Lunch Loop: Snowmobiling in 60 minutes or less

I don’t know about you, but my life is cranking BUSY!

Work, family, chores, sports, Cal racing on the weekends… a lot of great stuff, but stuff that’s preventing me from becoming the next Ross Spoonland.

Not only am I not logging 10,000-mile seasons, but sometimes my head feels like it’s going to explode because we’re so dang busy!

So to get some extra riding in AND scrub off some of the weekday stress, I’ll take my lunch on a short snowmobile ride.

Working out of the home has its privileges, and one of them is that I can be suited up and on my sled in five minutes. I seriously try my hardest to keep the lunch loop to 60 minutes, so I hustle it.

I live a stone’s throw from a snowmobile trail in Prior Lake, Minn. I cross the street, zip through a shelter-belt of trees and pop onto this farm field. The Grant-in-Aid trail runs past those trees in the distance, at the other end of the field.

During last week’s Lunch Loop, I was the first on the trail after an inch or so had fallen the previous day. This little section where the photo is taken is classic for seeing pheasants. None this day, but I’ll bet I see a few two out of three times I ride past here.

I don’t live near any breathtaking natural wonders (it’s mostly farm country around these parts) but there is beauty around here and there are few things that catch my eye and give me a smile, like this old John Deere tractor.

Some lunch loop rides take on a flavor of hardcore riding, and I don’t stop much to take in the sites, while other times I just cruise and sort of veg-out on the sled at a leisurely pace. It just depends on my mood.

These are “Lunch Loop” rides after all, so I usually bring a snack or something to eat. Earlier in January I stopped and ate sitting on one of these hay bales because, what the heck, how often do you eat lunch sitting on a hay bale?!”

On weekdays when the kids don’t have school, Cal and I will often go for a Lunch Loop ride. He always gets chaffed when I stop and take a picture of him at some spot that catches my eye (like this monster oak tree).

If it’s a Lunch Loop with Cal I’ll usually take an extra long lunch break so we can stop for a burger at this joint. That’s probably why Cal puts up with the photos, because he knows he’s going to eat a greasy burger.

No burgers for me last week. It was a warm enough day and I had no interest in being inside.

Instead, a stop on a bridge over a nice little stream provided the perfect place to eat a delicious meal…

…of sardines.

Yep, I love sardines. And everyone else in my family despises them so much that they won’t let me eat them in the house. So, I’ll bring a can on my Lunch Loop and enjoy this wonderful delicacy without having to listen to the moaning and groaning of my loved ones.

Delicious! Seriously, how can you NOT like sardines???

Empty can and fork placed in a zip-lock freezer bag, then pocketed in my jacket, and I’m ready for the cruise back to work.

I sometimes think of these weekly Lunch Loops like my religion. They definitely feel as if they save my soul during really hectic weeks.

There are days when every fiber in my body is screaming at me to say, “Screw work, just keep riding!” But on this day, I stayed on the trail back to Prior Lake and my home.

Back at home by 1pm with the odo indicating 24.5 miles. I’m never going to hit 10,000 miles at this rate, but that’s not the point.

Riding is the point, whether it’s 24.5 miles or 245 miles.

And for an hour mid-week to break from the craziness of life, rides like this are as good as it gets.

Sled back in the garage, Otis dog happy I’m home, and I’m ready for the rest of the day.

I can’t wait for my next Lunch Loop!

Thanks for reading.