Tandem blown into next county

The challenge is whether the lead on this blog should be the wind or the flat tire but really it was the wind that made the day a challenge. We knew we were headed out wherever we went to sustained winds of 15-25 mph and gusts up to 40 mph. But who could resist biking on a day with 70 degree temperatures and blue skies filled with white cumulus clouds that stretched on forever?

We drove down I-94 with many other people to St. Joseph and the Lake Wobegon Trail. St. Joe's is a college town in the middle of our great agriculture landscape. We headed straight into the wind telling ourselves "it's at our back coming home." The Wobegon trail, named after Garrison Keillor's mythical hometown, stretches through farmlands, passes lakes and allows the cyclist to cruise through little downtowns of small communities.

The first stop is Avon with a fully equipped trailhead including a tower for sightseeing and a bathroom. There are covered picnic tables. This central area hosts a farmers' market on Saturdays. Next weekend Garrison Keillor will host his anniversary show from this trailhead. Our chain popped off just before Avon but Will got that fixed in no time. We watched vultures trying to catch a thermal near a farm (in picture). One drifted almost eye level to us. We were probably looking like we'd drop at any moment.

Next stop is Albany with a striking red brick Catholic Church called the Church of Seven Dolors that includes a school and retirement home. Right next door is a golf course and across the street is the funeral home. The complete package for retirees. The big Kraft factory is in the middle of town. Bad news is there are no facilities although we hear the bowling alley located at the turn for Holdingford has nice bathrooms.

We ventured further on the trail (usually we turn for Holdingford) and beat our way against the wind to Freeport. What a pretty town! We ventured out on the street to see Church of the Sacred Heart. It has spectacular stain glass windows that you can only really see from inside because the outside has these thick storm windows.

The wind continued to blow fiercely in our faces so we turned at Freeport for home. It was going to be a 42 mile ride and we were putting alot of muscle into the first half. Remember there is no dropping down on handlebars on the Screamer. Just as we were coming back into Avon the back wheel wobbled. I said, "Something bad is happening..." Yes, something bad had happened - our FIRST flat tire on the trail. Fortunately we were within walking distance of the trailhead and Will skillfully fixed the flat and used all remaining energy to pump air into the tire from our tiny pump.

It was a great flower day - the Lake Wobegon trail really features prairie flowers. We saw banks of daisies, false sunflowers, yellow clover, and birds-foot trefoil. The wooded areas still had Canada anemonies and pink wild roses. We saw our first purple prairie clover and spreading dogbane. Also sighted: pennycress, buttercups, common milkweed, goat's beard. BUT the sighting of the day was two groupings (outside of Albany) of our state flower, the Showy Ladyslipper. This is a truly spectacular flower.

Not much remains on this stretch of the old railway except for some metal mileposts.

The ride back from Freeport was half the time as the ride back (excluding fixing flat times). I hoisted my long sleeve shirt over my head on the way back to see if it could act like a sail. Maybe it worked. Next weekend the Central Lakes State Trail.

Rush hour bike ride

Despite heat and humidity we conspired to leave work an hour early and head across town and then South to Welch for an evening ride on the Cannon River Trail. Traffic merging from three to two lanes caused bumper to bumper traffic to the 35E merge when we spun off to head South. The longest wait occurred two minutes from the parking lot at Welch where we had to wait for blacktop to be rolled on the road. It gave us time to sunscreen and for me to repack valuables into the bike bag. Still we didn't hit the trail until 5:45 pm.

For those riders like us who like the trail to ourselves, this is a prime time to bike especially during the week. Not only is the trail traffic light, but you also get to see more animals and hear the incredible cacophony of bird song.

You can try to sing this to the 12 days of Christmas, well maybe not...but here is our litany of animals: butterflies, cardinals, cat, chipmunk, three eaglets on the eagle nest calling for their parents, one hummingbird, kildeers on the pond shore, explosive grouse, groundhog, 26 (count them) rabbits, one green slimed turtle on the trail, a weasel and a vulture flying right in front of us at eye level. This doesn't even account for the flowers.

We continued at a good pace even though a tandem passed us (curse them) on the way to Cannon Falls. Just over 13 mph which is now a consistent pace for us. We were the last souls to leave Welch with darkness settling in and a crescent moon shining over the bluffs. The birds were still singing but otherwise it was quiet with the red glow of sunset lingering on the hills.

And yes, this is why we bike...

Beat the heat on the Gateway

We need to get in a few training rides during the week so despite temperatures in the 90s and a high dewpoint we headed out for our first ride on the Gateway Trail. This is an 18 mile rail-trail that begins in St. Paul and travels through a number of suburbs to end up at Pine Point Regional Park just a few miles from Stillwater. We start the trail about midway near Hwy 36 and I-694 so it's about a 20 mile round trip for us. The challenges can be heavy traffic - it's a commuting route and used by rollerbladers. We also have the cross roads several times but traffic is usually light. Remember - NO STOPPING! By the time we get on the trail (6:45 pm) it's quieted down.

Much of the end we bike on (traveling East toward Pine Point) is tree shaded with wetlands on either side so you can catch a glimpse of egrets settling in trees or hear the peepers. A horse path runs parallel to the bike trail. We share the trail through tunnels and over bridges so one has to steer around the manure. There are signs that indicate we're supposed to announce ourselves to the horses. I'm still not sure how that works. Tuesday night we had a deer cross the trail and we also spyed a wild turkey with her brood. You also ride through a farm; on previous rides we've had to stop for cows being herded from pasture to barn.

Like most of the rail trails the Gateway has a plethora of wildflowers. There are biffys along the trail and a nice bathroom at Pine Point. We encountered a group of girls going on a nature scavanger hunt when we took our break. They were all wearing tie dyed shirts and thought our screamer was "cool".

We kept to our pace despite the heat and felt pretty pleased with ourselves. Next opportunity is tomorrow night for another try.

Turkeys and Chipmunks and Snakes...oh my!!

After a week of hot, humid weather and frequent threat of storms we had a Saturday ripe for biking. No rain in the forecast. With Ingrid's graduation party that night we decided to stick closer to home and drove down to Welch - earlier than usual but after waffles. There were the rollerbladers who thought they were funny by telling me I only had to coast. It's the same as people who ask us if we wished our harpist daughter played the piccolo. Hey dude, I AM the stoker, the power pedaler, the water carrier. Dork.

Okay, got past that and road first to Red Wing making great time then back to Cannon Falls to Welch. We averaged 13 mph which is a good rate for us at this point in the season. It was hot so we drank plenty of water filling up our bottles at the NEW water fountain in Red Wing. Great improvement. We did see one other tandem coming out of Cannon Falls but they were moving and we were sitting on a bench. It was a regular road bike.

I almost forgot Molly, a young girl, riding with her family. As they approached us Molly decided to nonchalantly ride right in our direction. Her mother kept telling her to move over but it was her father's "Jesus, watch where you're going!" that saved the day.

It was a great day for almost hitting animals on the trail including two garter snakes slithering across (we happen to like snakes having raised a number of them including Baby, the yellow rat snake), scolding chipmunks and two good size wild turkeys who couldn't make a decision whether to climb the bank or go down to the river so instead stood on the trail until the last moment. We also got a good view of one of the parental eagles soaring over the trail. There was too much of a crowd at the eagle nest to stop and gawk at the young eagles.

The star of the wild flowers was the cow parsnip which stands in some places almost three feet tall. These have broad clusters of white flowers that seem to attract lots of bees. Beware of the wild parsnip which will do bad things to your skin (these are yellow). We also saw penny cress, red clover and birds-foot trefoil in addition to lots of flowers we didn't identify because of our great speed.

After the ride we changed shirts, me baring my midriff to the crowds and headed to Red Wing for lunch. We highly recommend Lily's where we had chicken curry and Thai chicken wraps, tall ice teas, and excellent service. You can also buy your greeting cards while you eat. They are a coffee shop too.

Met Uncle Jim at Ingie's graduation and we traded bike trail stories then went to my brother's to congratulate him on returning safe and sound from the Rocky Mountain bike tour. Just can't get enough of the bike.

Lake Wobegon trail

After the coldest start to June since the 1950s we finally had a warm, sunny Saturday. After waffles and ligonberries at Steamworks, we headed west to the Lake Wobegon Trail. The spring wildflowers were still in full bloom probably because of the cooler weather. We saw golden Alexanders, campions, wild geraniums, wild roses, Canadien Anenmones, Virginia Waterleaf. Two new flowers: Cow parsnips (our favorites) and Daisies. Keep in mind that there are lots of other flowers out there but we're tracking the ones we can identify.

I hopefully will also post a photo of one of the old telegraph poles from the original railroad line. You can see these between Bowlus and Holdingford. Not much wildlife besides birds but we heard peepers and saw an occasional chipmunk.

Our pace was great considering the headwind and uphill route to Albany. The ride back to Bowlus was mostly downhill and with the wind. We decided not to head for the dam but instead chatted with Louie, the resident caretaker of the trailhead, for a while and then ate lunch at Jordie's Trailside Cafe. I heartily recommend Jordie's for a great lunch with homebaked pie! It's located right behind the depot.

The screamer was well behaved today as were its riders. We drove the scenic route home through Little Falls and Pierz (where I got into the wrong car). It was great to be back riding. People were really friendly and chatty this weekend. Probably because it finally felt like summer had arived. We did hit showers near Mille Lacs but sunshine back home.