Days 54 and 55: Minnesota Again! (Who knew?)

OK, so we did enter Wisconsin on Tuesday, but yesterday and today we were right back in Minnesota. That's what happens, I guess, when you have two states sharing a river as a border (long time readers will remember this sort of thing from the beginning of our trip, when we kept crossing back and forth between Oregon and Washington over the Columbia River). Sorry if anyone was misled as to our progress! (note the passive voice, politician-like, apology).

Tuesday's ride was from Prescott, Wisconsin to Lake City, Minnesota, a total of just under 50 miles. The day started on the Great River Road on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi, with actual climbing again! The evening before, Bob had mentioned to two different people who bicycled the route we were taking. He got a wide grin from one, and a "you're in for a big day" from the other. Apparently, this route was well known for its hills. But, in truth, Bob and I didn't struggle much with them (two climbs of 400 feet each, with maximum gradients in the 7 to 8% range). After Dobson and Thompson passes leaving Idaho, and Going to the Sun Road in Glacier, pretty much everything else seems relatively tame (famous last words -- wait for Appalachia).

After the two climbs and about 10 miles, we crossed back to Minnesota. Where it began to rain on us. As consolation, the road (Route 5) was empty (and, yes, paved) and the scenery the best I've seen in a long time. Huge rolling fields of corn and wheat, dotted with farmhouses and silos. No power lines. Gorgeous biking. Except for the rain. Which, all in all, wasn't even that bad. Although it lasted for most of the balance of the ride, it never turned into a thunderstorm or got super heavy, our rain gear is pretty good (fenders on a touring bike are essential!), and we were both thinking it was kind of amazing that this was only our third day of riding in the rain on this entire trip (knock on wood). Probably the biggest effect, other than having to spend a little extra time drying everything afterwards, is I had to keep my camera tucked away most of the time, so the photos I did manage to take during dry spells are not, I think, fully representative of the ride's beauty.

Lake City itself is fairly simple, but has a nice promenade along Lake Pepin's edge (which, according to Wikipedia, is a naturally occurring lake and the largest natural occurring lake on the Mississippi River). We stayed at an AmericInn, which we liked so much (whirlpool, pool, hot breakfast that starts at 6, working wifi, guest computer that also works, clean room, comfortable beds, reasonable rates, no mice), that we booked another one for the next evening, in Winona, Minnesota.

So -- you may have guessed this already -- today's  ride was from Lake City to Winona, just under 60 miles, all on the Minnesota side of the Great River. And we had climbing again -- slightly harder this time -- two hills of about 500 feet each, compressed into about 1.25 miles each and spitting out a few 8 and 9% gradients (but still not too bad, he said modestly). And we thought we were going to have rain again. The forecast had a 90% probability at Noon. But we got lucky, and by the time we rolled into our latest AmericInn, under some dark, but not yet raining, clouds, we were both dry. Now, to be fully accurate here, Bob rolled in well ahead of me. In Lake City he visited the Mayo Clinic and got some medicine to treat his gout, and the overnight difference in how he felt was remarkable. Let's hear it for modern medicine!

Scenery-wise, although today started on the four-lane, well-trafficked, Route 61 for about 5 miles (with the consolation of an excellent, wide shoulder), once we turned off onto some side county roads (Route 4, in particular), the landscape and views were very similar to yesterday -- and definitely more enjoyable with just the threat of rain -- as opposed to the actual stuff.

Here are yesterday's route and metrics:



For clarity, and because of upload limitations, the photos with this post are all from Day 54 (yesterday). The next post will have today's route, metrics and pix.

Day 53: Prescott, Wisconsin (Back on the Road Again)

Another day, another state. Today we rode from Minneapolis, MN, generally in a Southeast direction and along the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, to Prescott, Wisconsin, about 44 miles in all. It was a delightful day.

The "we" in the above paragraph is important, because after our weeklong separate forays into Minneapolis, Bob and I are back together on the road -- which is very nice for both of us. Of course, that also means that we are, once again, bereft of spouses -- each of whom departed Minneapolis on flights to their respective cities leaving around 10:00 a.m. But, before they left, I think it's fair to say that we all enjoyed a much needed reunion that, at least to this bicyclist, was incredibly rejuvenating and sustaining. It was great to see you Laura -- thanks for coming out.

Today's ride, accordingly, started later than usual, as Bob and I both obviously wanted to hang out until our wives left for the airport around 8:15. Next, we had to figure out where the heck we were riding. It turns out that Bob has imposed some time constraints on himself because he hopes to meet Rachael during the second week of September in Pittsburgh, where they will then both ride together to their home in DC (more on that later). So that predisposed him to the shorter route, down the Mississippi, across Wisconsin, and a ferry across Lake Michigan to Wolf Lake, MI, on the other side -- about 500 miles in all. By contrast, taking a route along Michigan's Upper Peninsula and then down to Wolf Lake would be about an 800 mile undertaking.

I was a little more torn, as the Upper Peninsula is supposed to be beautiful, but to take it would mean that Bob and I would go our separate ways again, which, all things being equal, I would prefer to avoid, or at least postpone for as long as possible. Also, the shorter mileage, I must admit, had some appeal to me after meandering about so much on the first half of this trip and extending our mileage. Finally, following the Mississippi, and a 4 hour ferry ride across Lake Michigan, each sounds pretty cool.

So I got on board with the plan. It also wouldn't preclude me from heading North, after getting to Wolf Lake, MI, to explore some of the Upper Peninsula (and, especially, the Keeweenaw Peninsula, which is supposed to be spectacular) on my own. I say on my own because Bob and I will, alas, go our separate ways after Wolf Lake. He will head South, under the Great Lakes, to aim towards Pittsburgh and a final ride into DC. I will head East, along the northern edge of Lake Erie, into Niagara (from the Canada side) and, from there, into New York State and home to NYC. It makes sense for both of us, but, unfortunately, it does mean that we will each do about a 1,000 solo miles at the end of this trip.

So, back to today's ride. First and maybe foremost for me, it was pain free (knock wood). I attribute that to two days' rest, an excellent massage on Sunday, ice treatment followed by hot baths, the relatively short mileage today, switching to Advil from Aleve (who knows?) and a little kiniseology tape for my Achilles provided by Bob's friend, Brian (thanks, Brian!). A few too many different factors to know which one or combination made the difference, but I'll take the results.

By contrast, poor Bob is suffering from a recent flare-up of gout in his toe -- which, if you don't know it or have never had it -- is extraordinarily painful. He's pushing through it stoically, but we'll probably do shorter distances, at slower pacing, until this passes -- which, actually, isn't a bad thing for my Achilles either.

The ride today was predominantly on bike routes and empty roads -- which, in and of itself, was very pleasant. As was the weather, which was warm, but not boiling (or overly humid) and the wind (which was at our backs for much of the day). The scenery was mixed. Some lovely views of the various rivers with the skyscrapers of Minneapolis in the background, as well as some tree-lined bike paths providing splendid isolation -- but also some suburban landscapes that weren't particularly inspiring.

Because we decided upon our route so late, we didn't have the usual time to map it out with precision, so the ride was also marked by a number of wrong turns, long pauses to consult our maps, and efforts to discern which of numerous connecting/interlocking bike paths went where (is it possible for a city to have too many bike paths?).

A highlight for me occurred as we neared Prescott and crossed the St. Croix river. I noticed a public beach off to the side of the road and decided I had to partake (a Peter Schwed moment in my family's parlance). So, while Bob continued on to the motel in search of ice for his aching toe, I had a delightful and refreshing swim in the river. Yes, it's true I wore a Speedo (having purchased it in Minneapolis after deciding that I was tired of swimming in my shorts), but I hope you won't hold that against me -- or, at least, not laugh too hard --either at the suit or my tan lines (in my defense, the Speedo is small, light and dries fast -- all requirements for bike touring clothes).

Our hotel in Prescott is no great shakes, especially after our fairly luxurious Minneapolis digs, but it's also no Winsted, either. And the local bar and grill, Philanders, where the bartender, Kate, and a local patron, Jay, provided great conversation and company, was a nice coda to a lovely day.

Here are today's route and metrics:



P.S. For any of you who have made it this far into this post, a note on my day naming conventions. I am including rest days in my "day count," so today was Day 53, and the last riding day, into Minneapolis, Day 50, with the two rest days being unreported-upon Days 51 and 52. Fascinating, no?

Day 50: Minneapolis, Minnesota (Not quite the Promised Land, but I'll take it!)

Well, after pushing hard for the seven days after my rest day in Pierre, SD, and covering over 450 miles in that time, I finally arrived in Minneapolis on Saturday, as planned. Laura had already arrived late Friday night (by plane) from Brookings, SD, where she actually had business on Thursday and Friday. A very happy reunion was had! Naturally, the first thing we did was go to the local bike shop (One on One Bike Studio), where a very friendly and attentive Gino (a nice change from some NYC shops) took care of replacing both my tires and my chain.

My back tire, after about 3,500 miles (2,436, by my count, on this trip so far, and over 1,000 before that, while training), really was pretty worn -- no thanks to all the gravel, no doubt! My front tire and chain probably each had a few hundred more miles left in them (the front tire carries less weight than the rear and thus wears more slowly), but with 1800 miles or so still left to go to get to NYC, prudence seemed to dictate replacing them while in a major city with a good bike shop.

And speaking of gravel, I did start out today's ride, as planned, on the significantly improved, crushed limestone surface of the Luce Line State Trail heading East out of Winsted. But when I got to the first paved crossroad heading South -- which would add 5 miles to my trip, but take me to the paved Dakota Rail Trail -- I didn't hesitate for long to take the plunge. Five miles south on Route 33 (with a strong West crosswind), to the town of New Germany, MN, to be followed by about 4 miles due East on Route 30, would get me to the trailhead for the Dakota Trail, in Mayer, MN.

The only fly in the ointment was when I got to New Germany and turned left onto to Route 30 -- I saw a bunch of construction and detour signs. Yup, Route 30 was closed. Yikes. But a little further investigation revealed that it was closed for about the equivalent of 3 city blocks. With a bit of help from a friendly local, I was able to circumvent the construction (at only the cost of some mud on my shoes and tires), and then head East, toward Mayer, on a completely empty road and with a nice tail wind! So that was great.

As was the Dakota Trail. A definite trade up from the Luce Line -- both in paving and in being routed beside, between and among numerous lakes. I also finally began encountering lots of other bicyclists -- and enjoyed riding and talking with many of them, who, after spotting my panniers, often would initiate a conversation about where I was coming from or going to (hello, in particular, to Kurt and John).

So the ride into Minneapolis and to our hotel in Downtown was lovely and, thanks to all the connecting bike trails, almost fully traffic-free. Minneapolis really is a bike-friendly city.

Sunday and Monday are days of rest and reconnecting with my wife -- so this blog is officially suspended until Tuesday. On Tuesday, Bob and I hopefully will have figured out where we're going next (Upper Peninsula of Michigan or down the Mississippi to LaCrosse, WI?). Unknown as of yet is whether we will be willing to get back on our bikes after the luxuries and pleasures of the weekend.

Here are today's route and metrics: