Tuesday Night Lights

Tuesday began as a normal day, although I ended up going in to work a couple hours early to make up for time that would be lost that same evening.  Jared and I  were given tickets to the Twinkies game this particular evening, which was slotted to begin at 7:10pm.  I normally work until 8pm, thus the early start.  Jared and I decided to ride our 29'ers into the city and catch the game, then ride home afterwards.  The plan was to meet up on the Cedar Lake Trail at about 7 or so, then high-tail it into downtown from there (about 4 miles or so).  Of course, getting home from work at 6:30, putting all the appropriate gear on, heading out the door without forgetting anything, especially your ticket, and hitting the trail was quite a show.  I, of course, got out the door late, so the first few miles of my commute were quite painful.  Rolling on a 29'er with mountain tires and 33 psi, not setting any speed records here, but effort was high, and the smiles were still plenty.

I met Jared under the bridge, nothing fancy happened there, so get your mind out of the gutter.  We got our stuff together, cracked, and shared, a Bells Two Hearted and off we went...straight toward the stadium.  What a sight with the sun setting st our backs and the backdrop of the Minneapolis skyline in full forward view.  These are times I feel most blessed.  Taking in the small stuff and purifying it as it purifies my soul.  The section of trail is not long, but it's flat and fast, so we pushed...we were late, but the game wasn't the only point of the evening, so there was no stress in that.  We finally got to the trail head to split off and head up to stadium level.  You could here the announcers on the loud speakers and feel the energy in the air.  It's electric.  Locked up our rigs and headed to the gates, ready for beers and baseball.

Right as we entered there was a beer stand, Summit as a matter of fact.  We grabbed a couple and started it off right.  Our seats were behind the twins dugout, but we grabbed a view from right field until the inning was over, then headed down to check out our seats.  Once we got nestled in, it was on.  It felt like we were on the field.  You could hear the players talking to one another, and the swing of the bats.  I felt, again, blessed just for the opportunity to be there.

A friend of mine was texting me asking who was pitching, catching, designated hitting...I didn't know, but I had already succumbed to the fact that she was way smarter than me when it came to baseball, among other things, so I texted back (with some inspiration from Jared) "#whocares".  The phrase now lives on as one that makes us smile, and laugh.  Inside jokes are funny, but blogging about them is way less funny....

The game continued on and the beers continued to flow like Niagara.  We were having a blast listening to the hecklers behind us, while the gent one row in front of us was taking pictures, and bragging about it (he was an interesting character, to say the least).  It was the nicest Spring evening I think we had in MN this year to date, and the game was great as well.  The Twins did end up winning 8-6, but not without holding off a 9th inning rally by the Angels.  Definitely got me wanting to head out to more games in the very near future.

Now the game was over, and being a Tuesday night game on a decently cold Spring night, the crowds were not too heavy on the way back to our bikes, and the roads were pretty calm as well.  The nice thing about living in the first ring suburbs is the fact that the trails lead right to the places you need to go.  If you know how to navigate them well, they are a great, safe tool for a cyclist.  You just need to watch out for the occasional Molotov Cocktail, and run-away rock.

So Jared and I are feeling pretty good about our adventure back home from downtown Minneapolis.  Feeling no pain, we headed back to St. Louis Park.  I decided at some point in the return journey that I was hungry.  When you're busy all day and carelessly having fun at night, one thing sometimes gets forgotten...tonight it was ingesting calories and carbs through solids (plenty through liquids though).  There is a spot off the trail that you can navigate through to get tot the West End of SLP quite easily.  It's not truly a trail head because it is land that is owned by the railroad and they don't want you crossing over the tracks there, for multiple reasons...but, again, if you know where to go, it's a perfect outlet to get tot the other side of town in a heartbeat.  So we did, and headed over to Cooper for some snacks and one more beer.  By now it was approximately 11:00pm and it had been a long day.  We didn't hang out at the bar too long, but did enjoy some laughs and more story telling.

It was now time to head home and get some sleep.  Jared and I went our separate ways at this point and pedaled away into the dark, cold night.  I found myself home at about 12:15 or so, found my bed and fell right into it.  The next morning came quickly and it was back to business.

Nothing too crazy happened while we were out that evening, and that's mostly a good thing.  It was an adventure that was talked about for the rest of the week and we were very thankful for the opportunity to live like the other half, if only for one night.  The important thing that I took away from this was the simple fact that life is simple.  We strive to make it complicated and muck it up with schedules, money, things, and a need to be a certain something.  Status is nothing, feeling alive and free is everything.  For me, being on a bike, and hanging out with friends and my kids is what gets me there.  Don't mistake things for success, surround yourself by good people who take stock in you...

Bishop -- OUT!