2024 Tour of lakes BLOG

HOW DO WE MAKE THE TOUR OF LAKES HAPPEN?
 
Tour of Lakes (TOL) is on again this year, June 1.  People sometimes ask, how does TOL happen, what do we do with the registration money?  Those are good questions. I will do my best to answer them here.
 
The Tour of Lakes is run by volunteers and club members who are not paid.  And while we are working for free, we do have to pay for services from businesses that charge for what they do.  Everything from porta-potties, food for rest stops, insurance, and bands for the post ride entertainment come at a cost.  
At TOL, we provide a total of three rest stops with good restaurant quality food, porta-potties, SAG services, entertainment, and, if you cannot finish, we will pick you up!
For comparison, I do several gravel road events each season.   Registration fees for those events vary and run as high as $95.00.  At a gravel event there is no SAG, so if you break down, you arrange your own ride.  If you are lucky, you get one rest stop with basic provisions, not food cooked on site like we provide at TOL.  You might get a band at the end, but that is about it.  Our club, Paul Bunyan Cyclists, is not making a profit, we are not a business, and our goal is to make the Tour as fun and affordable as possible while still paying the businesses that we depend on to supply the event. 
If anyone is having trouble affording the event let us know, our goal is for everyone who wants to ride to participate, regardless of how much money they have.
 
Enjoy your winter activities and training! See you in June!

Ed, Tour of Lakes Director

MID-WINTER BLUES 
 
For cyclists, along with shop owners and others who work in the bike industry in the upper Midwest, things hit bottom around this time of year, along with the temperature.  It seems like forever since we have seen green grass, clear trails, and road bikes outside.  Sure, we have our fat bikes, and I enjoy riding mine, but it is just not the same.  For those who own or work in shops, it is the dead season, and most people are not thinking bikes this time of year, they are not riding them, buying them, or getting them fixed.
It may be hard to believe, but the road riding season is right around the corner, Tour of Lakes is 4 months away on June 1.  Mark your calendars, go down to the basement or garage, and dust off that bike. Before you know it, you will be back in the saddle.
 
Ed

WINTER FUN 

Those of you who listen to Minnesota Public Radio may have heard their series on winter fun and how to get out and enjoy winter.  Kirsti Marohn, one of their reporters and a Brainerd resident, did a story on fat biking.   She saddled up a fat bike for the first time and rode with Matt Sundquist, Mike Hawkins and some other local cyclists.  Kirsti thought it would be rough, but she had more fun than she expected.  Check out the story, and if you have the winter blues, get out there on your fat bike, skis, boot, or whatever works for you. Winter gets you down when you stay inside all the time.  You do not want to ride the Tour of Lakes, or any of the other fun spring and summer events, after months of hibernating. Get outside and stay active!
 
Ed

Technology History

Almost all of us are familiar with quick release, enabling us to take wheels off quickly, very handy for tire changing on the road. Few of us know how quick release was invented, as far as we are concerned it has always been around. Like most of what we take for granted, quick release has not always been around. Before we had it clunky bolts had to be removed to get a wheel off. At that time, derailleur had also not been invented. To change gears, you had to take the wheel off and turn it around. In 1927 Tulio Campagnolo, of the famous Campagnolo family, was leading in a race heading into the mountains. He needed to change into his low gear, pulled over, went to take the wheel off to turn it. Problem, it was cold, ice had had gotten into the bolts, and his hands were cold so he could not get the wheel off to change gears. As a result, he was passed and lost the race. His frustration led him to invent the quick release; and, a few years later, the forerunner of the modern rear derailleur.
Next time you are changing a tire thank Tulio.

See you at the Tour in June.

Ed, and all of your friends at Paul Bunyan Cyclists.


Tour vs. Race

What is the difference between a tour and a race? The question can be confusing, especially with some major races using the term tour, ex. the Tour de France. In general, a tour, or regular ride, is non-competitive, riders often leave at different times and, while some ride hard, no record of time is kept.
For a race everyone starts at once, and times and finish places are recorded. Just because you ride races does not mean you have to be super hard core. Mmany racers, especially in gravel events, are just looking to finish, socialize with their friends and have no expectation of ending up on a podium. There is a world of difference between your basic amateur mid-western gravel racer, which includes me, and your professional racer who competes in events like the Tour de France. Gravel racing is tough. The events are not easy, but, us amateur gravel racers are part-timers. We have jobs and families. Riding and doing some races is what we do for a little variety from our regular routines. The type of riders in the Tour de France and similar big-time races are professionals, that is, people who ride for a living and it is their job, their life.
Whatever your level of interest, get on the bike, have fun, do tours like the Tour of Lakes, and if you are feeling more ambitious, do road or gravel races. Just get out there!
Remember, the tour of Lakes is June 1, and you may not finish under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but you will have fun!

​Ed, and all of your friends at Paul Bunyan Cyclists


Thank You Volunteers
  
Tour of Lakes, like almost all other rides and races, is run by volunteers.  Cycling, like most other amateur sports, runs on volunteer labor.  The people who sign you up, hand you your food at rest stops, pick you up if you cannot finish, none of them are getting paid, they are doing it because they love the sport and want to help.  
 
Whether you do hard-core, long-distance gravel races or short, mellow, non-competitive tours on the road, your rides would not happen without dozens of people volunteering their time. If you have some spare time, think about volunteering yourself.  You can volunteer for Tour of Lakes and usually still ride; and volunteers get free registration.  Volunteering is in no way required or expected at Tour of Lakes, or other rides, and we understand that most people have very limited time. Everyone is welcome to ride with us.  
 
See you in June.
 
Ed, and all of your friends at Paul Bunyan Cyclists.


Time to Get Ready

For those of us who live in Minnesota it seems like winter will never end. Tons of snow on the ground, more seems to fall every day.
Believe it or not, in a month the snow will be gone, I will bet money on that. Now is a good time to get your bike ready for the Tour of Lakes, do the tune-up yourself, or take it to your friendly local bike shop. Most people think bike tune-up when the weather gets nice, but doing it now beats the rush. A small effort in time or money will pay off. It is much more fun to ride a bike that shifts well and has good properly inflated tires than to rattle along with a grinding chain, leaky tires and other problems. Someday soon we will see the pavement again, be ready!

​Ed, and all of your friends at Paul Bunyan Cyclists



Winter Blues

If you are like me, you have had enough of winter, and then some.  March in this neck of the woods is not balmy, but we can usually count on a few mild days, melting snow, and if not spring weather most of the time, at least we can see spring coming.  This year, it looks, and sometimes feels, more like January with tons of snow, very little melting. It looks like we will not be anywhere near our road bikes for a few more weeks.  Frustrating though it may be, do not let the weather get you down and keep you off of your bike.  I have been riding my fat bike and will probably be on it into April.  If you are a skier, take advantage of the late snow, I have been on my skis at times lately.  If you do not have a fat bike or skis, there are lots of indoor trainer options and programs that let you ride with friends from your own home.  Whatever you do, stay active, get out and walk, go sledding with your kids (quite the workout, trust me there,) do something, do not let the weather beat you down, we will have a spring. In a few weeks you will be on the road bike again.
 
Ed, and all of your friends at Paul Bunyan Cyclists