Doing a "Dave"

Sometimes you're lucky enough to have a neighbor who is also a friend. Dave was that kind of guy. We got to know each other from walking to and from the bus every day. When Dave was critically ill in the hospital from a brain tumor, I went to visit and read him the top ten things i had learned from him. Dave didn't make it. But on Friday, September 18, we did a "Dave". Dave taught me that if you live in Minnesota and the weather is going to be exceptional then you forget everything else and go out and enjoy what you love best. For Dave it was golf; for us it is biking.

We made last minute reservations at a B&B in Rushford http://www.meadowsinn.com/ and drove South to bike the Root River Trail. The Rushford area was tragically hit by floods http://rushford.net/ but the town has amazingly come back in a very short time. We biked out of Rushford to just beyond Lanesboro and back. Despite the warm temperatures it sounded like fall. The dry leaves crunched under our ties and the unmistakable fall light lit the trees differently than just a few weeks before. Here and there was a tree turning to bright reds and golds and the sumac along the trail was bright red. Wildflowers are pretty much done except for a few false sunflowers here and there. The fields of soybeans were yellow and the corn was starting to lose its green.

Our first eagle sighting came from a shadow that flew over our heads. An adult was soaring right over the trail as it looked for fish in the Root. Later we scared an immature eagle that took off right next to us from the side of the trail. That was exciting.

The Root River trail is less busy on the Rushford end and way too busy in Lanesboro. It's one of the reasons we don't do this trail more often. Since it was a Friday, we were better off than usual. There were other tandems going the opposite direction from us - two were recumbents but not Screamers. There are no railroad relics except for depots on this trail but the Rushford has an interesting museum attached. The museum at Lanesboro was also worth the visit. We did this on our second day.

We made the fatal mistake of stopping at Whalen for pie on our way back. Apple pie a la mode was perfect but sat in my stomach all the way to Rushford. I suggest pie to go and eat it at the end of the ride.

The Meadows Inn is just outside of town slightly above the valley. Doug welcomed us and we met Marie later. She had just come back from Ireland. The next morning we sat and chatted on the patio after breakfast about Ireland and the Irish language with her. Vultures soared over head in the summer sun. I realized on this trip that I missed the small town life that I knew as a kid. There are certain qualities of familiarity and friendship that are harder to come by in the city. These bike rides and visits to small towns in Minnesota have been good for the soul.

Singing on the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail

This is a photo at the start of our 50 mile ride at Cannon Lake just outside of Faribault, MN. The winds were gusting up to 25 miles per hour but the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the flowers were still covering the countryside. It was the type of day that made one understand why they loved the Midwest (Easterner that I am), the skies that go on forever, the vivid colors of green from the corn and soybean crops and yellow from the goldenrod, cone flowers and woodland sunflowers. It moved me to start singing "America the Beautiful" at one point (to Will's dismay). The Sakatah trail goes from town to town so many of the cyclists we meet are community cyclists and not tourists like us. They're the ones that always say Hi and comment on the bike. "That's the way to ride," one kid yelled at us while another pronounced us "Awesome!". It's a feel good trail from the forest of the State Park and Sakatah Lake to the cornfields outside of Elysian. Put that to music. I was feeling one with the bike but Will complained that he was not with it. He had put a new chain on to hopefully remedy the miserable noise in the rear wheel. I was getting excited after 40 miles because all was quiet but kept my mouth shut not wanting to mention a shutout. Unfortunately about mile 41 it started again but not quite as fingernail across the chalkboard painful. There are a number of other fixits to do which involve replacing other parts. Other screamers out there will sympathize with us. We drove the Highway 13 home and went off road to discover Kilkenny right here in Minnesota. It has a bar which was hopping on Saturday night. We now move into our fall biking schedule - hard to believe Labor Day is just around the corner.

Three Trails in Three Days

We were in the middle of a rainy week complete with tornadoes when we decided to be "wild" and take off for a biking weekend. Will got out the map and figured if we stayed in Little Falls we could finish off the small section of the Central Lakes trail that we were rained out on over the 4th of July, get a short ride in on the Lake Wobegon Trail and spend most of Saturday on the Paul Bunyan trail. I managed to get reservations at the Waller House Inn for two nights http://www.wallerhouseinn.com/ Friday morning dawned with more rain but the weather radio said it was going to clear so we headed west by northwest to Bowlus. http://bowlusmn.com/ This has become one of our favorite trailheads on this particular trail. It has great facilities including a cafe in town, picnic area, and most importantly flushing toilets! We headed up to the Blanchard Dam first to view the river with all the rain from the previous week. The trail goes across the Mississippi immediately adjacent to the dam so you're looking down at the water spilling over the causeway. Cool stuff. Along the trail there are remnants of the telegraph poles, some still with insulators. We headed back to Bowlus and on to Holdingford. The flowers were amazing - predominantly yellow with golden Rod, false sunflowers, common mullein and woodland sunflowers. We also saw monarch butterflies. I had just heard on MPR that morning that the cool temperatures and dry summer had kept the numbers of monarchs down from previous summers. But we were pleasantly surprised to see quite a few. They are especially attracted to the Joe Pye weed and milkweed that were plentiful along the trail. Not much in the fauna department except for black squirrels, an occasional chipmunk, fighting goldfinches and an immature red tail hawk landing right next to us on the trail. Just a note that Bowlus is the hometown of the boxer Duane Bobick who went to the 1972 Olympics on the USA boxing team. We checked into the B&B and met one of our hosts, Raquel. We had the Sapphire Suite which was two rooms so we were able to spread out our gear and I had room to do yoga in the mornings. Raquel had suggested that we eat at the Black and White Restaurant which is run by two trained chiefs. The food was great and we treated ourselves to a bottle of wine. http://www.attheblacknwhite.com/ It was quite a surprise to find this quality restaurant in a small town. Saturday dawned sunny and cool. After a breakfast of baked blueberry pancakes we rolled ourselves into the car and on to Merrifield to start our ride. If the Lake Wobegon trail was the color yellow; the Paul Bunyan was purple. There was beebalm, thistle, Prairie Blazing Star, chicory, New England Asters blooming everywhere among the golden rod, black eyed susans, etc. Minnesotans were out in droves around Nisswa which is like a shopping mecca in the middle of nowhere. We road alongside lakes on the right, on the left...it was the fisherperson's paradise. Our goal was a 30-40 mile ride but we finished with 52. Not a bad accomplishment after the 33 the day before. Again we drove home, showered and headed bck to the Black and White for another great meal and a short walking tour of Little Falls. It's really a neat town, full of old houses, interesting churches and of course it is the hometown of Charles Lindbergh. Sunday morning was a later than usual breakfast - hashbrown quiche. Did I tell you I gained back all my weight loss in one weekend despite the exercise!! This was the day to finish off the Central Lakes Trail and our missing few miles from Evansville (named after a postman) to Ashby. We started out from Brandon and road uneventfully to Ashby which sits over a pair of lakes - Lake Christina and Pelican Lake. The road back was long as our legs started to feel tired and then to top it all we heard the ominous hissing in the front tire. Luckily we had a spare (fast learners) and as Will worked on changing the tire I watched a pair of egrets on a small lake and discovered two turtles basking in the sun. If we hadn't had the flat we would have missed them. Back in Brandon we loaded up the bike and headed home on the backroads to add a few more towns to our list. Have you been to Brooten or Regal or Eden Valley?

Back in the Saddle

After a long hiatus we finally got the bike out. House guests, our own non-bike travels, Irish Fair, and my sinus infection took way too much time from our summer. But today, despite high dewpoints, we threw the bike in the van and headed south to our favorite trail on the Cannon River. It was a wild flower day with 12 sightings of summer wildflowers: spotted knapweed, green headed coneflowers, grey headed coneflowers, Canada Goldenrod, Wild Bergamot (like beebalm), Joe-Pye Weed (not Joe Pa), Queen Ann Lace, Common Mullein, Purple Coneflowers, Tall Bellflower (my favorite with delicate blue-purple star flowers), Spotted Touch-me-not (best name), and Jewel weed. The green headed coneflowers which are tall yellow flowers covered wide areas of the trail. Despite the layoff we rode reasonably well and the nasty crank noise didn't start until 20 miles were covered. Is it the chain, the derailler (sp?) or both. HMMMM. Wildlife - chipmunks running across the trail in front of us, a hog nose snake along the side of the trail, ground squirrels, circling vultures and a young deer peering at us from the side as we rode toward it not deciding until the last moment that it should actually cross the trail. I told Will it would be a perfect day if we could see the wild turkeys and low and behold we did see them but from the car on the way to Red Wing - six turkeys strutting through someone's front lawn! People everywhere today including a woman who complemented me on my "punk" hair. Also the guy wearing the "Beat Michigan" shirt was a hit. The kids tubing down the river yelled up at us "cool tandem" as we waved majestically from above. A good Day.

It's all about speed

After work ride...strong legs....best pace of the season of 14.3 mph on the Gateway Trail. Passed the 400 mile mark for the season.

Neither rain, lightning nor broken bolt....

A 4th of July weekend to remember on the Central Lakes State Trail. If you want to see lakes this is the trail to ride. And then throw in pelicans, herons, egrets, night heron, cormorants, belted kingfishers and you're in Heaven. We started biking in Dalton, a very small town with alot of traffic for some reason, and rode out to Fergus Falls. This is the most scenic part of the trip with one lake after another - some just small glacial puddles while others stretch into bays with islands covered with birdlife. A fawn crossed our trail and alongside the trails were purple coneflowers, yellow clover, false sunflowers, daisies, etc. Unfortunately the trail stops abruptly in Fergus Falls and we didn't even see the town. There is a trailhead at Pebble Beach which we skipped. We rode back toward Dalton toward Ashby hoping to see Lake Christina and Pelican Lake. Despite the weather forecast of fair skies we were caught in a rain shower just outside of Ashby. No thunder or lightning so we waited under the branches of a tree for the shower to pass. The tree as umbrella worked well and we headed out again once the rain let up. Unfortunately the dark clouds started to fill in once we got to Pelican Lake. We smartly turned back and rode like the wind only to hear ominous thunder in the distance. To the South it looked clear but not right over us. We did pause to see a kestrel (small hawk) on the utility line along the road. Large raindrops turned to a heavy shower. We tried the tree trick again but the rain was getting serious as was the thunder. We were within five miles of Dalton. Rats. So off we went into the rain, thunder and lightning and the back spray coming into my face. By the time we got to the car (35 miles round trip) the gutters along the road were overflowing. Will threw the bike into the car; I covered the seats with our raincoats (which we had left in the car). We stripped off our shirts and at least had dry t-shirts on. Driving into Alexandria toward our B&B, The Cedar Rose Inn we noticed the roads turned dry just past Ashby. There was no rain anywhere but right above us. Waiting for us at the B&B was a decanter of sherry and a huge bathtub. We washed up, went out for dinner, and slept like logs.

July 4th was a perfect day. We had a full table at breakfast with folks from the cities in Alex to watch their kid play baseball and another couple from North Dakota on their way to the Twin Cities. We decided to bike out from Alex to Garfield and then back to Alex and on to Osakis for close to 50 miles. Halfway to Garfield we heard a crack. Will said those famous words, "that doesn't sound good" and I look down to see the support for his seat hanging loose. It looked like our ride was over. Will found some adhesive tape and managed to bandaid the support and we rode back to Alex. We remembered walking past Ace Hardware the night before and decided to ride a few more blocks to see if it was open. We drove down main street - not easy for us - and pulled up to find the store open. YIPPEE! The helpful clerk found Will the right size bolt; we screwed it in and off we went back to Garfield. Thank you Ace Hardware! In Garfield we met a 77 year old biker and his wife. He biked 77 miles on his 77th birthday. He looked like he could give most of us a run for our money. Very inspiring. From Garfield we turned around and headed to Osakis. The scenery on this end of the trail is not as inspiring as the Fergus end but we saw tons of wild flowers including a prairie lily, thistles, red clover and purple coneflowers. There were the occasional killdeer trying to lead us away into the corn fields, lots of goldfinches and one rabbit. We were looking for shade and frequently rode along the wrong side of the trail to get some cool breezes. We did travel past Oakis to see where this trail hooked up to the Lake Wobegon Trail. We almost have both trails complete - just missing small sections. Arriving back in Alex and went immediately to Dairy Queen and ordered large cold things to each and drunk.

That evening we headed back down to the Depot restaurant and sat outside on the patio looking over the trail and Lake Agnes. Pelicans and cormorants flew by, fish jumped, about 20 ducklings waddled by. We drank and ate and ended a great day together.

Notes on the trip: we saw a few remnants of the trains besides the rail left in Fergus Falls including a few crossing markers, mileposts and a water crossing post. Alexandria has a charming downtown but it was almost totally closed over the holiday. We'd like to see the Runestone museum on a return trip. The speedway in Alex operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day on Saturdays. It is very loud and kind of intrudes on early to bed people like ourselves. Alex is a very walkable town and has a number of interesting buildings which I have on Facebook. We ran into fun and gregarious people each morning at the B&B. Everyone sat around for more than an hour eating and talking.

Our zen moment with the screamer

Gray clouds all week but they broke briefly for our one bike ride before the Central Lakes trail. Traffic was uncharacteristically light going through St. Paul where we headed for a 20 mile ride on the Gateway trail. The temperatures were cool; I actually wore a hoody for most of the ride. There were way too many rollerbladers on the trail. Fortunately for us they were on the final leg of their trek and we were just starting out.

We were in the groove last night. More uphill going out means downhill coming back. It is so exhilarating when you're humming. I really felt one with the bike. It's amazing to me how you can shut out the world around you when you are focusing on one physical task. Last night I tuned into my pedal action; thinking at first about each stroke then moving eventually to just an automatic cadence. This doesn't happen with every ride.

But let me also complain about our bike. Will worked on the brakes today so we don't come into stops with the customary shriek. Nice. However, everything else on this bike makes noise. Maybe if two lightweights were riding it would be fine but with us the seats creak! Now we also have a noise in the back crank. Will thinks it just crap falling off the chain from the silicone spray he puts on the chain. Whatever, it drives me crazy. And drives him crazy because I complain about it all the time.

We were so focused on the ride that we hardly noticed wildlife. We did see an egret and were serenaded by frogs. You really have to be there to hear the different frogs calling back and forth. There were more horses than usual on the bridle path lending an aromatic smell to the woods.

We ended up the night at 299.9 miles for the season. Didn't think fast enough to go that extra .1 to round it off.

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.

Will vs fallen tree on Sakatah Trail

Excitement on the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail out of Faribault. First we encounter two Kildeer parental birds playing the broken wing dance in the middle of the bike trail. Will looks to the side and narrowly misses riding over the wee kildeers hopping along the trail. We get to go through this charade again on the return trip. Then the winds that kicked up from the Southwest knock over a good size tree across the trail outside of Elysian. Will takes on the tree by himself and breaks a path through the branches for the screamer (that would be the bike not me).



It's our first trip out from Faribault. We typically start at Shager Park on Cannon Lake to avoid the stoplights and traffic out of the trailhead. It was early for us 9:30 am and the gulls were lined up along the lakeshore single file looking for goodies. This trail goes through a number of small towns. Today we cruised through Warsaw, Morristown (celebrating Dam Days), Waterville to Elysian. You get to see people's backyards and gardens. The main attraction and the most scenic part of the trip is the Sakatah Lake State Park. One rides along the lake under a high canopy of trees. The trail is interrupted in Waterville so you get to ride through the town following very small trail signs. They have a great watertower by the way. Elysian is a pretty town. We recommend the ice cream store on the trail. Nana's Nook is worth a stop for gifts made from recycled plastic bags. I bought my knitting bag there last year. There is also the funky LeSueur County historical society museum in the old school building.



Vestiges of railroads: a few stone mile markers remain, a signal post outside of Waterville and rails in the road near Faribault.

Amenities: Full automated rest area at the trailhead in Faribault, Biffys at Morristown and Waterville and bathrooms in Elysian.

Wild flowers: Hillsides of purple Dames Rockets, white campion, wild roses, columbine, goat's beard, virignia waterleaf, wild geranium.

Wildlife: herons, egrets, cowbird, kildeer family, red tail hawk



Sad news: Starbucks in Faribault is closed.

Playing hooky

What is better than working a half day and then taking the sunny, warm Friday afternoon off for a bike ride? All seemed idyllic until Will picks me up at the U and says “do you hear a hissing sound?” Alas, our BMX front tire had sprung a leak! Fortunately we had a spare tube…for once our planning worked. We headed south to the Cannon Valley Trail AGAIN this time to do the complete trail in one ride. The parking lot at Welch was full of yellow school buses…our kid alarm went on. Fortunately they were loading up the Lakeville school to go back to school. Whew. Will did a quick tire change and merrily biked first to Red Wing, catching a glimpse of the adult parent at the eagles nest; the other was soaring above the nest. There was also the annoying woman who felt compelled to tell us every move of the eagles in the last several days including feeding on baby geese. I said the latter might help reduce the excess goose population. She didn’t appreciate that comment

It was another day full of wildflower sightings. We’re getting adept at identifying number of petals to the bloom, the shape of the leaves and the height of the plant. With those three pieces of information one can frequently identify the flower. Color helps of course. There is one yellow flower that covers the hillsides near Cannon Falls that we can’t find in our book. We did add Canada Anemones, Wood Anemones, and Yellow Sweet Clover.

One of the purposes of this blog is to document amenities of the trails. The Cannon Valley Trail goes from one town center to another with only the village of Welch in between. It’s never far to get to civilization. For bike riders it’s important to have bathroom facilities. There are plenty on this trail including both trailheads and Welch station. Biffys are also available at Spring Creek, near the trail to the Anderson Center (on the Red Wing end); at Trail Run Creek on the Cannon Falls end. Water is a problem though. Welch has a fountain. The fountain at the Cannon Falls depot has been broken for a while. We don’t ride to the Cannon Falls Trailhead but since it’s a city park I’m assuming there’s water available.

We did have some great wildlife sightings other than the eagle. Vultures were soaring low over the meadows near Cannon Falls. We sighted a hummingbird just outside of Welch – thought at first it was a butterfly. A three inch caterpillar fell on me from a tree (yuck) and a deer stood on the trail as we approached Welch on our last leg. It watched us for a long minute before running ahead of us down the trail and finally up the ridge.

It was dinner time by the time we finished the ride. We packed up and headed to Red Wing and the Staghead Restaurant. The service was vastly improved since the last time we ate there but the food was not. My salmon was supposed to come with red potatoes but instead they substituted plain white rice. The steamed vegetables were done nicely but some seasoning like herbs would have been a nice touch. Still the beer and cider were greatly appreciated and I tipped the guy playing kind of lounge organ.

Return to the Cannon Valley

Memorial Day with American flags decorating Victory Memorial Drive. We left at 9:00 am to return to do the second half of the Cannon Valley Trail from Welch to Red Wing and back. It's our tune up to doing the full trail next time. Remember we are geezers!

On the rails to trails it's an adventure to try and see vestiges of the old railroad. On this trail the concrete mile markers still exist include WX (water crossings). On the way to Red Wing from Welch you can see one old telegraph pole and overhead a telltale. The brakeman used to stand on top of the cars. When they felt the telltale sweep over them they knew to lay down before the bridge hit them.

One new wildflower sighting - a Golden Alexander. There is an eagle nesting just before milepost 14. It was on the nest when we cruised by. Swallow nests on the bridge. The swallows were flying over the Cannon River scooping up insects. We saw a dragon fly. No turtles on the pond. Sigh.

Great ride - sunshine and cool. Lots of people but mostly well behaved. The bike didn't have any hiccups. Remember - no coasting!

First ride of the season

It's Memorial Day weekend and the start of our third year on our Rans Screamer. It's tradition to have our first ride on the Cannon Valley Trail leaving from Welch Station. The bike is tuned and hopefully ready to go. At the end of last season we were stopping every few miles to adjust the chain. An early morning rain had cleared out to mostly blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. The parking lot was full when we pulled up so it was on to the overflow lot. Welch has bathroom facilities and water. Musts for a good start. Bought our annual passes for $20.00 each. This is well worth the cost; the trail is the best maintained in Minnesota. There were crowds of people including lots of families. The kids were attracted to our "cool" bike as usual. Why are the pedals way out there? We still had long stretches of trail to ourselves. The Cannon River is low for this time of year due to our dry spring. This is the best trail for wildflower viewing. We ride past woodland to meadows seeing Dame's Rockets, Columbine, Wild Geranium, Winter Cress, Virginia Waterleaf, and lots of dandelions. The stoker holds the wildflower book as we slowly pass the flowers. Heard an owl!