The Velominati

 Grant Harrison, M.S.
Senior Consultant- Source Endurance
Are you familiar with “The Rules”?
Well, if you aren’t, you should go to Velominati.com and check them out. The authors of this site and their constituents are coined, “keepers of the cog” and have thus laid out a solid foundation or rules, lexicon, ideas, and inspiring guidance in the sport and lifestyle that has brought us to where we are today.I became familiar with the rules some time ago but was recently Introduced to one of the authors of Velominati, Marko Carlson, by my former art professor. Mark lives in northern Minnesota where I went to high school/ early college so we connected for a ride while I was visiting family in the northland.
 
I used to ride my snowmobile on a pretty scenic trail to a town about 25 miles away and ride the lakes back. The trail itself is a great mix of pine needle bedded logging roads, double track gravel, some clearcut areas through the woods and very dense lowland swampy areas. Overall a great mix of terrain. I called Mark up and we decided that no matter how overgrown the trail would inevitably be, we were going to make it happen. I knew that this would be a true test of my ability to follow the rules, particularly Rule #5, and #9.
 
A test it was as within the first 3 miles of trail we were already biking/ hiking/ running through weeds growing taller than our heads and fighting off enormous deer and horse flies that have been feasting on the remainder of the moose population. Maintaining a steady speed was essential in order to keep the flies away, but that was easier said than done given the terrain. We would exit the tall grassy sections and be welcomed by smoother rolling hills but still slightly overgrown trail by normal standards, only to be greeted by a downed tree and followed by more taller grass and wet bog that was barely rideable.

Nearing our destination, we started talking about food/maybe buying a coke and both of us realized that we had both neglected to bring our wallets (I found out later I had a dollar wadded up in my pocket from the last ride).
 
New rule suggestion: Velominati must not converse topics of food until the ride is 75% complete.
Old rule: Always bring money
 
Before we headed into town, we stopped at the shores of a lake, washed ourselves and our bikes off in the lake, and headed back to our original destination via the highway. It took us just over an hour to ride back to the starting point, whereas by trail it would have taken us at least 3.5 more hours. We could have done it, but….there’s always next weekend.

Again, check out Velominati.com for the latest in cycling topics and Source-E.net for your endurance coaching needs.