cocktail party on Lake Minnetonka.  We had a great time enjoying really delicious food and drinks!  The weather was really nice too so it was fun to be on the lake!

On Sunday, Mark and I drove down to Red Wing to bike the Cannon Valley Trail.  It was a fun and challening 40 miles!  I will post a full recap of that trip tomorrow, so make sure to stop back then to read about it! 

I can't believe it is already July!  Hooray for the 4th of July and a 4 day work week! And of course, link up your weekends with Sami!