A while back my co-workers stumbled upon the web site, “Steve, Don’t Eat It!”, where a guy eat strange foods and then writes about them (it’s pure genius, btw). The first entry was about potted meat, something I had never heard of before reading his review.

Good news, I found some potted meat at the dollar store! Three cans for a dollar. I can’t wait to try it. I’ve never knowingly eaten mechanically seperated chicken before. Other highlights from the ingredients list included “partially defatted cooked pork fatty tissue” & “partially defatted cooked beef fatty tissue”. I take both of these to mean “stuff that isn’t fit for hot dogs.” I wonder what the ingredient list looked like before the marketing department cleaned it up?

I did the Cannon Valley Trail yesterday with some co-workers. We had a great ride with very comfortable weather. I really enjoyed being able to ride with people who could challenge my biking skills without leaving me completely in the dust. I kept up with the leader from Red Wing to Cannon Falls. On the way back to Red Wing I fell behind the leader, but not enough to bruise my ego significantly. At least I had the excuse that I was on a fat tired comfort bike, instead of a skinny tired touring bike. (A poor workman blames his tools, I know, I know.)

There were some stretches of trail that had enough of a grade to keep the ride a little more interesting than the Lanesboro trail.

The winery in Cannon Falls was an interesting place to visit. We got to see the grapes being dumped into hoppers, whisked up by some sort of vacuum device, arriving in a big hopper where they were presumably crushed.

One year ago, if you would have told me that I could ride 40 miles without any problems I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Now I think I could probably do a 100 mile day if I planned it right.

I’m hoping to do one more big bike ride before the weather turns. The Grand Rounds looks like it might be a good candidate.

The leaves that kept falling on the trail underscored the inescapable fact; fall is here and winter is around the corner. I can’t live in denial any more.