3-Speeding to St. Paul

The intrepid riders of TC3-SAS gathered for an exploration of the quiet trails leading to St. Paul this morning.

We had a heavy rain the night before, so the world was wet and fragrant as I rode to the meet up spot this morning at about 8:30. I was feeling exuberant enough to snap a rare overhead-panda on the way there.

Four other riders joined me for an amble to St. Paul. This route is a classic Twin Cities ride - it's mostly on trails, and the ride on the east side of the Mississippi river is particularly lovely. Some of the participants had not ridden this route, so I am glad we choose this for today's ride. An added treat was into my friend Mark, who did a few 3-speed rides with us last year and was good enough to bring me along on one of his Train Ride adventures last fall. Hopefully we'll see him on a ride sooner rather than later.

I was enjoying the ride enough that I forgot to snap photos during the event, but we did pause to get a group photo at the overlook across the river from Fort Snelling. The ride took just under 3 hours, counting a coffee break in downtown St. Paul.

The 3-speed is surprisingly comfortable for rides this distance - I really anticipated that such an upright bike would put too much pressure on my nether regions, but the Brooks saddle helps with that a lot, and the relaxed ride is a refreshing change of pace of from the chatter of my road bikes. I was fresh as a flower at the end of the ride. It's definitely a different experience than my other bikes, which makes even familiar rides something new.

The Twin Cities 3-Speed Adventure Society is now on Facebook, so if you want to follow along or join in the discussion and ride planning, you can "like" us here.