Last Leg – A Mix of Rural & Urban

The last stop on my Minnesota cycling adventure is with our good friends and neighbors from North Carolina, John & Nancy. Their house on Lake Minnetonka was the perfect home base to do some shorter day rides into the Twin Cities, as well as take advantage of some other state trails in the area. It was also cool to have my wife, Hygie, join me for this final phase of the trip. She would be what many would call a “normal” cyclist, in contrast to her husband’s rather abnormal obsession with packing up and going off for days or weeks at a time on a bike.

Our first ride in this region was in homage to Ben Pendarvis, a good friend and colleague at my school, who got his Masters of Arts in Experiential Education from the Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Sakatah Singing Hills Trail starts in Mankato and goes east ~40 miles to Faribault. As with the many other rail trails I’ve done on this trip, it is a relatively flat and straight trail that takes you by cornfields that stretch as far as the eye can see, as well as lakes and marshlands that make up the Minnesota River watershed.

Our trip the following day was an urban ride from the Luce Line Trail-head into Minneapolis, using city’s vast network of cycle paths, where we were able to tour the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississippi, and have an excellent lunch at Surly Brewing’s Beer Hall. We also were able to verify why Minneapolis is consistently voted in the top five of best cycling cities in the US: well-marked trails, dedicated bike lanes, and traffic that respects cyclists. What a concept!

My last substantial ride of this trip was again on the Luce Line Trail, but this time to the west, away from the Twin Cities. This was the first state trail I had ridden that was not paved, with the surface being a well-maintained crushed limestone, similar to what I have experienced on trails such at the Katy, Virginia Creeper, and New River. The trail winds through beautiful countryside and stays, for the most part, under a nice canopy of trees. It was also significantly less crowded than the trails that led us into the Twin Cities.

And now after close to 1300 km of riding over 15 straight days (with no crashes and no flats!), I’m finally ready to close the books on another fantastic cycling tour. This was quite different from what I’ve done in the past, but it gave me an up-close and personal visit to a state I had honestly and wrongly just written off. My ill-conceived assumptions about swarms of mosquitoes, bad weather, and stoic Scandinavians were way off the mark. I can honestly say that Minnesota’s cycling trails are truly world class and regardless of experience level, should be on any cyclist’s list of “must see” destinations. I, for one, will definitely be back!

Happy Riding!

-Ben

Leg 5 – More Minnesota Beauty…

Even with two weeks, good weather, a relatively strong cycling pace, and a car to shuttle me from trail to trail, it has proven difficult for me to cover every mile of every >40 mile cycling trail in Minnesota. Although it has not stopped me from give it the old college try! This goal is something I knew would be a tall order in a state that has over 1000 miles of mostly paved and mostly dedicated bike trails (this does not include an even greater number of road shoulder cycling routes). My task was made doubly difficult (no pun intended) given that each ride had to be out & back so that I could return to my car and shuttle to the next trail.

So when Byron & Becky (my awesome Warmshowers hosts from Moose Lake) offered to give me a ride to Duluth so that I could do a ride on the North Shore of Lake Superior, I jumped at the offer! While this is not a bike trail like everything else I have ridden on this trip, it is a well-known cycling destination. This also gave me the “luxury” of only having to ride the northern section of the Willard Munger trail once, instead of my usual out & back ride.

My North Shore ride started in Duluth at the famous Aerial Lift Bridge and followed the Lake Walk Trail until it eventually connected with Scenic Highway 61, which I followed up the winding coast to Two Harbors. I had forgotten that this is also the route of the Grandma’s Marathon – sign me up! The weather was perfect for riding – slightly overcast and in the low 70s – and the rugged beauty along the world’s largest freshwater lake (surface area basis). The relatively wide shoulders and low traffic volume on Highway 61 also made it a comfortable and safe ride. After a terrific vegetarian lunch at an eclectic coffee house in Two Harbors, I made the rolling, up & down ride back to Duluth.

Like Minneapolis, Duluth is a great city for cycling – as long as you are traveling parallel to the coast. If you have to ride away from the coast, you will be climbing some intense hills! This was what was in store for me after my ~60 miles of riding. At least the day was rewarded by a really cool B&B I had booked and an outstanding evening walking around Duluth. This included enjoying an outdoor concert, seeing their rose garden, having a huge pasta dinner while watching a regatta on the lake, and then having a craft beer at the famous Fitger’s Brewery. Put this town on your bucket list!

The next morning started with a filling breakfast and an early start to find my way to the Willard Munger Trail.  Two complications: While the trail claims to be from Hinckley to Duluth, the trailhead is actually ~7 miles southwest of the city center. Most of this is an urban ride along the relatively busy, but wide shouldered, Grand Avenue. The second complication is that a significant portion of the trail is closed just past the trail head to repair a section that was damaged by flooding. This would not have been a big deal except for the fact that I suppose for liability reasons, the state did not provide instructions for alternative routes. Moreover, Google’s routing for alternative routes does not take into account closed bike trails like it does for closed roads. Any app developers following this blog? Anyway, after a couple of hours of climbing on small, winding roads leading out of Duluth, I finally made it to the trail at just over 6 miles from Carlton.

It was not long before I returned to the familiar “flat and straight” trail riding I have become accustomed to on the trails of Minnesota. The landscape also returned to forest and farmland but also included a beautiful section through Jay Cooke State Park.

Before I made it to Pine City for the evening, I stopped in Hinckley for a photo shoot! If you remember from the intro blog for this year’s ride, Jan, from Minnesota Trails Magazine has asked me to write an article on “an outsider’s perspective of Minnesota’s cycling trails.” Unfortunately, since the magazine is only quarterly, it won’t be on the shelves and on the web until next summer. But what the heck, it will be cool to highlight to other cyclists how much I have enjoyed riding across Minnesota!

As has happened throughout this trip, I ended the evening with two more wonderful Warmshowers hosts. Tim and Deb were very generous by giving me a place to stay and buying me a pizza! And while we were at the pizza place, we ran into Cole, another long distance cyclist who had not secured a place for the evening. Tim, who has done some impressive cycle tours himself, including one from Alaska to Glacier National Park, offered him a place for the evening as well. This is the magic of this incredible sport!

The Last Leg back in and around the Twin Cities will be coming soon!

Leg 4 – There is no such thing as bad weather – just bad gear.

If you have kept up with this cycling blog over the years you know that I’ve been extremely lucky in terms of weather. Other than a day of showers along the Rhine in 2011, a frightening above tree line lightning storm on the Great Divide Trail in 2015, and a few days of blistering heat in Australia in 2014, I’ve been very lucky with really nice riding weather on all my tours.

That streak has held for the most part on this trip, with the exception of yesterday’s ride, which kept being interrupted with on and off thunder storms and really hard rain. And anyone who thinks Minnesota is always cold, has not been here in the summer! This Southerner has certainly been feeling some serious heat and humidity along this ride. But it’s all good…as long as you are prepared!

I was also able to finally meet some cross-county cyclists the evening I stayed with Alice, another great Warmshowers host near Royalton (this was the evening I strung-up my hammock in the barn and got the personal tour of the farm and equipment by Jase, Alice’s young neighbor and helper). Hank and Rick also had a North Carolina connection, given that they were former classmates at Wake Forest back in the late 70s! They had started cycling in Seattle several weeks ago and are making their way to the East Coast. And as intense as you might think my trips are (or crazy, depending on your perspective), these are the true, hard-core cycle tourists! It was quite inspiring to hear about the adventures they were having as they cross our great country by bike – especially when it’s while we are having breakfast in a converted corn silo!

I was also able to take advantage of my location to catch the Soo Line Trail from Royalton to Albany (it actually turns into a spur of the Lake Wobegon Trail at Holdingford), which allowed me to complete all of the Wobegon regional trail system, with the exception of the part south of Albany. Like most of the other rail trails in Minnesota, it’s straight and flat, which allowed me to rack-up lots of miles and thanks to my legs and lungs getting back into top form, increase my average speed per mile. In addition to traveling through more scenic Minnesota farm country, I was able to cross the Mississippi at the Blanchard Power House (the highest falls on the Mississippi) and see a really cool covered bridge in Holdingford.

Leaving the hot and sticky Soo Line/Wobegon ride ride behind, I made my way to Hinckley, MN, where I enjoyed another delightful evening chatting with Warmshowers hosts Wes and Betty, who have added a charming bunkhouse to the farm that has been in Betty’s family for generations. As with many of the folks I met, they also have a connection, given they they spend the winters in Newnan, Georgia (I should also mention that Alice winters where Hygie and I used to live in Daphne, Alabama).

Commercial Break for a Shameless Pitch for this Sport: Unless you force yourself out of the comfort zone of your car, hotel, etc. you will never have true human interactions that let you learn and experience the culture of a place. I have to do that on my bike. I have to routinely ask people questions, directions, advice, etc.; I get to meet Warmshowers (or Couchsurfing) hosts who live in and know a place in much more detail than any tourist guide; and I get to see a region at a much lower pace than I could ever do from an interstate highway. There. I feel better. Commercial over.

I woke to a rainy morning so after a filling breakfast, I avoided the rain by taking advantage of Hinckley museum and learned about the Hinckley Fire. I then moved up to Moose Lake and began riding south on the Willard Munger Trail. Most of this ride, however, kept getting interrupted by heavy downpours. Fortunately, most of the small towns along the trail have a park with a pavilion, where I could wait for the rain to slack off enough to not get soaked. I didn’t get as many miles in as I had hoped, but given that I had been riding every day for 10 days straight, I needed a low mile day anyway.

The day ended back in Moose Lake, with yet more fantastic Warmshowers hosts, but more about that and my ride along Lake Superior next time…

 

 

Leg 3 – The Land of Paul Bunyan

How does the saying go? “Red skies at night, sailor’s delight?” After a spectacular sunset over Lake Melissa at Paul & Carole’s lake house in Detroit Lakes, I got an early start so that I could make my way to the north central region of Minnesota called the Iron Range.

Although it was not on my original itinerary, several locals highly recommended that I do the Mesabi Trail, which starts in Grand Rapids, near the headwaters of the Mississippi and eventually makes its way to the Boundary Waters region. Unfortunately, I was only able to do the first 30 miles or so of this trail before I had to head back south to ride to my Warmshowers host near Bemidji. But those were some tough 30 miles (60 total, considering the round trip)! Unlike the trails I’ve done so far that generally run on old railroad beds, this trail winds across some hilly parts of an area famous for its iron ore. It was like riding back in time in some since, being able to see the abandoned iron pits and mountains of rust colored dredgings.  Other parts of the trail wound through dense forests and sleepy mining towns trying to survive. The ones that seemed to be thriving were obviously taking advantage of tourism, some of which obviously came from cyclists using the trail, given that it significantly more crowded than the other trails I’ve been on so far.

So after a fun ride on the Mesabi Trail, I made my way to Walker and began riding north toward Bemiji. I didn’t get too far before I saw signs indicating that a section of the trail was closed and then had to back track a few miles to shuttle my gear and bike past the construction zone – clearly one of the advantages of doing this trip with my car, being that the signs warned that there was “no recommended safe route” to ride around the closure. That missed distance was made up, however, by a SNAFU with my GPS that caused me to do 5 extra miles of road riding in order to find Joe’s address – he was my Warmshowers host for the evening and fortunately lived on a low traffic farm road just outside of Nary, MN.

Staying at Joe’s place was a delight! He was a true native Minnesotan, with a strong Native American heritage on his mother’s side, as well as ancestors from some of the first white settlers to the state. He was also quite eccentric, having built his own home out in the woods all by himself. Because I had missed the famous Paul Bunyan & Babe sculptures earlier in the day, he made sure we loaded up in his car, along with Ogama (“chief” in Obijwe) his super friendly German shepherd, and gave me a tour of Bemidji.  This was after he had made me a huge bowl of spaghetti. Carbs are a good thing on a multi-day bike ride! We then stayed up late and solved all the world’s problems around Joe’s firepit.

I was able to make my way back to make my way back to my car the next morning and make a quick detour over to Itasca State Park, where I was able to step across the Mississippi! I then drove to Nevis so that I could ride the Heartland Trail and the southern leg of the Paul Bunyan Trail. Like most of the other trails I have ridden on so far on this trip, these were state-maintained rail trails that ran through small towns that used to be serviced by the railroad (one of which, Akeley, had another giant sculpture of Paul Bunyan). This arrangement also means that much of the time is spent riding near state roads that paralleled the rail corridor. The trails also took me by farms, lakes, and a lot more woods – this is, after all, timber country. And while most of these towns had an information board about the trail or the town (sometimes next to an old depot building or a pavilion), only a surprising few were aggressively marketing the trail as a way to get visitors into their restaurants and shops. Walker, where I stopped for lunch at the Portage Brew Pub, and Nissawa, where I was able to get a fantastic smoothie, were two such examples.

The most difficult, but also most fun part of the day was riding the connector loop back to the Heartland Trail from the southern leg of the Paul Bunyan Trail. The Shingobee Trail, which runs along the shores of Leech Lake, connects these better known trails at a section of the Paul Bunyan trail that has lots of moderate climbs as it twists and turns through the forest back to the relatively flat Heartland trail.

The day ended with me heading south to stay with my next Warmshowers host, Alice, who has converted her old barn to a wonderful space for gatherings, weddings, and a place for the occasional long-distance cyclist to string up a hammock and get a good night’s rest.

More to come!

 

 

Leg 2 – Garrison Keillor’s Minnesota…

After a fun, but blistering hot day of cycling around the Twin Cities, I was able to make my way up to Ashby and begin cycling through what has to be one of the most beautiful regions of the state on what turned out to be two more world class cycle trails: The Central Lakes Trail and the Lake Wobegon Trail. Like the Root River, they are both long distance, paved, and dedicated bike paths that use the an abandoned rail line. Unlike the Root River, these had no hills greater than the 3% grade allowed for the railroad and were mostly straight as far as the eye could see.

The Central Lakes Trail, as the name implies, went by dozens of lakes where even on Thursday, when it was overcast and in the low to mid 60s, people were out boating or fishing. It also went through a number of small towns – some of which only had a pavilion and trail marker, while others, such as the thriving town of Alexandria, had everything you could need in terms of stores, restaurants, etc.

If the term “Lake Wobegon” does not immediately conger up idyllic images of rural Minnesota based on Garrison Keillor’s classic NPR show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” then you need to turn off the TV and search for podcasts of the show. For someone who grew up listening to the stories of how “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average” it was a genuine treat to ride through this section of central Minnesota and see first-hand the type of farms, fields, and towns that were a constant part of Keillor’s fictional community of Lake Wobegon.

Both trails were very well maintained, although a few sections of the Central Lake Trail could use some repair where the seams in the pavement are beginning to split (not a big deal, however). Other occasional hazards such as potholes or pavement bulges due to tree roots are well-marked. Each mile is also clearly marked and most towns include an information board highlighting where you can find food, accommodation, or groceries. The trails were also not crowded, even on Friday, when the sun was shining and the temperatures were in the low 80s. And although the trail occasionally runs next to interstate 94, it also gives you a perfect view of the American Heartland.

Another bonus on this leg was getting to enjoy the hospitality of two great Warmshowers hosts – Nick & Kristen in Melrose and Paul & Carole in Detroit Lakes. So after two big mile rides along these trails (plus a few miles to “test” the Soo Line Trail out of Albany, MN), I’m ready to take the advice of many locals and revise my plans a bit so that I can head up into the Iron Range and try the Mesabi Trail before dropping back down to the Paul Bunyan Trail between Bemidji and Brainerd.

Until next time…

 

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Leg 1 – Root River Trail, etc.

The first stop on my Minnesota cycling journey was in the Southeast corner of the state, in what’s called the “bluff country,” where tributaries to the Mississippi have carved wide valleys out of the sedimentary rock – valleys surrounded by forested hills and the occasional rock outcropping. The Root River Trail provides a perfect way to explore this region. I was able to start in the small town of Houston, MN and do a good warm up day of  42 miles “up stream” to Preston, MN; slightly bigger, but still classic Small Town Americana.

The trail is relatively flat, with only a few small hills, most of which were west of Preston on what is really the Harmony-Preston Valley Trail (a less traveled spur off the main trail.) Both trails closely follow the meandering Root River and for the most part, take you through lush forests and farmland (mostly corn and soybeans). The Root River Trail also goes through quaint small towns that have done a good job of catering to cyclists. The best examples were Whalan and Lanesboro, where, respectively, I was able to “fuel up” with some killer berry pie on the first day and then have a wonderful (and cheap) breakfast at a classic diner on the second morning. I was also lucky enough to see lots of wildlife, including indigo bunting, gold finch, and a huge golden eagle.

This was a great way to get my cycle legs under me and prepare for longer and tougher rides later in my trip. I also had a bonus of being able to spend a couple of nights with a good friend from my work with the Gates Foundation who lives in St. Paul. This allowed me to do a 40+ mile trial run of the bicycle trails in and around the twin cities – something I plan to take more advantage of at the end of my trip when I return to Minneapolis.

Next stop: The Central Lakes Trail and the Lake Wobegon Trail!

The hardest part…

Planes, trains, automobiles. I’ve used them all to get my bike to where I wanted to start a bike tour and none are terribly easy. The predictable stare of disdain a airline personnel give you when you slide a bike box up to the check in counter. The “What’s in the box?” question I get (to which I’m tempted to say “I don’t know…maybe a swing set,” but just smile and point to the big word on the box: bicycle.) 

Trains are just as bad, at least here in the US and in Australia, where other than short commuter routes, one is still required to put your bike in a box, which means taking off the wheels and pedals, loosening and rotating the handle bars, removing the seat, and then praying everything fits in the box- not a guarantee for the typical extended-frame touring bike. At least with the train, you pretty much know that your bike will make it to where you are going. I had the lovely experience of flying to Bergen, Norway, only to learn that my bike was still in Atlanta. Thanks, Delta Airlines.

For this trip, I decided to throw the bike on the roof and just drive the ~16 hours from North Carolina to my first trailhead in Minnesota. And other than that 16 actually becoming more like 18 (anyone saying we are not spending money on infrastructure hasn’t driven the interstates across the country), the insane number of tolls through Illinois, and the wonderful drivers we have in the US, in the end, this has to be my preferred mode of transporting me, my bicycle, and all my gear to where I want to do a ride.

So after a long, but relatively uneventful trip I was able to check in to my motel in the booming metropolis of Houston, MN (pop ~900…see the pics), find the local watering hole to grab a burger and a beer (“no, we don’t do them veggie burgers…these is all real meat burgers”), and then get an early start on the Root River State Trail this morning – an easy 42 mile warmup for the longer rides I’ll be doing later. But more on that ride later…

Another year…another (type of) ride!

Greetings friends & followers! It’s summer time, so what better thing to do than plan some long distance cycling?! The only question I’ve been struggling with is…where to ride? Since my biking buddy, Jason, is occupied this year, it will need to be a solo ride. And since I blew the budget on last year’s ride in Europe, this one will also need to be a bit more low key. So, after evaluating a number of options from the Pacific Northwest to various routes in Canada (and after some heavy lobbying from my good friends and neighbors who have a lake house just west of Minneapolis), I’ve decided to try cycling some of the >1000 miles of bike trails in Minnesota!

My plans are to drive my car up from North Carolina this weekend and begin doing a series of overnight, out & back rides on several of the state’s longer trails, including the The Central Lakes Trail, Heartland State Trail, Root River Trail, Paul Bunyan Trail, The Lake Wobegon Trail, Soo Line Trail, Willard Munger Trail, and a number of smaller trails around the Twin Cities. This is a big change of pace from the multi-week, “point to point” rides I’ve typically done and gauging from at least one potential Warmshowers host’s rejection, does not officially qualify as bicycle touring. Whatever. It will, however, give me a deep dive perspective on many of the state’s cycling trails – from official RailTrails, to trails officially managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, to routes managed by other organizations. And as a bonus…while I was researching places to stay, I made contact with Jan Lasar, who, along with his wife Jen, is an avid cyclist and the publisher of Minnesota Trails Magazine. He wants to join me on part of my ride and then work with him on an article about an outsider’s perspective of the trails I’ll be doing across the state. How cool is that?!

So with “The Mighty One” loaded up on the car, I’m ready to begin this year’s cycling adventure! And as always, I’ll be routinely using this blog to post pics and musings about how the ride is going and the cool sights and people I meet along the way.

Cheers,

-Ben

 

 

 

Done, done, on to the next one…again!

After just under two weeks of cycling “The Mighty One” through the beautiful country of Denmark – part solo and part with Jason – it’s good to be back home. The cycling routes and friendly people in this relatively small country have set a new gold standard against which I will judge all future cycle tours. This was certainly not our longest or most strenuous ride, but I would gladly commend Denmark to anyone wanting to begin the sport of cycle touring or just wanting to experience a great European cycling experience. Guds hjælp, Folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke!

Cheers!

-Ben

P.S. Enjoy the random pic summary of this journey…