Day 8 – What route to cycle?

eseidman1
Jul 23, 2016
4 min read

Date: Sunday, 17 July 2016

Time on Bike: 5:13:22

Total Travel Time: 8:20:50

Miles Covered Today: 60.33

Total Trip Miles: 431.0

Average Speed: 11.4 mph, Maximum Speed: 34.4 mph

From: Bass Camp Campground, south of Minneiska, MN

To: Red Wing, MN

(Uploaded from Fargo, ND on 23 Jul 2016)

Man I hate to break camp after it has rained. And we are all bushed tired after a terrible night’s sleep. The only (?) redeeming thing about this all was that we stopped to camp right on the Northern Tier Bicycle Route so I was immediately on the route first thing!

It was overcast and even a bit chilly as I headed out. I wore both arm & leg warmers plus my GoreTex top. I guess being Sunday morning, there was hardly any traffic on the roads. Very peaceful ride.

My first break was in Minneiska. No one was up or at home it seemed! The sun started to come out as I sat in front of this cool building eating a snack. Took my rain gear/warmers off.

I was basically cycling along HW 61 that follows the Mississippi. Every once in a while the Northern Tier route would take me inland or closer to the river and I would leave 61.

The scenery was always spectacular.

A lot of soy bean production around here… as well as the corn I have been seeing since leaving Chicago.

I had some “rollers” to navigate once I left HW 61 as it was pretty flat and straight.

I met up with Bunny & Woz in Kellogg, MN at Town & Country Café. The Apple APP Find Friends helps a lot, but in small town USA, the Red Prius with the blue tarp covered boxes on the cargo carrier isn’t hard to find!!

Woz had settled in nicely.

I was hungry and ordered pancakes & eggs. BTW, things are not inexpensive in Kellogg. My breakfast with coffee was more than $10! Pancakes??

I usually head out first and always get a kick out of it when Bunny & Woz pass me on the road. Even though this time I had to stop them to get my sun sleeves as the sun was out in full force.

I take a lot of breaks in cemeteries. Quiet, peaceful, and always shade trees!

I had to do a lot of climbing today just because the route took me away from the river. I am looking at the map and thinking maybe I will go off route and stay on HW 61. The downhills were fun (hit ~35 MPH today!!), but not worth all the effort for me to go the hills!

Next time I caught up with Bunny & Woz was in Lake City, MN… birthplace of water skiing!!! Who was to know!!

There were these bugs all over the place. And it smelled too. Bunny had texted a friend of her brother in GA who knows everything like this and she IDed them as Mayflies. I looked it up & Mayfly (Hexagenia limbata) it was! Thank you Beckerz!!

So I decided to stay on HW 61/63 and avoid some climbing. In any case, it is also the MRT (Mississippi River Trail Bikeway) route! Got to keep my knees & legs fresh. I still got a long way to go!

I was on my way to Red Wing, MN. But I was losing it. Took a quick break by the side of the road. Did I mention that motorcycles, especially Harley- Davidson, are really big around here? Maybe has to do with the fact they are headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.

I soon arrived in Red Wing, MN. Yup, that Red Wing! Not sure what came first… Red Wing shoes or the town. Probably the town! Made it down to the Mississippi at Levee Park. My team was waiting!

The river is constricted here, so the flow is pretty swift. Boats going upstream are struggling while those going downstream barely need any power.

There was a cool bike repair station in front of the old Red Wing Train station. But alas didn’t have the tools I needed to repair my bent handlebars.

Our friend in Jerusalem Zev asked a good question of me. He wanted to know if I was taking all my pictures while riding my bike or if I was stopping to snap them.

Zev, I am stopping for most if not all of them. I mean that is why I am taking this trip. To enjoy the view & scenery. If you want to really see America, travel it by bike! I stop a lot. And I mean a lot!!

After changing our arrival date several times with our dear friends Patty & Mark in Minnetonka, MN, we decided to leave directly from Red Wing and drive the hour or so to them Sunday evening. They had been very flexible in dealing with our ever-changing plans. Hard to nail anything down when you are traveling by bike!

More pictures from today.