Dreamin'...

It seems that more than once in the past week I have found myself dreamin'. Dreamin about gravel and all of the cycling opportunities these narrow ribbons of dirt through the northern forests of Minnesota provide. I find this somewhat unusual since we are still in the heart of winter here and have another 5-10 inches of snow on the way over the course of the next couple of days. Also, given the fact that the new Pugsley has just been broken in and I know there is still going to be a good deal of fun to be had riding "The Bat Bike" through all this wintery white.
As a matter of fact, the thoughts actually began entering my head while I was enjoying the Pugsley last weekend up north. So now my obsessing begins...

I've pulled out what maps I have, looked at maps on the internet at USGS and other sites, thought about gear, distances I would like to ride, areas to explore, and whether to go solo or not.
Then to top it all off I'm also thinking about a 12 or 24 hr. solo ride. Definitely delusional and in need of some serious therapy. Anyway, just a lot of ruminating right now, but there are definitely some that are firmly in place accept for the dates.

The North Shore ride will definitely happen once again, but this time all the way to Grand Marais. It will be a full day solo ride of 100+ miles. The amigos and I have also talked about a gravel grinder in the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. Of course there are also the rides north of Chisholm that I did last summer one of which I hope will become an overnighter.
Maybe this is all part of some mid-life crisis that I am going through, but I'm really feeling pretty strongly about all of this right now. Hey, at nearly 52 I ain't gettin' any younger. I guess there are worse things that one could be dreamin' about.