Illinoistocht

They say March starts like a lion and ends like a lamb.  Some of us are out on our bikes more beginning in March and we hope that we don't run into mountain lions.  I do see bobcats on occasion from a distance but not mountain lions, although they do inhabit some of the areas where I mountain bike.

It may be time to start thinking about the bike season.  While it was a cold winter, the Hennepin Canal never had a consistent snow-free ice surface over a large enough length for an epic skate to be organized this winter so it looks like "wait 'til next year", barring a surprise. 

Time for Illinoistocht to salute the Illinois speed skaters in the Winter Olympics--Shani Davis with a gold in the 1000m and silver in the 1500m; Brian Hansen and Jonathan Kuck with a silver as part of the men's team pursuit; Katherine Reutter and Lana Gehring with a bronze as part of the women's short track relay team; and finally Katherine Reutter winning a silver in the ladies' short track 1000m event.   Overall it was a good performance for Team USA in speed skating, let's hope they can continue to get funding and avoid sponsorship issues, which may loom on the horizon according to a recent article I read.  For more information on speed skating in the US, whether at the elite level or the local club level, check out US Speedskating's website.