We spent a lot of time in bars and restaurants while vacationing on the island Vieques off the coast of Puerto Rico last week. Al’s Mar Azul was one of our favorite pubs. It’s got a great deck overlooking the ocean in the heart of Isabel Segunda, the town where we rented a house. And it was one of two pubs that had a power generator the night the power went out on the entire island.
One of our fellow patrons at Mar Azul‘s the night the power went out was Ed Conlon (Wikipedia entry), pictured on the left with former Northfielder Collin Wigley (my eldest son) and his wife Amanda. We met Ed a few nights earlier while on a tour of the Bioluminescent Bay, the best bio bay in the world. He graciously bought a few rounds of rum punches to help us through the power outage trauma.
Black has come to believe that “the vast majority of people” should give up yoga altogether. It’s simply too likely to cause harm. Not just students but celebrated teachers too, Black said, injure themselves in droves because most have underlying physical weaknesses or problems that make serious injury all but inevitable.
Instead of doing yoga, “they need to be doing a specific range of motions for articulation, for organ condition,” he said, to strengthen weak parts of the body. “Yoga is for people in good physical condition. Or it can be used therapeutically. It’s controversial to say, but it really shouldn’t be used for a general class.”
But even Dr. Vad has a warning about yoga and Pilates (excerpt from this web site):
The paradox is that although yoga and Pilates are ultimately the best possible way to maximize back health, in the short run the vigorous twists, turns, and bends of advanced yoga and Pilates can actually cause back injuries.
It’s quite a catch-22: the very thing that can help you the most can very easily hurt you. Back Rx solves this problem with a carefully sequenced introduction of yoga- and Pilates-based movements and poses that will strengthen the back without traumatizing it.
I’ve heard horror stories from fellow Northfielders who’ve been injured at local yoga and Pilates classes. I’m not interested in ‘outing’ any local instructors or classes so if you comment on this blog post, please refrain from using names.
In chatting yesterday with Brenton Balvin, I reminisced a bit about my life as a hockey rink rat from about 5 years old through high school. We had a pond near our house in Eagan and I pretty much lived there all winter. We built our own warming house, fully equipped with a pot-bellied stove. It was classic pick-up hockey, also known as pond or shinny hockey:
There are no formal rules or specific positions, and generally, there are no goaltenders. The goal areas at each end may be marked by nets, or simply by objects, such as blocks of snow, stones, etc. Bodychecking and lifting or “roofing/reefing/raising the puck” (shooting the puck or ball so it rises above the ice) are often forbidden because the players are not wearing protective equipment.
I went to grade school as St. Peter’s Catholic School in Mendota where we had enough hockey players to have intramural leagues. Raising the puck was allowed, and we had goalies, but bodychecking wasn’t common and I don’t remember any fights.
I went to high school at Nazareth Hall seminary in Aden Hills, MN where we could not only skate on Lake Johanna, but where we had full responsibility for maintaining the ice for two hockey rinks (with lights!). We had giant hoses for flooding and dozens of shovels for keeping the rinks snow-free. Although our class was small (I graduated in 1967 in a class of 33) we had enough good players to field a team that played some of the other teams in the Central Catholic Conference (St. Agnes, Hill, Benilde, Cretin, St. Thomas, St. Bernard’s, DeLasalle). We finished 4-5 my senior year. I loved it. Again, bodychecking was allowed but it was uncommon, especially along the boards since they were only hip high on the outdoor rinks. I don’t remember any fights.
By the time my three sons were old enough to skate here in Northfield (early 80s), I became unhappy with direction hockey was taking. Pick-up hockey was losing ground to organized hockey, even for the youngest kids. Parents were getting up early to haul their kids to the indoor arena and spending their weekends hauling their kids to games and tournaments around the state. I was disappointed to see how much time and money was required and secretly hoped the boys never got interested in playing. Thankfully, they didn’t.
Last week I went for a night ride from downtown Faribault to the nearby River Bend Nature Center (RBNC). Earlier this year I rode a few of the trails at RBNC but mainly the wide, well-traveled ones. I didn’t really see it as a good place for mountain biking. But I was wrong. I rode a single track trail to get to RBNC that was very fun, even though I only had a weak handlebar light. And once there, I discovered many other fun single tracks that I had no idea existed.
So I went back this week in the daylight to get a better idea of what I’d just experienced. (My apologies for the semi-lousy photos. I took them with my smartphone.)
The best mountain bike trail from downtown to RBNC begins at the eastern edge of Teepee Tonka Park, underneath the Hwy 60 viaduct that crosses over the Straight River at the southeast corner of downtown Faribault. There’s another route, the recreational trail that begins at the southern edge of the park on the west side of the river but if you take that, you’ll miss the fun stuff. See this City of Faribault Parks and Trails map (PDF) for more detail.
Right photo above: within a few yards, you have the option of taking the lower trail that goes along the river (intermediate difficulty) or the upper trail along the bluff (advanced/expert).
The lower trail has several well-constructed bridges over the creek beds.
The lower trail has the potential for lots of technical areas, with many logs and rocky creek beds. I say ‘potential’ because with a few exceptions, the technical stuff is in ‘raw’ form, ie, not constructed to make it rideable or interesting for most riders.
The upper trail has some fun ups and downs, and is solidly constructed with rocks and logs along the steeper parts to prevent erosion. While not too difficult technically, the trail is narrow in many places, along some steep drop-offs and thus would be a little freaky for an intermediate rider.
There are some fun tunnels to explore.
Next time out, I’ll try to find more of the single-track trails in the heart of the park. But I’m thrilled to find out how much RBNC has to offer, as it’s only 15 minutes from my house in Northfield.
Right: I met these guys yesterday (L to R: Tim Larson, David Gavin, Eric Marr and Dan Malecha; Dan is a cousin of Arlen and Galen) while mountain biking the Battle Creek Park Reserve mountain bike trail system on the east side of St. Paul. (Details on my Mountain Bike Geezer blog here.)
It was classic neighborhood pond hockey: shoes for goal posts, goalies in their shoes, no checking, no raising the puck, no one bothering to keep score, lots of smiles.
I’m thrilled to see that they’re offering an Adult Broomball League. I played on broomball teams in college at St. Thomas, in Minneapolis City Rec leagues for a few years, and then just occasional pickup games after we moved to Northfield in 1974.
The new broomball league games will be played on Thursday nights, 9:45PM -11:45PM at the Northfield Ice Arena beginning Jan. 5 and going through Feb. 2. Cost: $ 340.00
I’m not yet sure how the Northfield format will work, as the description says "Games will begin at 10:30 p.m." What happens the previous 45 minutes? How many players on a team? How many players on the ice at time? Will there be multiple games on the ice simultaneously? I’ll find out. In the meantime, read more about broomball on the USA Broomball web site.
Are you interested in forming a team? I’m willing to put one together.
Or do you have a team already but need more players? I’m a candidate. Attach a comment here or contact me.
Last night, Milltown Cycles proprietor Ben Witt hosted a viewing of a feature film titled Ride The Divide at the Viking Theater in St. Olaf’s Buntrock Commons. It’s about "the world’s toughest mountain bike race" called the Tour Divide, an "… ultra-cycling challenge to pedal solo and self-supported the length of Great Divide Mountain Bike Route…as fast as possible." It’s 2,700 miles from Banff, Alberta to the Mexican border.
Earlier this summer, Northfielder Ben Oney finished 13th (80 participants) in the race on a Salsa Fargo, a drop-bar, off-road adventure bike. He hosted a Q&A session after the movie. See his old Tour Divide blog and his new Boney Bikes blog, but better yet, follow Ben Oney on Twitter.
Rather than continuing to annoy those of you here on LoGro who have no interest in my recreational life, I’ve created a new blog: Mountain Bike Geezer. From the About page:
This blog site is not only about my mountain bike adventures, but also about the sport of mountain biking, especially here in Minnesota: issues, organizations, people, legislation, funding, etc. And since I also use a bike for around-town errands, paved trail riding with family and friends, and the occasional commute, I may occasionally blog about non-mountain bike bicycling.
You can also follow my new Twitter account that accompanies the blog: @MtnBikeGeezer.
Bill Nelson, Jerry Bilek, Ben Witt, and I took off on our mountain bikes from GBM at about 7:30 this morning, riding primarily gravel roads to the mountain bike trail in the Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve, just south of Savage.
After riding the 7 mile advanced loop at Murphy, we chowed down at Chipotle in Apple Valley, biked through UMore Park in Dakota County, and arrived back in Northfield in time for dinner. About 85 miles, 9 hours. Whew!
The Northfield Bike Club (NBC) has been around for years. The Cannon Valley Velo Club (CVVC) is the new kid on the block. Doesn’t that make for two clubs? Quoting from the NBC site:
If you know anything about the Northfield Bike Club, you know that it is not really a club at all. The NBC is a bunch of bicycling enthusiasts who like to ride together. The only thing the NBC has that resembles membership is being on the club mailing list. That is free and never expires, but it’s also all you get – a way to communicate with other like-minded riders.
The Cannon Valley Velo Club is a full-fledged club with membership forms, matching jerseys – the whole deal. The club reaches out to all riders and also to the non-cycling community to promote good and safe cycling. It offers organized rides for everyone from the complete novice to the genuine racer.
Yesterday, a group of riders departed for a Saturday morning Category A ride at 7 am in front of Mike’s Bicycle Shop.
Another group departed Bridge Square at 7:30 am for a Category B ride. See the CVVC Ride Categories page for more info.
FYI, the 8th Annual Tour de Nick ride is coming up next Saturday, Aug. 6. Both clubs’ websites have Annual Tour de Nick web pages (NBC here, CVVC here). There’s a Tour de Nick Facebook page, too. The poster:
The Cannon River Watershed Partnership (events page link) invites the public to join us for a Learn to Kayak class on July 20th at 6:30 PM at 5351 Elkton Trail in Faribault. The class will be taught by Marshall Wright. Marshall is an American Canoe Association certified instructor. He will present the basics of kayaking through informal lecture and on-land demonstrations.
You’ll get to sit in a recreational kayak and several touring kayaks. You’ll learn the terminology: hard vs soft chine; skeg vs rudder; primary vs secondary stability, etc. You will handle a variety of paddles and review essential safety equipment. Also covered: racking & tie-down for transport, launching and landing.
Participants must be at least 16 years old. Cost is $10.00 per person. Please note, you must pre-register by July 15th. Email beth@crwp.net or call (507) 786-3913 to sign up, space is limited.
Ben could use some assistance during the event: corner martials and help with set up and take down. Contact him at 507.331.2636 or at MilltownCycles@Gmail.com.
Robbie got a new bike from Milltown Cycles a few weeks ago and we’ve started exploring Minnesota’s bike trails. LoGro readers can expect an occasional blog post and tweet when we come across something y’all might find interesting. I’ll tag the posts bike trail travels.
Robbie immediately noticed the attractive Pizzeria 201 restaurant with Big Honza Giganticzech adjacent to its outdoor patio. So we stopped for drinks, a delicious thin crust pizza (Roman Holiday – see their PDF menu), gelato, and got to meet the friendly owners, Diane and Troy Domine, and a few of their five kids.
Many Northfielders pay a visit to Montgomery during Kolacky Days in late July. You now have another reason to go more often.
Hans is a god, even in my world of motorcycle trials, so I was thrilled to be invited to join him and some other mountain bike industry guys for dinner and beers. In the photo, L to R: Gary Sjoquist, Advocacy Director for QBP; Hans Rey; John Gaddo, Inside Sales rep at QBP; and Jeff Verink, sales rep with GT Bicycles and the talented master of ceremonies for the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival.
While chatting with John Gaddo, I learned that he grew up in Northfield. Many locals might know his dad, long-time general manager at the former WCAL-FM. John mentioned that he was also a trials bicycle rider but I had no idea the level of his skills until he teamed up with Hans for the bicycle trials exhibition on Saturday night.
I think Northfield should feature a bicycle trials exhibition by John Gaddo, right on Bridge Square, during the Milltown Cycles 4th of July criterium. How about it, Ben Witt?
I may have played my last racquetball game ever this morning at the Northfield Athletic Club. The club is due to close at the end of the day.
Therese and Jeff Smiens purchased the club in January of 2010 (blog post here), leasing the building from former club owners Kyle and Dale Snesrud (Dale died from cancer last November). The Smiens were not able to make the club work financially and Kyle has not been able to find a buyer. (If you know of someone who might be interested, contact Kyle via one of his two Olympus 24 hr Health & Fitness clubs in Rosemount and Farmington.
It’s a sad day for area racquetball players, as Northfield has more racquetball players per capita than any other town in the state. But it’s a particularly sad day for Eric Pritchard who has worked at the club for over 15 years.
I’m grateful that we’ve had the club for the past 35+ years, nearly my entire life in Northfield. Not only have I had fun and stayed in shape playing a lifelong sport, I’ve met and developed lifelong friends there. I’m really going to miss it.
Since it was A) a warm morning (60F) and B) it’s Bike to Work Day, I rode my wife’s Giant Revive DX to my office at the GBM today. More than a few bikers joined me.
We’re fortunate to have three bike shops in the area:
FIT to be TRI’d in downtown Northfield carries Focus and Marin bicycles
Mike’s Bicycle Shop in downtown Northfield carries Rawland, Trek, Surley, and Salsa
Milltown Cycles in downtown Faribault carries Trek, Gary Fisher, Rawland, Salsa, Surley, Steve Potts, and Redline
Ole Gus DeMann, one of the early morning baristas at GBM, ran the Boston Marathon last week. Unfortunately, he lost. Big time.
Not only did he not finish in the top ten, he got beat by 372 other runners, finishing at 2:45.46. To put that in perspective, that’s nearly 3/4 of an hour behind the winner, which is about the time it would take me to leisurely stroll from downtown Northfield to his hometown of Dundas and back.
All season long, the Northfield gymnastics team has been in search of its goal score of 150—on Friday night in the state Class AA championship meet, the Raiders got it when they needed it the most.
In scoring a 150.4 on the floor of the University of Minnesota Sports Pavilion, Northfield edged runner-up Roseville by just three-tenths of a point to claim its second-straight state title.
Robbie and I strapped on our 40-year old Vermont Tubbs wooden snowshoes on Saturday afternoon and went for a short trek in lower Arb along Spring Creek.
We had to contend with hordes of pesky cross country skiers like the above hotshots, Amy Boxrud and her main squeeze, Doug Bratland. We ended with drinks in front of the fireplace at the Contented Cow.
On Sunday night, two snowmobiles went through Hidden Valley Park where it abuts the back yards of the Valley Pond townhouses on the south edge of the pond. They then cut through the back yards of two of our neighbors. I took the above photos of the snowmobile tracks yesterday afternoon.
Robbie phoned the Northfield Police Department’s non-emergency number to report the incident. The person she spoke mentioned that city ordinance did allow for snowmobile use within the city limits to get to and from designated snowmobile trails. So I checked the Northfield municipal code and found out that it’s pretty restrictive. These sleds were definitely in violation:
Sec. 78-207. – Unlawful operation.
It is unlawful for any person to operate a snowmobile, for recreational purposes, within the city, except as provided in section 78-208.
(Code 1986, § 735:05)
Sec. 78-208. – Lawful operation.
It shall be lawful to operate a snowmobile within the city only when:
(1) Traveling to or from designated snowmobile trails on roadways designated to travel to and from designated snowmobile trails. Those roadways are Maple Street, Ames Street, Jefferson Road, roadways which run parallel to any railroad tracks and any roadway that is the most direct route to such streets, on the ditch bottom or outside of trunk county state aid and county highways when highways are within the city;
(2) Operating at speeds not to exceed 20 miles per hour; and
(3) Obeying all motor vehicle laws and ordinances.
In the three years we’ve lived here, this is the first time this has happened, to my knowledge.
Is anyone else experiencing problems with snowmobiles within the city limits?
Any members of the Waterford Warriors Snowmobile Club reading this blog who could comment about the club’s rider education and self-policing efforts?
It was heaven on the cross country ski trails in the Carleton Arb yesterday morning. The college has groomed some trails for skate-skiing in the Upper Arb and some for Nordic skiing in the Lower Arb. And of course, there are many places to go off the groomed trails.
kiffi summa: Our mothers consider the ‘bunched panties’ remark too squalid to pass either their sainted lips, or those of their darling daughters… and seriously doubt whether it was said during your father’s time!
Jane Moline: Griff: you really didn’t know my mother and how do you even know if I wear panties?
Griff Wigley: Jane/Kiffi, I did some family of origin research and it turns out your mothers actually said “A stitch in time saves nine” and “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” about 3-4 times more often than...
kiffi summa: Jane: Both our Mom’s were smart, and they knew about the problems with “borrowing trouble” i.e don’t stir up problems that are non existent; there’s enough current problems to deal with, and even some of...
Jane Moline: I can’t believe I have to bring up my mother’s advice: DON’T GO BORROWING TROUBLE! If some women want to join the fire department in Northfield, we must be afraid that our fire department MIGHT respond like North...
Vicki Dilley: How many lives can we even begin to count that have touched by the Youth Exchange program? Northfield has been involved in Youth Exchange since 1969 when we hosted our first student…since then 100′s of High School...
Tom Durkin: This event supports one of the crown jewels of the Northfield Rotary Club – the Youth Exchange Program. Northfield can be proud that we send out more than fifteen students annually for year abroad study programs. We also host several...
john george: Kathie- I knew I was sticking my neck out on that one!
Kathie Galotti: Geez John. Don’t get Griff restarted on the geese!
john george: Yes, more beaches would certainly accomodate more geese. We have to remember to be waterfowl friendly.
Susan Hvistendahl: I totally agree with you re the need for more beaches in Northfield, having just returned from a week in Puerto Vallarta. Could have had rum punches there but….well, after we visited a local tequila distillery and got to...
Bright Spencer: Oh, you both look so happy! Thanks for sharing. More pics please!
kiffi summa: Griff: whither goest thy right arm if it starts to “whither” (sic) ? sorry; couldn’t resist… stuck at home with a bad knee provides way too much time on computer!
Bright Spencer: i’ve been looking thru a site, crazyguyonabike.com that has lots of journals and photos from around the world.
jane fenton: Congrats, Griff! That’s my son Cliff in the orange hat. He’s revamped the recycling bin prototype. You should see it!
Griff Wigley: Don, I’ll keep ping pong in mind. I’d hate to have my right arm start to whither from a lack of racquetball. In the meantime, I’m trying to excite as many Northfielders as I can about mountain biking. I’ll...
john george: Griff- Iris will have to work real hard to keep you in focus on everything else. I shutter to think where this could go.
Griff Wigley: Name: The Local Joint Description: A handmade and vintage collective in Northfield, MN. COLLECTING.CREATING.COLLABORAT ING. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheLoc alJoint Nfld News: Store to open in former ‘digs’ space
David Beimers: Hmmm… fans? air conditioners? ice cream?
Jessica Paxton: I know. But I don’t wanna spill the (cool) beans!
Megan Tsui: Edward, Sorry you weren’t able to attend. We’ll be posting notes from the meeting on the NEC website and if you send me your email, I’ll make sure you get a copy! If you (or anyone else!) would like to chat about it...
Edward Smith: I wanted to attend this, but was unable. Does anyone know if there will be a summary posted anywhere?
Kathie Galotti: My kid had a pretty decent AP Environmental Science class 2 years ago….he’s not a great math/science student, but this one got him interested in at least knowing enough science to create good policies. I remember...
Paul Zorn: A few years ago one of my daughters spent a year working in Copenhagen, largely in an office setting. All desks in her office could be raised or lowered to permit either standing or sitting positions. I have no idea whether such...
Griff Wigley: In today’s Strib: Office-dwellers stand up to ‘sitting disease’ Dr. James Levine has reviewed the statistics: One in three Minnesota adults is either diabetic or pre-diabetic, and one in four is obese. And he thinks...
Bright Spencer: The All Pro Game last Sunday between the AFC and the NFC was so enjoyable. The stess, the anger, the anxiety all gone…well I didn’t watch all of it, as I rarely do watch an entire game, usually just the beginning and...
Griff Wigley: Today’s Strib: Hockey safety goal expanded to youth In an unprecedented mid-year change, Minnesota Hockey is toughening the penalties for checking from behind and boarding. The change will affect 40,000 hockey players in the...
Bright Spencer: I like hockey and all sports very much. I was a star basketball player in my day. I don’t remember anyone suffering any major injuries in all my hs and college days. I feel certain that coach’s know who does what and...
john george: You are correct. That is why I didn’t allow my children to attack the character of their siblings just to support their position. There do need to be some kind of ground rules in any discussion so as to keep individual...
kiffi summa: The issue could be considered to be: what is “conflict”, and what are two sides of a discussion… see #33 re: the Mayor’s admonition to Peter Dahlen at the joint Council/ChartComm meeting. I don’t see how...
john george: Kiffi- This is a good article, and I agree with most of it. Just thinking about my kids in their youth, there was always some conflict between them, but our goal as parents wasn’t to force them into some weiner form but to help...
kiffi summa: A very interesting article in the Jan.30th New Yorker magazine on the nature of the dynamics of creative discussion; it’s entitled “Groupthink; the brainstorming myth”. Based on studies done by a psych professor at...
Griff Wigley: Kiffi/Kathie, I didn’t have that reaction. But I’ve put up a new blog post to discuss it and everything else related to the Fire Department so let’s shift the discussion there.
Kathie Galotti: I read Betsey’s blog and, like most of Betsey’s blog entries, found it well-written and making a very good point. Though I agree that geographic districts aren’t the only way to represent different constituencies,...
john george: Griff- The NN editorial presents the difference between geographic representation and ideological representation. Right now, the wards establish geographic representation. With this approach, depending upon the voter turnout, a person...
kiffi summa: I hope that people will use the link here on LG to read the current posting by Councilor Buckheit on her blog, re: wards versus all at-large, and take the opportunity to comment. Once again, the NFNews has not given a very well...
Griff Wigley: Nfld News editorial: Keep the current ward system intact
Sean Hayford Oleary: In any case, this issue doesn’t seem like it needs to be another opportunity to dis/agree with the current council. Regardless of how focused on the downtown (or not) they are, it’s clear this change would not...
Griff Wigley: In today’s NY Times: Turning to Kettlebells to Ease Back Pain Kettlebells, cast-iron weights that have been used for centuries to train Russian soldiers and athletes, appear to be a promising therapy for back and neck pain, new...
Sandy Vesledahl: UPDATE ON RHONDA: We are very happy to report that Rhonda was adopted over the weekend by a local family. Rhonda’s new mom is a Family Counselor and Rhonda will be going to her office with her and helping with her clients. So...
Megan Tsui: Griff, The NEC is moving forward with the idea of a non-profit Coworking Incubator/Accelerator space. Megan
Megan Tsui: What do you think? Come to the Community Dialogue and tell us! January 31st from 2 to 4 pm at the Archer House lower level conference room. Share your ideas, thoughts, and dreams about a Coworking Incubator/Accelerator space in...
kiffi summa: I would hope the City’s Historic Preservation Commission would explore this option, and the appropriateness/allowability for use on properties within the Historic District. Thanks, Jim.
Jim Haas: I was reading a story by Porter Fox about his visit to Copenhagen. He mentioned in passing that the city is vigilant about removing graffiti using high-pressure washers with ice crystals as a mild abrasive. I did a little rudimentary...
kiffi summa: The LWV observer reports are meant to be a summary of actions taken, not a ‘blow by blow’ transcript. This is the reason that anyone deeply interested should watch the meeting for themself, if they want a full...
The paradox is that although yoga and Pilates are ultimately the best possible way to maximize back health, in the short run the vigorous twists, turns, and bends of advanced yoga and Pilates can actually cause back injuries. 
The new broomball league games will be played on Thursday nights, 9:45PM -11:45PM at the 
Nfld News: 
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