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Robert Hanson

I am a retyred* professor at St. Olaf College (as of Sept. 2023) living in Northfield, Minnesota, and an intermediate level cyclist who likes a challenge wherever I find myself, including at right here at home in southeastern Minnesota.

My bicycle is a 2022 "hybrid fitness class" KHS Vitamin C. The 50/34T crank set and 9-speed 11-36T Shimano CS-HG200-9 is loads of fun, primarily due to the huge ranges on both ends.

Some of my favorite rides have included a ride along a short section of the Camino de Santiago (Basque Country, Spain) from San Sebastian to Irún and a ride along the coast of the Bay of Biscay from Plenzia to Bermeo and several rides around Bilbao (all in Basque country) some nice day rides near Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne (Switzerland), Cambridge (UK) Montevideo (Uruguay) and a more challenging than expected loop out of Heidelberg, Germany.

Aug 2023 brought me to Australia for a professional conference and a three-day loop from Melbourne west and around the Great Ocean Road. A good challenge! At one point I was side-by-side with a curious kangaroo that slowed down to hop with me and then took off and left me in the dust. All I got was a blurry picture of his butt.

But the rides out of Northfield through the beautiful Minnesota rolling hills and farmlands are peaceful joys as well. The hills south of Northfield and northwest of Faribault are terrific. They are basically the bluffs from the Mississippi River extended westward. Not particularly steep nor high, but they definitely have fun ups and downs. Sort of like doing reps on a bicycle.

When not bicycling, I also enjoy piloting gliders out of Stanton Airfield (near Northfield; Minnesota Soaring Association member since 1994) and playing the violin in quartets. I am principal second violin in the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra.

You will find here over 350 tours I have completed starting mostly at Central Park in Northfield, covering about 5000 miles.

My KHS odometer hit 6001 miles May 5, 2025.

*Not a typo. :)
stolaf.edu/people/hansonr

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Recent Activity

went for a bike ride.

about 11 hours ago

Northfield Central Park to the Ravens nest Cafe via CR30, MN246 and CR42

One of my favorite ascents to the upper plateau. Great views of Vang church throughout this ride along CR30.

01:46

36.2km

20.6km/h

260m

280m

View
likes this.

about 8 hours ago

 road report. Roads are 100% clear of ice and snow. Various potholes to maneuver around, but no killer clusters. (Definitely some killer potholes though, primarily on the N/S stretches along CR30. Those are mostly descents. But I had plenty of time to maneuver even at 20+ mph

planned a bike ride.

about 12 hours ago

Northfield Central Park to the Ravens nest Cafe via CR30, MN246 and CR42

01:43

36.4km

21.3km/h

240m

250m

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
View

went for a bike ride.

2 days ago

Northfield Central Park to the Ravens nest Cafe via Cannon City and Dundas

01:47

35.4km

19.8km/h

220m

230m

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
View

a day ago

Included a Valentine's Day stop at Target

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planned a bike ride.

2 days ago

Northfield Central Park to the Ravens nest Cafe via Cannon City and Dundas

01:15

35.6km

28.5km/h

200m

220m

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
View

went for a bike ride.

3 days ago

Northfield West box old dutch Cr 96

01:21

28.1km

20.9km/h

140m

150m

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
View

3 days ago

Feels great to be out again! Always good to end at the Ravens nest Cafe. Jade cloud tea and a peanut butter cookie

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went for a bike ride.

4 days ago

Northfield highway 246 Woodley return

A great ride for an hour free in the late afternoon. Possibly easier going the opposite direction.

01:15

24.7km

19.9km/h

120m

120m

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
View
and like this.

went running.

February 8, 2026

Run to the soccer fields and back

00:30

4.21km

7:11/km

20m

20m

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
View

went on an adventure.

February 2, 2026

Carleton lower Arboretum Cross-country skiing double Loop

Gps was quite a bit off today. I WAS on the trail!

00:45

5.31km

7.0km/h

30m

30m

View

February 2, 2026

Just groomed today! Pretty nice. Couple spots you have to work around but mostly very nice. get out there while you can!

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went on an adventure.

February 1, 2026

Carleton lower ARB family Cross-country skiing

00:16

1.11km

4.2km/h

0m

0m

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
View

February 1, 2026

Leisurely no pole classic ski just to get out a bit along the Cannon River. Snow was a bit slow for waxless skis

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went on an adventure.

February 1, 2026

Carleton upper Arboretum skate skiing after one inch of snow

00:16

2.05km

7.6km/h

20m

20m

View
, , and others like this.

February 1, 2026

I guess overall not really any faster but the snow is terrific and everything felt much more sustainable and fast. Whoop analysis showed huge improvement over yesterday. 5 min faster overall 90% from fewer stops to recover. Applying the advice of my resistance trainer to get my shoulders back and engage

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