83 miles: pine river, MN, to lake Itasca state park, MN

you can see by the jackets in this photo that it was cool as we started our last biking day … & what a beautiful day it was … fresh, sunny, & cloudless. everyone was out by 6:30. we returned to the paul bunyan trail, which is just on the other side of that row of trees behind us across the street from the trailside inn, where we stayed in pine river.

alas, we were only on the trail for our first 17 miles today. i took this photo near the end of our trail ride as a reminder of how beautiful it was.

the town of hackensack marked the end of our time on the trail, tho’ the trail itself goes further. we stopped here at a very nice visitor’s center; the subaru was also stopped here. the town’s big attractions were statues of paul bunyan & his sweetheart, lucette diana kensack. here are judi & holly with paul; those girls must have a thing for thighs.

lucette was standing nearer the shore of birch lake. somehow the ‘ette’ suffix doesn’t fit a woman of such proportions! the sign proclaims that hackensack is not only the home of paul & lucette, but the birthplace of paul, jr.

i walked down by the lake & chatted with a local woman. she told me that there will be a canoe race on the lake today. a few minutes later the canoes started arriving. my sister & parents & i used to canoe when i was growing up. my dad painted our old towne canoe a bright turquoise that exactly matched our ’57 chevy. but these modern racing canoes are a very different creature. this one is made of kevlar. i picked up one of the black oars these canoeists were unloading; the oars are carbon fiber & weigh 6 oz each! one of the canoeists explained that the wide ‘wings’ near the rear of the canoe are there not only for some stability, but so that the craft is wide enough in at least one spot to officially be considered a canoe. these canoes are made in wisconsin.

with over 80 miles to go today, we couldn’t stop anywhere very long, so pedaled on. this photo gives you an idea of the gorgeous landscapes we enjoyed. the roads were usually pretty good … always 2 lanes, often with no shoulder. but traffic wasn’t too bad, tho’ there were quite a few vehicles pulling boats on this father’s day weekend. we’re in the land of 10,000 lakes, after all. we were often treated to beautiful lake vistas as we pedaled along.

around noon, at about 65 miles into our day, we came to lake george, a small town where we hoped to find a little café to sit down (on something besides a bike seat) & have a bite of lunch before continuing on to itasca. just at the edge of town we found one … the lake george café. everyone inside this tiny place was so nice … diners & staff alike. our waitress, crystal, pictured here, had a smile that would lift any weary cyclist’s spirits.

my homemade split pea with ham soup was scrumptious; i was mighty tempted to order a 2nd bowl. clark said her BLT was the best she’s ever eaten. & those well-padded red vinyl seats of our booth were just what our derierres were longing for. 6 or 8 additional cyclists from our group arrived at the café as we 3 were getting ready to leave.

about 12 miles later, we pulled into the north entrance of itasca state park. we had arrived! i bet you can tell from this photo how happy we were. ann came by in the subaru just at the right time to take our picture.

we biked on to the visitor’s center. it’s a beautiful building … & quite crowded today. a group of our cyclists who had arrived earlier were just leaving the center to pedal on to our overnight accommodations further into the park.

we 3 walked the 600 feet down a beautiful path to the actual headwaters of the mississippi. it’s interesting to read the info about how it was determined that these are the headwaters; only after early explorers sought the help of local indians were they able to pinpoint the source of the river.

here, clark, laura & i stand in the mississippi river just as it becomes the mississippi river … just below the row of rocks (notice the people walking across the rocks behind us) that marks the spot where water leaves lake itasca to begin flowing down the mississippi. you see a large black lab in the water near us. several folks brought their pets into the water with them.

this beagle didn’t go into the water, but she was sure interested in the goings-on. she reminds me of our beloved maggie, my son mark’s former beagle.

& here’s yet another photo to celebrate the end of our almost-2000-mile bicycle ride along this beautiful & important waterway. laura, one of the few with cell coverage here, was spreading the news of our arrival to family & friends in california.

the sign notes, “here 1475 ft above the ocean the mighty mississsippi begins to flow on its winding way 2552 miles to the gulf of mexico.” we didn’t ride every mile of the river’s length, of course; we started in new orleans, upriver from the gulf, & sometimes veered from the river’s course.

we treated ourselves to ice cream at the visitor’s center, then rode a gorgeous trail along the lake about 6 miles to douglas lodge, our check-in point. we got a kick out of this sign on the trail: a bike on a wedge of cheese, instead of the trucks on the cheese wedges we’re used to seeing along the highway.

a few of us are staying at douglas lodge, a stunning older building on the national register of historic places. others are staying in nearby cabins or newer suites. i’m in a suite with sue & frankie. you’ll find fascinating info about the park’s architectural history here.

for supper linda fixed a camping-out meal: bean salad, her mac & cheese that we’d been asking for, a big green salad with last night’s leftover quinoa salad in it, & watermelon. karen demoret is visiting us here; she brought some homemade oatmeal/raisin cookies for our dessert. YUM. several of us know karen from the ’03 southern tier x-country trip.

some of us plan to see more of this beautiful park tomorrow, including a boat ride on the lake at 2, &, believe it or not, a bike ride on the trail encircling the lake. others will be content to rest up & take care of preparations for leaving early monday morning. rain is forecast for tomorrow; that’ll help determine what we end up doing.

67 miles: little falls, MN, to pine river, MN

the country inn has a good breakfast, so we ate in the breakfast room, then had a map meeting out in the parking lot at 7. most were on the road by 7:15. south winds gave us a good push northward. we covered the 35 miles to brainerd at quite a clip.

at brainerd, we turned onto the paul bunyan trail. here are clark & laura at the trailhead sign.

a little further along i took this photo of clark, laura, & ann so you can see the nice surface & beautiful surroundings of the trail. sometimes the trail was almost completely canopied with trees. the trail is an old railroad bed, so is mostly flat.

at the little town of merrifield we went off the trail for half a block to a convenience store for a potty break. in the store’s freezer case, laura & i found some snickers ice cream bars. i’d never seen these before. we each had one, & they’re good!

while at this gas station convenience store restroom, i glanced in the mirror while washing my hands & caught sight of my helmet hair, which many make fun of (& why wouldn’t they?) so i decided to take a photo to show it to you. i look like a character out of a sci fi movie.

we went back onto the trail & rode another 5 miles to the cute little town of nisswa. little shops had their signs not only on the fronts of the stores toward the main street, but also on the backs of the stores along the trail. so i couldn’t miss the sign that said ‘the chocolate ox.’ we went inside, & i couldn’t resist a kid-sized (but quite large) scoop of their signature flavor of ice cream, a very dark chocolate. we did a bit of shopping at other stores, then started out on our bikes again.

but not far. the skies were looking threatening. then we glanced to our right & saw jo ann & carol under the metal roof over the patio of the a&w. we decided they knew something we didn’t know, so joined them. soon the skies opened up & torrents fell, thunder boomed, lightning flashed, & sheets of water blew across the streets. this photo doesn’t do justice to the gully washer we witnessed. did we ever feel fortunate to be shielded from it.

as so often happens with heavy storms like that, it blew over quickly, so we ventured out again. i took this photo to give you an idea of the trees along the trail …. here some beautiful aspens.

we had in mind a lunch stop at a place that had been recommended to us at the next town only 7 miles up the trail, pequot lakes. sibley station is a well-known eating spot in this area; they’re particularly known for their hungarian mushroom soup. 4 of the 6 of us had the soup, & it’s good, but quite salty.

as we were finishing our lunches, someone looked outside & saw another rain storm in progress, so we lingered a bit. a little later when we went out front, a woman was just getting out of her car in the parking lot & told us about a bad storm she’d driven through just north of us. so we decided to wait even longer before continuing …. ’til the dark clouds up north dissipated.

it was only 8 more miles to the trailside inn in pine river; there were a few sprinkles, but nothing major. later we found out that quite a few riders got soaked by one or more of this afternoon’s storms.

here’s linda working at dinner preparations in her galley that’s built into the back of the luggage trailer. it’s amazing the meals she can turn out of that little work space. this evening she made shepherd’s pie with real mashed potatoes on top — one with lots of lean ground beef, the other with tofu. also on the menu were sliced fresh nectarines, a big green salad, &…back by popular demand…her quinoa salad with craisins, fresh green beans, & other veggies in it.

at the map meeting, laurie went over not only the route for our LAST BIKING DAY OF THIS TRIP TOMORROW (!) — 87 miles to lake itasca state park — but plans for our layover day, our final trip dinner on sunday evening, & bike- & people-transport plans for monday. the size of our group is taxing the accommodations at the lodge & cabins at itasca run by the park service, but we’ll fit in somehow. i doubt i’ll have a computer connection there, tho’, so will likely finish this trip diary from home early next week. but i didn’t think i’d be connected here in pine river, so who knows about itasca.

this photo shows the storm-like clouds that were still rolling overhead during our supper. according to the forecast, tho’, we’ll stay dry tomorrow … if we get to itasca by late afternoon.

tomorrow or sunday we will walk across the headwaters of this mighty river that we’ve followed by bike for almost 5 weeks. i can hardly wait.

0 miles by bike: layover day in little falls, MN

but i must’ve walked at least 5 miles, probably more. i love walking, tho’, so fine with me.

i slept a lot last night … even tho’ i’d napped yesterday afternoon. i didn’t realize how exhausted i was. sleep does wonders, tho’, & by this morning i was ready to head out to see this little town of little falls.

early i ran into linda, one of our riders. she’s from virginia beach, VA. her longest ride before starting this trip was 20 miles. yesterday she rode 87 miles in the heat … her all-time personal best. we are so proud of her! her son owns a sign company; a couple of weeks ago he sent the ‘bo peep’ signs that now adorn both front doors of the subaru. you probably can’t see that those sheep are on bikes. what a generous thing for him to do!

at 9:30, laura, clark & i headed west on foot, reaching cute little downtown little falls within a 1/2 hour.

there are some beautiful murals painted on the sides of older buildings downtown. here are 2 of them. yes, these are murals…not live scenes.

 

we walked on across the bridge, where i took this photo of laura & clark (on the phone with a long-time friend in oregon), with the mississippi stretching north behind them. those white things over laura’s right shoulder are big tents no doubt for next weekend’s annual dam festival, a very big local event.

a bit after 10:30, we ambled down a side street where we found the black & white, a local restaurant that had been recommended to us. inside were georgia (when she jots down her name, she writes GA) & vicki having breakfast. we asked to see the lunch menu, even tho’ one couldn’t order lunch ’til 11. as we read, we kept ooohing & ahhhing. the waitress, sensing our distress, finally told us we could order early. lookit my delectable salmon & crab salad: “4-oz seared salmon on a bed of greens with crab meat, strawberries, mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, & citrus vinaigrette.” yahoo, we’re back to gourmet lunches!

after lunch, we each went our separate ways on separate errands. i went to a cute little local pharmacy across from the black & white. i needed some moisturizer; the tube i brought is about out. i’d rather pay a dollar or 2 more per tube at this local place than step into that wal-mart monstrosity out near the motel … soon to be a supercenter. i hate the way those wal-marts suck the lifeblood out of these little towns.

then i wandered back down along the river to see the little falls that give the town its name. turns out the original natural falls have been replaced by a succession of dams that were built to provide electricity for the industries–mainly lumber & paper mills–that were thriving in early little falls.

here’s a photo of a fisherman with the dam in the background. he says he fishes here 2-3 times a week, catching a wide variety of fish, including catfish, walleye, & northerns. he’s always lived in little falls, except for his time in the marines, & loves the town. he proudly pointed out the beautiful park that stretched to our left along the shore. he mentioned that he & many other locals are not happy about the imminent new wal-mart supercenter. he pointed out a big blue heron sitting on a rock below the dam waiting patiently for a fish; he said that heron sits in the same spot every day, & is a much better fisherman than he is. i didn’t see the man (nor the heron) catch any fish, but the man finally said he was going to take home the 2-3 fish he’d already caught & cook them. he raved about a popular minnesota breakfast–eggs & fish.

the walk back to the motel seemed extra long in the heat. i then spent much of the afternoon finishing up chores that’ll get me on the road again tomorrow morning.

before we left the black & white at lunchtime, we made a reservation for supper. we also told everyone else back at the motel about the restaurant. 2 cabloads went down around 5 & were eating when an additional 6 of us arrived by cab around 6. our suppers were at least as delectable as our lunches. & at dinnertime, there were white cloths on the tables … & fresh flowers.

first off they put baskets of warm herb ciabatta rolls (looked like donut holes, only the “powdered sugar” was actually parmesan) on our table, along with little ramekins with an olive oil & balsamic mixture for dipping. oh my they were good! then came the signature salad: dark greens topped with blue cheese, candied walnuts, chunks of port wine-poached apple, all tossed with a fabulous homemade balsamic dressing. several chose the all-you-can-eat pasta or stir-fry for their main course, but since lunchtime i had my eye on the walleye: almond-encrusted walleye with a fresh strawberry salsa drizzled with balsamic glaze, fresh asparagus spears, & a creamy mango risotto. i have photos of all these, but rather than fill up this space with those, i’ve saved room for my dessert: the black & white express (dark chocolate mousse coated with dark chocolate ganache, topped with a fresh strawberry sauce, & garnished with fresh whipped cream & white chocolate). it’s a glory to behold, isn’t it?

laura helped me out by eating the white chocolate fan; i see no purpose for white chocolate. but i savored every last bite of the rest.

it seems only right to round out this excellent meal with a photo of the chef. this is tomas zimmerman. he & wife amanda are current owners of a.t. the black & white. they’re both le cordon bleu trained chefs.

rather than take a cab, we all decided to walk back to the motel. it had cooled off some, & the exercise helped settle our sumptuous suppers.

little falls provided us a nice layover day, especially gastronomically. tomorrow it’s back to cycling reality & bike-bag food. our map meeting isn’t til 7 a.m., but we’ll eat breakfast beforehand & leave shortly thereafter.

ps: i’m not sure about connectivity at our lodging thru sunday. you may not hear about the end of our tour ’til i get home early next week.

88 miles: cambridge, MN, to little falls, MN

what else is new: the miles don’t match what we thot we’d be biking.

but early this morning, as we stocked up at the gorp table, we were our usual oblivious selves about what our day would bring. here are marilyn (in red) & vicki putting together snacks for their bike bags. there are big tins of various kinds of nuts, a bin of assorted snack bars, raisins (& sometimes additional dried fruit), pretzels, pb&j, jerky sticks, m&m’s, gatorade, often bananas … those are the basics. sometimes additional items are included. most of the same items are also in the subaru for snacking at rest stops during the day.

we began our jaunt northward, happy for the tailwinds that gave us a boost on what we knew would become a very warm day. things were going pretty well, with a cue-sheet glitch here & there. then we were to turn left onto CR 9 for 2.7 miles. that plan didn’t go well, for the following reason:

i left the group at an intersection & biked down to see if there was a way across, but clearly there wasn’t. so we biked on northward. soon stephany came by in the subaru & suggested we go east a bit onto hwy 169, heading north ’til we could get to another county road going west. fortunately, there was a wide shoulder on 169, & it didn’t take too long ’til we did find another county road heading west….then picked up our cue-sheet route after wandering around a bit.

stephany caught up with us & stopped so we could refuel. here we are seeming to invade a minnesota pasture filled with hay bales … while a tractor is making a getaway down our road to the left.

it was getting hotter & hotter … & this open minnesota farmland doesn’t offer much shade along the roadway. & we were getting hungry. i mean, we have plenty of snacks on our bikes, but after a while you want some real food, not to mention a break from the heat & pedaling. we pinned our hopes on the town of little rock, mentioned on our route sheets at mile 59.5. we kept scanning the horizon as we biked, more than once catching sight of the rounded top of a silo, which we imagined was the little rock water tower. turns out little rock is 2 houses at an intersection. what a blow!

but we had to stop, so settled for the shade of a couple of trees near one of the houses. before long, a fellow came out of the back yard of one of the houses to greet us. he even let us use a bathroom inside his home. what a treat! then stephany stopped with the subaru; it was good to top off our water & gatorade bottles. the snacks & water from our bikes wasn’t the lunch we’d hoped for, but the stop at tiny little rock gave us an opportunity to meet another kind minnesotan.

i took this photo just to give you an idea of today’s typical landscape. hills were minimal in frequency & steepness. we saw lots of beautiful farms … like this one on the right with the lovely barn & silo.

not too much further along, we came upon a farm with several fields …. one with lots & lots of sheep, another with these interesting creatures.

i took note of the name of the farm, then later looked it up on the internet from the motel. this is azariah acres farm. they are a sustainable operation specializing in old world animals & vegetables. i emailed the farm’s owner, sue peterson. she confirmed that the animals in the photo are tibetan yaks. here’s what she has to say: “They are indeed Tibetan yak. They are essentially a cow from Tibet, and you can do the same things with them. They also offer a fiber which is soft and wonderful for felting.”

it seemed that little falls & our motel would never appear. trying to figure out the route sheets & dealing with the heat were taking their toll. plus today’s ride included a bad dog encounter …. & an almost-serious health problem along the road. it didn’t help that our last couple of miles were through a construction zone. we were all very glad when we were all accounted for at the country inn.

for supper linda made beef (or tofu) stroganoff on noodles (with lots of mushrooms–my favorite part of stroganoff), along with an absolutely delicious broccoli/slivered almond salad, the usual big green salad, & the leftovers of yesterday’s ham/orzo salad…with fresh strawberries & oreos for dessert.

this photo gives you an idea of how long we’ve been on the road. when someone starts scooping her stroganoff with her oreo, as clark is doing here, you know it’s time for us to get back to civilization.

we have a layover day here in little falls tomorrow. & boy do we need a rest after those last 5 days of biking. alas, we’re situated in the midst of an area filled with chain stores & restaurants, but some of us will find our way to the “real” town to see whatever sights there are to see, & to eat some local food.

60 miles: stillwater, MN, to cambridge, MN

again the miles titling this post don’t match what i said we’d ride today. turns out the cue sheets again were askew. we ended up riding an extra 10 miles. fortunately, they were on a nice paved trail with tailwinds; that helped.

it was already warm when we left stillwater around 7:30, & it only got hotter from there. temps here in cambridge when we arrived early afternoon were in the lower 90’s.

we rode north on county road 4 from stillwater, which had quite a bit of traffic on it. but we had a nice wide shoulder, so it was easy riding.

after about 15 miles, we turned onto a beautiful trail along hwy 61. here you see laura & janet stopping along our trail. the little yellow flowers were an extra added attraction.

not long after i took this photo, the trail became heavily populated. there were some online skaters & a few bikers, but mostly nordic skiiers doing their warm-weather training for this winter sport. many individual skiers went past us, then i came upon this group with, i’m guessing, a coach. the coach told me that all the schools in the area offer nordic skiing; it’s a very big sport in this part of minnesota. these young folks seemed to really enjoy sailing along on their unusual skis/skates, pushing themselves with their ski poles.

a little further along, i took this photo to show the pretty gazebo along the trail. (that’s clark coming toward me.) the trail’s surface is really smooth, & everything is nicely maintained along both sides of the trail.

on & on we rode, finally coming to the end of the trail. we were hot & frustrated by that point, so were mighty glad to find an ice cream parlor alongside the trail … scoops was its name. 9 of us had root beer floats. i had a scoop of chocolate ice cream with walnuts, & clark had a scoop of some sort of cherry ice cream. no gourmet noon meals for us today!

we rode north on a very busy highway that had a nice wide shoulder, but only as far as harris … maybe 5 miles. there we turned west onto county road 10. for a while it was OK, but later the shoulders disappeared & the surface became very, & i mean very, rough. we were glad to take a break to visit with these horses, who came over to the fence to greet us. maybe they knew that laura works at a veterinary clinic in california, & they had a few little health problems to discuss with her.

our spirits lifted, we rode on, & soon came to cambridge. we negotiated 3-4 miles of a busy highway to get into town & to our nice motel here. since it was around 1:15 & we hadn’t had lunch, i asked the desk clerk for suggestions for local places to eat. 4 of us then followed her instructions for getting downtown. we found herman’s bakery, & each had a bowl of their delicious homemade soup.

linda, our fabulous cook, fixed us a cool meal for a hot day. this photo doesn’t begin to do justice to the array of scrumptious salads we enjoyed: a butter bean/hominy creation; the usual delicious mixed green salad; a chicken salad with grapes, celery, & pecans; a potato salad with chunks of egg; & a ham salad with green peas & orzo. we may not have had a gourmet lunch today, but we sure had a gourmet supper!

tomorrow we bike 77 miles (??) to little falls, MN. laurie says we have no trails tomorrow, but that our roads will again be the back roads that, like today, wind through the farmlands. that means, we think, that the roads will again be quite flat. & the weatherperson says we will again have tailwinds … & again hot temps. we’ll get an early start in hopes of avoiding the worst of the heat … & the increasing possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

50 miles: red wing, MN, to stillwater, MN

the weather was a carbon-copy of yesterday’s: sunny, warm to steamy, & tailwinds. the hills, tho’, were much hillier … steeper, longer, & more prevalent. but the countryside was its same beautiful self.

the 1st of today’s 3 bridges was just out of red wing; there were no shoulders on the bridge to shield us from early-morning weekday traffic, but we rushed across without mishap. here’s a photo of the lovely wisconsin roadway we traveled on the other side.

we caught sight of some llamas in a field as we passed by. loving animal photos the way i do, i stopped. here’s a photo of the farmer & one of his 3 llamas. he said the llamas are pets, tho’ the owner shears them & sells the fur to local fiber artists. this llama is named louis vuitton.

here’s a mug shot of louis vuitton. she was very curious about us interlopers.

here’s the baby llama; almost all his fur had been shorn recently.

just a little further along we came upon a field of miniature horses. the following photo is another in my series of equestrian nostril shots. i think this little horse wanted me to rub his forehead some more.

not long after these animal encounters, we came upon this dreaded sign. i know it means a steep downhill, which, next to bridges, is one of my least favorite cycling experiences. marilyn tells me that bikers call this sign ‘truck on a wedge of cheese.’

soon we crossed today’s 2nd & 3rd bridges; they were no problem at all. whew! they brot us back to minnesota.

at about 35 miles, we stopped in the little town of afton. we asked a local her recommendations for a lunch spot. she suggested the catfish saloon at the historic afton house inn. we found out it didn’t open ’til 11:30, & it was only 11:10, but later we were so glad we waited.

we never expected a gourmet menu at a saloon, but it turns out the chef is a frequent guest on a weekly TV show featuring well-known minnesota chefs & their food. our waiter, bob, is a great fellow. he’s been national dart-throwing champ several times. here he balances our empty soup bowls.

at bob’s suggestion, i selected goldie’s almond-encrusted walleye with seasonal vegetables. it’s named after goldie hawn, who has visited here & tried that dish & loves it. here’s a photo. the little pink ribbon-tied packet is the lemon wedge …. so you can squeeze it without the seeds getting onto your fish. what a delectable dish it was!

we managed to roll out of the catfish saloon after an hour or so; we checked out the shoreline near the saloon. it’s a beautiful harbor, as you can see.

the tailwinds gave us a mighty push up the road the last 10-15 miles to stillwater …. actually, we’re staying in a suburb, oak park hts, which is a busy highway lined with chain restaurants & motels. biking those last 3-4 miles to the americinn was a little harrowing, but we made it.

jo ann mentioned a riverboat cruise, so as soon as i showered, i started checking around for cruises & other sightseeing options in stillwater. at 3:30, we took a cab downtown, bought tickets to the 5:00 pm trolley car tour of historic stillwater, & tickets to the paddlewheeler riverboat dinner cruise starting at 6:15. we had a little time to kill before our trolley tour, so browsed along the lovely shops of downtown stillwater.

in front of one shop, i came across a man sitting on a bench with his pomeranian, abby, in a carry-all. what a cute pup!

another time i almost fell across tulear, this viszla, who guarded the door of the outfitter’s shop that we went into for a few minutes. i guess “guarded” is too strong; she just liked sleeping in the patch of sunshine right inside the shop’s door & didn’t want to bother moving when shoppers entered.

out on the street again, i heard a bell gonging, & there was a woman along the street’s edge rocking a big black bell. i asked what she was doing …. & she told me that she’s the self-appointed town crier. the bell is out in front of her shop, country charm antiques. she comes out to ring the bell on the hour … & has been doing that for 18 years. she told me she rings it because she absolutely loves this town. we loved the town, too, & we’d been there only a couple of hours.

it was nearing 5, so we hustled back to the trolley stop. the tour of historic stillwater was fascinating. this was a very prosperous lumber town; the mansions are quite stunning. but WOW the hills! more than once i wondered about the brakes on our trolley.

we got off the trolley & walked a short distance to the riverboat dock. here we are enjoying our dinner on the deck with the beautiful cliffs along the river behind us.

by the time we turned around & headed back down the river, the sun was starting to sink below the trees. you can see the beautiful late-day colors of the water & trees behind these bikers along the boat railing.

in this photo, you see a riverboat like ours in front of us going under the traffic bridge, with its center section lifted in the air to let us pass underneath.

i had called a cab to be waiting for us at 8:30. we were quickly whisked back to our motel after a wonderful afternoon & evening seeing the sights of stillwater.

tomorrow we ride about 50 miles to cambridge, MN. i don’t know any particulars, since our map meeting isn’t ’til tomorrow morning at 7. but maybe i’ll start looking now for touring & boating options in cambridge! we like seeing as much of these lovely towns as we can in the short time we have to spend in them.

30 miles: wabasha, MN, to red wing, MN

our day was absolutely picture-perfect weatherwise & scenerywise. we left the americinn in wabasha at about 8:15. US61, which had been 4 lanes from winona to wabasha, became 2 lanes northward from wabasha, & the shoulder was sometimes narrower than before. there were a few more hills in this stretch, too, but nothing major. we continued biking along the base of those beautiful tree-covered hills with the river stretched out on our right. many of us feel that this ride along the river in wisconsin & minnesota is the prettiest of our whole trip….so far, at least.

here’s a group stopped at an overlook with lake pepin in the background. that’s the name of this very wide (3 miles) section of the mississippi. a story board at this rest stop gave interesting info about the rafts early settlers made & floated on the river; the rafts were sometimes up to 3 acres in size. you can learn more about lake pepin here.

i like this photo taken further along the lake’s edge; the white spot in the background is a tall building at lake city, where we were headed. as so often happens, there are railroad tracks running alongside our road between us & the river. i love watching & hearing the trains go by.

lake city is absolutely beautiful. we rode into town & quickly spotted moz’s lakeside coffee emporium. many riders had found it before we did. laura, clark & i got our treats inside, then sat in the courtyard out back, where quite a few locals were also enjoying this beautiful morning.

sitting nearby were simon & schuster & their owner. the owner said these names were given to the dogs because a friend of theirs had her first book published at the time the pups were born. they’re a cocker/bichon mix.

the dogs’ owner offered to take a photo of clark, laura & me sitting on a bench near some roses enjoying our coffee (except i had gelato — a dark chocolate & an amaretto cherry). i bet you’re thinking, ‘those bike tours don’t look very rough to me!’

here are the women from our group who stopped at moz’s this morning, along with moz’s owner, dave. the shop has been open just 9 days & doesn’t yet have a web site, so i can’t provide you additional info, except that it’s at 402 south lakeshore drive in lake city. mosey into moz’s when you’re in the area.

after leaving moz’s, i came upon this duo enjoying a ride on their electric scooter. this is tim & son colton. i gather from the plethora of sailboats in the marina in the background that sailing must be very popular in these parts.

there were no further towns along US61 between lake city & red wing, so it was a quick trip. at about 1:30, my dear friends, the cins, arrived at our motel. they brought along their bikes & a bike trailer for their children. we loaded up, then headed down the road to a trailhead for the cannon falls trail, a beautiful, paved trail that winds through this lovely countryside. wayde took this photo along the trail of stephanie & me with the kids, emma & isaac, peeking out of their trailer.

we rode about 10 miles, then we all cooled off in the motel’s pool for a while after our ride. later, after a short walk down the street, it was time for supper in the parking lot. the cins joined us; other riders also had guests this evening. stephanie & emma had baked a large batch of chocolate chip cookies for our dessert; they were heartily enjoyed by all.

after dinner, emma got onto her little bike to ride around the parking lot. she did that when she first arrived in the afternoon, too. she was anxious to show me what a good biker she is … & she IS a good biker. clark took this photo of us all just before the cins had to leave for home (south of metro minneapolis). emma is almost 4-1/2 & isaac is 1-1/2. it was great fun having them visit.

at the map meeting, laurie told us that we’ll be crossing THREE bridges tomorrow as we wend our way to stillwater, MN. i guess i really jinxed things by writing that the winona bridge was our last of the trip.

73 miles: la crosse, WI, to wabasha, MN

you’re scratching your head thinking, “73 miles? i thot she said yesterday that today would be 60 mi.” those 10 miles we didn’t have to ride going into maquoketa …. we managed to make up for them today.

it was a beautiful day … warm, sunny, tailwinds. we left our friendly marriott courtyard at la crosse around 8 or so. no reason to rush: only 60 miles to ride, after all.

we biked along the river thru riverfront park & onto the trail heading north. it’s called the great river trail; the surface is crushed limestone, & it’s very rideable, even for those with the high-tech skinny tires, which is most of us (but not me). here’s a photo of judi not being able to take her eyes off our beautiful view of the river to our left.

& here are a few other bikers along a more shaded section of the trail. we’re not yet far north of la crosse. temps were around 60 at this point, so the shaded sections were chilly, which explains the arm-warmers.

there were often bridges along the trail, usually wooden ones with only a railing along the edges. but here we were about to cross one with an old metal superstructure. linda & barb had struck up a conversation with a local biker at this end of the bridge.

i remembered what a quaint & pretty place trempeleau is from my delta queen trip, so took a detour off route, as many did, to ride down into the center of this tiny town. we were too early (10 a.m.) to find anything open, but enjoyed looking at the river & locks that are practically on main street. here’s judi taking a photo of the locks as i was doing the same.

as we were standing here along the bank of the river, we caught sight of a large group of pelicans flying overhead. their black-tipped wings give them away, tho’ i wasn’t able to capture their distinctive bill features in this photo.

after leaving trempeleau … that’s when the fun began. many of us evidently made a wrong turn somewhere along the way, &/or there was a glitch in the cue sheet. the upshot is that we ended up riding an extra 10-12 miles, much of it on gravel trails or back roads. but for our trouble, we were treated to some beautiful scenery, including this marshland, where lois is standing next to a sign giving tips on eagle-watching.

after leaving the marshland, we realized that we were likely riding in circles, so i stopped what appeared to be a pair of local bikers. they had a small map of the area, & they helped us determine a route out of the maze. before long, we got to I35/54, the great river road, & soon were riding across the bridge to winona & into our last state, minnesota.

i’m not a fan of bridges, as you know, but i was riding with 2 others who don’t like them any more than i do — clark & patty. after we had lunch at a local restaurant, i took this photo of the 4 other riders with the winona bridge in the background. we think/hope this is the last bridge we’ll have to cross on this trip. from left are laura, patty, edith, & clark.

at the outskirts of winona we rode onto US61 north, where we spent the remaining 26-28 miles of our day. for a major highway, it wasn’t bad biking. we had a wide shoulder, it was quite flat, & we had a beautiful view of the river along most of our way. here’s a photo of laura along our roadway … with tree-covered hills to the left & the river to the right. there were some locks down that road that veers off the highway to the right.

here’s another view of the river a little further along US61. notice the yellow flowers & the purple clover, which added a nice aroma to our ride.

there are lots & lots of bikers at this americinn in wabasha tonight. many of them are riding harleys. they don’t get to bring their bikes into their rooms like we do.

at tonight’s map meeting, laurie confirmed that we ride only about 30 miles tomorrow to red wing, all along US61 north. we pass thru lake city, where the mississippi is 3 miles wide, its widest point. there are reputed to be more hills on tomorrow’s route than on today’s. but we’ve had practice on hills; we should be able to do this.

0 miles by bike: layover day in la crosse, WI

what a fabulous day … fabulous weather, fabulous town, fabulous activities.

first thing, my roommate, barb, & i did our wash in the motel laundry room. that’ll get me thru the end of the trip except for some hand-washing a night or 2. at 9 barb left with friends from the area for taliesin & a day touring the frank lloyd wright compound there. i’ve done those tours in years past; they’re very interesting.

at 9:30 i met 7 or 8 others downstairs for a walk to hackberry’s for brunch. the place was filled with a very large group, but there was a little room for us in some booths on the far side of the room. the service was great, despite the large number of diners. i had a gateau with delicious multigrain toast & a fresh-fruit bowl … all scrumptious. i also ate one of marilyn’s 2 pieces of sausage; she was full, & i hardly ever eat sausage, but this was very good.

some of us went from hackberry’s to the outfitter’s store. i wanted a lightweight fleece vest for a little extra warmth on some of these cool evenings. i found a 1/2-price patagonia vest on clearance that works fine. i also found a pair of crazy-looking mion all-weather shoes that are nice for walking … & i’m impressed by the company’s commitment to the environment.

i walked back to the motel just in time to meet up with judy williams, a long-time friend who lives in wautoma, WI. judy & i became friends when we worked together in the graduate school office at the univ of wisconsin/madison in the late ’60’s. judy called me this morning to say she planned to come visit, so she drove over to join us for the riverboat cruise at 1:30. the sightseeing cruise was very informative & lots of fun.

the la crosse queen is “one of the few authentic Mississippi River paddlewheel river boats still in operation in the country today.” going upriver we passed many logs covered with turtles out sunning themselves. we saw big blue herons flying & at the water’s edge, & we got a close-up of a bald eagle as it swooped past the boat near the shore.

here’s a photo of the canadian pacific railroad bridge opening so we could pass through it.

looking closely, we could see the keeper of the little house on the bridge wave as we passed by. he has to be there 24 hours a day in order to open the bridge when tall boats want to go up or downriver.

carol took this photo of judy & me with the red paddlewheel in the lower background.

one of the townspeople who was on this cruise struck up a conversation with me. she wanted to know if our group was on some kind of tour. i told her that we were biking from new orleans to lake itasca. she was taken aback, then looked at me & said, “you’re no spring chicken.” i laughed & said that’s what makes this accomplishment all the more rewarding. she said she did some biking & thot she might some day be interested in doing a trip, so i gave her the womantours web site ID.

i realized as we neared the dock at the end of our 1-1/2-hour cruise that i’d last visited this very spot when aboard the delta queen for a 1-week cruise that was part of the 2004 grand excursion. i was raving to judy about the delta queen. she suggested that she & i do a trip on the delta queen after she retires … which will be in 1 or 2 years. oh boy, i’m already looking forward to that.

we left the la crosse queen & walked along the beautiful riverfront walk, past these statues along the railing.

judy had offered to drive carol, jo ann, & me up to the top of granddad’s bluff, a landmark here in la crosse. to quote a local tourism source, “La Crosse has some of the most beautiful, natural bluffs and hills in the midwest. Granddad’s Bluff sits above the city at approx. 580 ft. Autumn is spectacular when the bluffs overlooking the city are ablaze in yellows, browns, and reds.”

that’s iowa way in the distance, with the river sprawled below.

here are carol & jo ann at the end of the walkway that hung out over the edge of the bluff, with probably onalaska behind jo ann’s left shoulder. we bike through onalaska tomorrow on our way to wabasha, MN.

judy took us back to the motel, then had to go on to meet family elsewhere in the area. what a treat to see her!

clark & marilyn were already waiting near hackberry’s for us to come join them for supper. jo ann, carol, laura, judi, holly & i walked over that way. again the food was beyond superb. here’s leah, our waitress, with the 4 dishes ordered at my table: marilyn’s chicken paillard, laura’s seared sea scallops with a jalapeno cream sauce, my paella, & i forget what clark had.

here’s a closeup of my paella. can you believe the size of those shrimp & scallops? & the rice was just the right spiciness. this was my 3rd meal at hackberry’s in just 2 days. i’d go back tomorrow if i could.

as we were finishing our meals, a fellow was setting up nearby to play the harp. he’s barry byrne, a celtic harpist. you can see that this harp is different from the usual harp. the music was mesmerizing…absolutely lovely. we lingered a while to listen to a few of the pieces he played.

laura & i finally tore ourselves away. we first went downstairs to the people’s coop so i could buy a couple of the dark chocolate bars laura had earlier spotted for me. what a good friend! then we walked over through the park on our way back to the motel. the local farmers’ market was underway. even tho’ i was full to the very gills, i still salivated over the gorgeous fresh produce … especially those snow pea pods & the rhubarb, just like the rhubarb i know is growing in my back yard at this very moment. it’ll become a pie or 2 when i get home.

we stopped to pet this dog, buster, in this photo with his foster mom, connie. she works with CASA, crawford area shelters for animals. buster, part sharpei, needs a new home. he’s such a sweet dog. connie told me that she used to live in iowa city … until 10 years ago … & still misses it.

finally i made my way back to my motel room & have been working on this post ever since. i’ll repack in the morning before our breakfast at 7. tomorrow we bike northward on this side of the river, part of the time on a trail, then across the river, ending at wabasha, MN…about 60 miles. they say the weather will be beautiful like today’s. what a nice ride it’ll be.

61 miles: prairie du chien, WI, to la crosse, WI

temps early this morning as we piled our luggage into the trailer were in the low 70’s, 20 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time. & winds were already brisk. we enjoyed the motel’s breakfast offerings, then most everyone headed north by about 6:30.

we spent the day on hwy 35, the great river road. & what a beautiful road it is …. nestled against the base of huge cliffs on the right, the mississippi river on the left. the sun didn’t reach our road all morning, but this photo gives you some idea of our lovely biking route. you see a truck in this photo, & indeed there was traffic, some of it trucks, but we had a nice shoulder to ride on the whole way.

i love watching the activity on the river. here are some locks not far out of prairie du chien. that’s clark taking her own photo of the locks.

i coasted down the hill & took this photo of a tugboat pushing its barges into the same locks.

& speaking of clark, laurie recently convinced her to raise her bike seat & her handlebars a bit. what a difference it’s made! clark is now unstoppable; she’s apt to pass you even on an uphill.

at about 20 miles, georgia, today’s sag driver, had stopped at a wide place in the road. we all got snacks & re-upped on water & gatorade. both of the recumbents on this tour happened to be there, so i took this photo. dusty, left, rides a bike saturday (by bike friday) & barb rides, to quote from her blog, a “Lightning R-84 — a super light dual-suspension carbon fiber bicycle with a 3-pound frame made of aerospace-grade carbon fiber, titanium, and oversized aluminum.” barb’s blog, meandering mississippi, is listed to the upper right under ‘blogroll,’ along with other blogs i know about on this trip.

there wasn’t much stopping on today’s ride, tho’. another time we rolled into a kwik trip for a short potty & drink break, but in general we just kept pedaling. the specter of those predicted storms, not to mention the flat roads & very strong tailwinds, kept us moving at quite a pace. in fact, as i rolled into the outskirts of la crosse at about 55 miles, i checked the average on my cyclometer & it was 17.1. i hardly ever bike 17 miles per hour on the straightaway, let alone AVERAGE 17.1 mph over 55 miles. it was quite laughable … & no doubt never to be repeated.

our route through lacrosse to the downtown area was very pleasant … mostly through nice neighborhoods. this was a treat, as we often have to travel busy roads/highways getting to our motels. we arrived at the marriott courtyard by 11 a.m. it’s a very nice place right on the river under the bridge. our rooms weren’t ready; we expected that. we were just very glad to have beaten the storm.

we helped unload all the luggage from the trailer into a motel banquet room, then relaxed on the deck behind the motel. here’s a photo of vicki with the bridge in the background. you can see those menacing dark clouds that promised some interesting weather for later in the day.

as i walked thru the motel’s dining area just inside from the deck, i noticed that lois & judy were sitting at tables with their apple laptops. i’ve been wanting to get a photo of us apple users, so grabbed my ibook out of my bag, then laura took this photo. i think there are about 6 laptops on this trip, half of them apples. mine is the oldest model. (someone else is taking our picture, too, which is why we’re all looking elsewhere.)

several riders dug into their bags to get their swimming suits, then spent some time in the motel’s hot tub. others of us found regular shorts in our bags & took off into the downtown area nearby to find lunch. jo ann, carol, laura & i walked the streets, stopping a couple of times to ask locals their recommendations for dining spots. we ended up at hackberry’s bistro … & what a find it is! it’s on a balcony above the people’s food coop. it was a real chore making a selection from hackberry’s luncheon menu. with some tips from our very nice waitress, i finally settled on the salad nicoise topped with slices of rare tuna steak. it tasted every bit as good as it looks.

laura had a monte cristo sandwich & salad, carol & jo ann macaroni & cheese (we’re in wisconsin, after all). everything was outstanding. you must include hackberry’s on your agenda when you visit la crosse. here’s a preview. several of us have plans to do brunch at hackberry’s tomorrow morning. & if we can squeeze in another of tomorrow’s meals at hackberry’s, we will!

after lunch, laura & i wandered to an ATM, then, quite magically, into a chocolate shop! there we found not only a 72% dark chocolate bar, but also a half-price sale on sport beans. they’re made by jelly belly, but have electrolytes in them. i like taking them on my bike for quick energy. plus i like jelly beans :-> you think i’m making this up? here’s the full scoop.

laura & i started noticing raindrops as we neared the motel. i had just gotten to my room when the sky opened up & the torrents fell. wow it was fascinating to watch … from inside. i hear that large hail fell & a tornado touched down just 10 miles east of town. it was a wild weather day in most of the midwest. riders from other parts of the country–which is most everyone–have been fascinated by our weather these last few days …. sunshine, humidity, warm temps, strong winds, downpours, & then something completely different the next hour. we midwesterners love the excitement of it all!

given today’s “exciting” weather, linda decided she didn’t want to risk having our supper blown into the river from the motel parking lot, so opted for eating out. we all dribbled over to fayze’s restaurant a few blocks away by 7 p.m. it’s jan’s birthday today, so linda ordered a cake. after dinner, she blew out candles & we sang. here’s a photo of jan reading the card from all of us. she says she’s 66 today, but we are pretty sure she got the number all wrong. clearly she’s at least 10 years younger than that. i suspect that the stop she made at the wine guyz on her way to supper played havoc with her mathematical abilities.

i have to share this little tidbit that probably indicates i’ve been on the road too long: i returned to the motel this evening around 9:30; some of us took the long way from supper along the beautiful river walk. when i got up to the 2nd floor here at the motel, i absolutely couldn’t remember what my room number was. so i took out my room “key” card & walked down the hall, trying the key card in every door slot ’til i found the one where the light turned green instead of red when i put the card in. i’m just lucky that some guest didn’t report me.

tomorrow is a layover day. some folks will go to a nearby bike shop; most of us have laundry on the agenda. for sure hackberry’s for brunch, plus i have in mind a stop at an outfitter’s store. quite a few of us plan a riverboat sightseeing cruise at 1:30. who knows what else the day will bring.