Flashback to 1972

Facebook reminded me today of when I posted a photo of Will, our friend Jersey and me heading on a bike journey from our home in Pennsylvania to Bev and Brent's wedding in Magog, Quebec.  This was 1972.  Cutoff shorts were the style for all three of us, no bike helmets, regular athletic shoes and old fashioned toe clips.   Our packs were heavy and we had to deal with broken spokes throughout the trip.

 I had a whistle around my neck that my mother gave me so I could fetch Will back if he got to far ahead of me.  We stayed in a cow pasture, a churchyard, a couple of campgrounds, and one motel after it rained and we had to ride through construction.  The last day of the trip was a century day for us through the ski hills of Quebec.  We arrived home, lean, tan  and ready for  a new challenge.  Sort of like today with PD.

Biking with Parkinsons

Will and I have probably hung up the tandem for good.  In January he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease or PD.  Because of a loss of strength in his right side it's difficult to maintain balance on the tandem.  We took a mighty big spill at Bowlus this summer with multiple bruises and scrapes. Over a series of months and a long wait for assembly, Will started to ride a new Scorpion Trike,  Unfortunately it came at the end of the season but nature gifted us with some warm November days so we've been able to bike together.  Today was the Cannon River Trail.  Why is this good for a PD patient?

It's exercise,
the activity focuses the mind so that bad thoughts
don't intrude,
and for the two of us it is a quality of life experience.

This blog will become more than writing about biking but
my observations on living with someone you love who has
Parkinson's disease.

Camera malfunctions causing delay post

Here I am sitting at home on a great biking day; it's called getting ready for a solo trip to visit Derin and Dan in Evanston.  But I am a week late in posting our last biking adventure due to camera malfunction so biking still becomes a part of the weekend.  The trusty Canon finally bit the dust and is replaced by a very small Sony. 
Heading out on a Sunday, September 12 because of schedule conflicts we drove out to Bowlus to bike to Albany and back on the northern extension of the Lake Wobegon trail.  On our way into town we braked for a mother pheasant and her trail of young.  Seemed late in the season for youngsters.   Ring-necked pheasants are a non-native bird introduced from China (what isn't).  They only have one brood per year and don't migrate.  The peasant hunting season is just around the corner in mid-October.  I am not a hunter and can't say that I have ever tasted pheasant.  In fact this is the first pheasant I've seen in the wild since we had one living in our neighborhood years ago.  You would hear its call fairly frequently in the morning and it liked to prowl under our bird feeders.

The outstanding part of this ride was the remarkable change over from summer to autumn.  We spent most of our bike rides this year riding in upper 80 degree temperatures and high humidity.  This was the first sunny but cool day we had all year.  The leaves crackled underneath our tires.  The sumac is turning red.  Grasshoppers were around but not a nuisance.  One nearly took me out by flying in between my helmet and my glasses. Nasty bugger.  We saw lots of squirrels foraging in the woods and the occasional butterfly.  No woolly bears yet.

July

The striking change of the corn from green to brown was noticeable in most of the fields.  Soybeans were turning the golden of a ripe field.  Flowers were few and far between except for asters and an occasional coneflower.  Most fields of flowers had turned to fields of seeds.  The one picture here is the same view from July and now in mid-September.

September

I also wanted to note that along this trail there are opportunities for play for families with kids.  Bowlus has a complete playground outside its depot with picnic areas (see photo on website above).  Holdingford features a wooden train that kids can crawl through from the caboose to the engine which has a bell to ring.  I tried to wait my turn to play but the kids wouldn't give it up for me.

The season is rapidly drawing to a close more because of hunting seasons than weather.  We hope to squeeze in a ride the first weekend in October or maybe I just need to play hooky? 

See a water tower; find a town

Outside of Avon

Fresh from seeing the walking play, Nature at the Arboretum we headed out to the Lake Wobegon Trail leaving from St. Joseph to Freeport.  It was a perfect (almost) summer day with sunny skies, winds from the South at 20-25 mph (gusts of 30 mph), and temperatures in the high 80s. The sides of the trail were covered with summer wildflowers.  We rode through clouds of dragon flies, grasshoppers and at one point a flock of tree swifts.  Just before Avon we spied three sand hill cranes who took flight as soon as I got off the bike to take a photo.  Hawks were soaring in the stiff breezes; we had a cooper hawk, eagle and vulture glide just feet above our bike.  As Thoreau said in the play Friday night, "I must draw my vigor from a wild source".  We were inspired and excited to be out on this awesome day.

The Lake Wobegon trail follows tracks that once went through each of the small towns.  The landmark of note is the distinctive water towers that are usually located at a high point in the town.  As we approach they are frequently the first thing we see.  Water towers serve a practical purpose.  Although you might think they hold all the water supply, they actually only hold a day's worth of water.  It's a back up for peak usage.  The water tower supplies pressure for all the homes in its vicinity.  We rode through four towns during this ride:  St. Joseph, Avon, Albany and Freeport.  Each has a unique water tower that stands over the community.

The color of wildflowers this time of year is yellow but along the Lake Wobegon trail we were treated with the occasional cluster of purple coneflowers which is in the aster family.  This are native, perennial plants and favor dry conditions especially along roads and ditches.  I can vouch for the fact that goldfinches love their seed heads.  I don't trim my coneflowers back in the fall; in winter our goldfinches who stay all year will pull seed from the heads.  It's my favorite flower. 

The journey back to St. Joe was a major effort.  The wind became more of a headwind because the Freeport to Albany trail bends to the Southeast.  We're a high profile vehicle so each gust was an obstacle to ride through.  I was definitely thinking about my feet by the time we got back to St. Joe's.  One hint:  I wear a neckerchief around my neck and keep it damp - cools one down. 

We ate at Kay's Kitchen in St. Joe's.  It's been a fixture in St. Josephs since 1972.   Kay's is just what you would expect for a small town cafe:  great service, lots of refills, and homemade pie!  The perfect end to a  great day of nature and riding. 

Can you meditate while biking?

After a weekend off due to the Irish Fair (Will) and Mindful Leadership Conference (Linda) we got back on the bike this Saturday.  The morning dawned in thick fog and an overcast sky.  This proved to be our salvation since the dew point was high.  Sun would have been fatal.

We haven't been to Cannon Falls for a while and hadn't ridden the entire trail yet this year.  The parking lot at Welch was packed so we headed to the overflow lot.  This seemed ominous:  were we going to encounter boatloads of people on the trail??  Then I thought back to what I learned at the Mindful Leadership Conference and focused instead on the happiness that I feel when we're biking.  Can I pass on that happiness to others we meet on the trail?  I decided to look happy on the bike (Smile), say hello or wave at people and not react to the occasional road hog. 

Last week was my first encounter with meditation.  Although I practice yoga, I have never tried meditation.  There were a number of opportunities to do this at the conference under the guidance of Mingur Rinpoche of the Tergar Community.   Rinpoche encouraged us to meditate anywhere:  at work, at home, on the bus, on an airplane.  So could someone meditate on a bike?  Being the second person on a tandem I am in a unique position of actually having some contemplation time available.  If you trust in the person as Captain; you have some opportunities to explore other avenues of contemplation on the back.  True, it is best to do this when you are on a lonely stretch of road or trail with not obstacles to deal with.  The stoker could rest their hands on their handlebars or thighs, close their eyes and focus internally.  I tried this and found it restful but the fact that you continue to pedal might not bring a very profound meditation.

There are definite zones that you feel while riding.  These are my definitions of my own experience and subject to argument.  They may also be unique to tandem riding since we exist in a partnership on the bike.  The stoker may be able to have more time to enjoy the zones than the captain.  First is the creative zone:  this is me thinking about what topic I can blog about on this particular ride.  I find this particularly satisfying although it can detract from the "seeing" part of your ride.  You are in the thought process ergo you don't see what's in front of you.  The second is the pondering/thinking zone.  This can be a positive or negative depending upon where your thoughts go.  If you are inspired and think of some brilliant way to resolve an issue at work it's good; if you are making a long list of items you need to get done it's bad.  My personal favorite is the speed zone:  you have climbed the final ridge out of the river valley going into Cannon Falls and you know that the way back to Welch will have some great downhills.  The exhilaration of the speed, wind and views makes you want to raise your hands in the air and yell some ancient Celtic battle cry.  The worst zone is fatigue:  you're hot, it's late, you've got a few miles to go to the end and you're only focusing on your feet telling them to pedal.  I know that when I'm thinking about my feet I'm ready for a break or the end of the ride.

The Cannon Valley Trail was in bloom with the last flowers of summer.  I'll focus on the Jewelweed for this blog. It's from the Touch-me-not family or Impatiens pallida.  It grows in shade and likes wet.  Along the Cannon Valley Trail there are literally walls of Jewelweed.  The name comes from water droplets on its leaves that look like tiny jewels.  Supposedly the juice from its stems can soothe the sting from poison ivy.  It attracts hummingbirds.  Although the prominent color of late summer flowers was yellow we did see some brilliant splashes of purple from the Rough Blazing Star (Aster).

We have encountered all kinds of wildlife on the Cannon but yesterday was quiet.  The chipmunks and squirrels were busy buzzing back and forth across the trail.  We scared up a bevy of cardinals near Red Wing and goldfinches were very active.  At Welch the boxelder bugs had hatched.  As Bill Holm once wrote about the boxelder bug :
"I want so little
For so little time,
A south window,
A wall to climb..."

Bikes and Bands

It's Sunday and we're finally home after a three day weekend both on and off the bike.  It was a good use for my second furlough day (Friday) to pack up and go South to Faribault and the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail.  We cleverly planned to night in a bed and breakfast in town in order to spend Saturday listening to the Vintage Band Music Festival in Northfield.
Friday was the perfect summer biking day - sunny, not too humid, warm but not too hot.  We started out along Cannon Lake just outside of Faribault (to avoid nasty intersections in town) and decided to just ride until we wanted to turn around.  The Singing Hills nomenclature is so appropriate for this trail.  It's not the birds singing that is so deafening; it's the cicada.  From my office at home I can hear a cicada singing in our backyard.  Multiply that intensity by what seems thousands and you can image the "singing" by a grand chorus of cicada on the trail.

On other posts I've always focused on nature along the trails we ride but there is a striking amount of commerce going on.  Not far from Cannon Lake we ride past the Humphrey Manlift Co.  This name brings all kinds of interesting images to mind but it's a technology that moves people or things from floor to floor when you have limited space.  We also pass a very fragrant turkey farm where fans exhaust the wonderful turkey smell out to the trail.  Rumor has it the turkey dung has more value than the turkey.  I'll pass on that.  In Waterville we pedal past the Whitewater Grain and Feed elevator and the See-A-Cake company.  See-A-Cake is a leading manufacturer of bakery packing products.  Further along the trail we ride past Laska's Mercury Outboard sales and services.  That would be outboard motors for your boat which are displayed in the Laska's front yard.  Alley Scoops in Elysian sells ice cream (and hotdogs) right along the trail.  The Bear's Den is a restaurant in Elysian made from logs; we've eaten there after a ride.  Pro Fabrication, right on the trail in Madison Lake, fabricates metal.  Dale's Marine in Madison Lake sells boats but also provides snowmobile service in the off season.  And finally there's Prange's Heating and Airconditioning in Madison Lake; you can guess what they offer.  It's not all farm fields and wildflowers out there on the prairie.  Actually Faribault is a hub of manufacturing that has attracted a very diverse community. 

Back to nature which is really why we ride.Yellow is the prominent color of wildflowers on the Sakatah trail.  Our flower of choice this trip is the Woodland Sunflower or Helianthus divaricatus, member of the Aster family.  We find it usually in the woods along the trail.  At this time of year it can get fairly tall.  I braved an onslaught of mosquitoes to get this photo.  We also were looking at a goldfinch at the top of a stand of spruce in Madison lake when we looked up and saw a Northern Harrier hawk.  It's black wingtips are quite striking and the key to identification.

So you are wondering how far we ended up riding?  Our turn around point was Madison Lake (Mankato we'll see you on another trip) but it was a 50 mile endeavor.  We refreshed at the Alley Scoop with root beer floats on the way back and showed up at the Historic Hutchinson House B&B in our sweaty glory at close to the promised time of 5:30 pm.  Tami  Schluter, formerly of Eden Prairie, showed us to Dr. Hasseley's Suite where we showered, ran off to eat and headed to our first vintage band concert by the Newberry's Victorian Cornet Band at the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault.  More bands and more music followed on Saturday and a second night but different room at the Hutchinson House.  In all the best of weekends, riding the bike, lots of music, two nights of hospitality at the Hutchinson House, a walk through historic Faribault and plenty of good food. 

Small Town Girl at Heart

Downtown Bowlus

I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where everyone knew they would probably leave for somewhere else.  All of my adult life has been spent in one city or another. But deep down in my heart I want to live in every small town we visit.  Our bike ride this weekend took us out to the northern extension of the Lake Wobegon trail http://lakewobegontrail.com/ from the Blanchard Dam blancharddam.html to just outside Albany.  Many of the towns in this area of the state were named for or by the railroad men.  Bowlus, our starting point, was named by railroad officers but no one remembers who Bowlus was.  It's a small town with the bike trail running across its main street.  A grain elevator stands next to the railroad/bike trail.  The town would have had freight and passengers coming through on a daily basis.  Now it's off the main highway but has created a comfortable stopping point for cyclists.  A major activity for the town in the 1920s was the building of the Blanchard dam across the Mississippi.  It's worth the effort to ride there.

Downtown Holdingford

Seven miles further down the trail is the town of Holdingford which was named in honor of its first permanent settler, Randolph Holding.  He settled in the area in 1868.  Yesterday we watched truckloads of hay drive through town.  Haying was going on in many of the fields we rode past.  As in Bowlus, a grain elevator sits empty next to what would have been the rails.  The trail cuts right across the main street in Holdingford but traffic doesn't stop for us like it would have for trains.

We had another day of spectacular skies and fields of wildflowers.  Joe-pye weed is in full bloom.  It has spectacular pink clusters of flowers and stands 2-10 feet in height.  This flower favors wet areas; we saw it blossoming among the cattails.  There were entire meadows of Joe-pye weed outside of Bowlus.  Last blog I wrote about the common mullein.  This is another giant flower that favors dry conditions and sun.  It blooms alongside of roads and bike trails. 

Chipmunks were overrunning the trail yesterday.  We spied a red tail hawk sweeping low over the trail probably hoping to snatch one up for lunch.  Will sees more animals than me and reports a frog and a small garter snake on the trail.  On the way  home driving down lonely route 32 we saw wild turkeys.

Drive west to the prairie...

Today is one of those perfect summer days which you wish you could pack up and open in the dark of February like a birthday pop up card.  It opens to let out the sun, the blue sky and the soft summer breeze.  We were lucky to have this perfect day for biking.  It was an adventure going back to one of our earliest trails that we biked on our tandem but that we haven't been back to for more than a year.  The Glacial Lakes State Trail http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/glacial_lakes/index.html starts in Hawick and goes south to Willmar.  The trail winds through farm country, dotted with series of small lakes created by the glaciers.  It's the end of July and the sides of this old Burlington Northern railroad bed are covered in wild flowers - yellows, pinks, purples from the giant mullein which can reach six feet in height (and we saw some that tall) to delicate birds-foot trefoil.  As we ride along we are constantly pointing to the next flower.  We discovered a new plant called the lead plant, a member of the pea family.  Tt has a cluster of blue or purple flowers and its leaf is divided into tiny leaflets.  According to my wildflower book, it can live for centuries but will never get more than 3 feet tall.  Its growing is in the root which can delve more than 10 feet into the ground.  Parts of the plant used to be made into tea.  Another of  the hundreds of flowers that were blooming is the common milkweed.  Did you know there are 13 varieties of this pink flowering plant in Minnesota?  It's important to us because it is the only plant that the Monarch butterfly uses to lay its eggs.

We had our share of wildlife sightings including a hawk, three deer (looking but not bolting), a heron, numerous rabbits and ground squirrels plus a toad.  We took one break and sat on a bench listening to the sounds of the trail:  wind rustling the leaves of the cottonwood, bird song, insect clicks and buzzes, and the solitary mow of a cow off in its pasture.

The 36 miles of trail wind through several communities.  Each is marked by a monument that carries its name and something unique about the town.  For Spicer it was Green lake and a picture of a sailboat. Life ebbs and flows in the small towns.  The grain elevator in Spicer is for sale but the junk yard outside New London seems to be busy. We did see the original telegraph poles still standing along the trail outside of Hawick.  It takes some imagination to think of the trains once passing through all these places we are now biking. 

Detours on the Gateway

Today was my first of five voluntary furlough days at the U of Minnesota.  I remembered to turn off my alarm and sleep until 7:30 am!  Crawled out and did my morning yoga routine (thank you Kitty) and drank my first cup of coffee in the backyard while I watched our backyard critters.  One of two chipmunks is featured in this blog.  Will finally woke up and we packed up the bike first heading for excellent lingonberry waffles at http://www.steamworkscoffee.com/ where owners Jeff and Kristine remember your drinks and bring them to your table.  We leisurely read the paper and eventually got on the road for the Gateway Trail in St. Paul.  http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/gateway/index.html  This is a heavily used commuter trail that passes through woodland, prairie and bogs.  In the spring you are serenaded by the peepers.  There is a parallel horse path for part of the trail. Today we encountered quite a few horses.  We were surprised when we hit a "Trail Closed" sign about 40 minutes into the ride.  We followed some other cyclists off to the horse path, then on to a road, across County Road 15 and down a gravel path for a short stretch.  Not the best surface for the tandem or its riders.  A new bridge is being built over County Road 15. This will make the trail safer and easier for riders.  Later (at the Dairy Queen) we discovered that a second bike trail bridge was being built over Century Avenue.  We never go that far west because of the difficulty in maneuvering across the street on our bike.  Great improvements; thanks to the DNR and the citizens of Minnesota that support and fund bike trails.  We are usually on this trail in early evening when we can fit a two hour ride in after work so it was revealing to see it in the light of day.  Butterflies were everywhere; splashes of colorful wildflowers lit up the sides of the trail.  We saw the orange of butterfly weed, the yellows of woodland sunflowers, grayheaded cone flowers, birds foot trefoil and butter and eggs, the pinks of spotted knapweed and wild bergamot, whites of prairie clover and sweet clover.  And the absolute best:  the rare find of a cluster of Turk's Cap Lily which we saw only once before on the Lake Wobegone trail.  That was more exciting than the deer running in front of us.  I've come to realize that being out in the country on our bike is important for my soul.   Not sure why it was so hard to get started this year.  Valuable happiness time lost.

We're back on the bike!!

Most cyclists smile at us as we pass on the bike trail. It’s not clear if it’s the bike they’re smiling at or the sight of Will and me pedaling down the trail. It certainly isn’t our good looks although we always wear matching bike shirts. And on that topic we have yet to find a sensational recumbent jersey. I’m still relegated to putting essentials into back pockets when I really need front pockets. There’s a market out here if only someone will rise to the creative occasion.

It’s hard to confess that mid-way through the summer was our first ride. Blame it on vacations, people visiting us, weather, heavy gardening, too much work, etc., etc. Whatever the obstacles we finally burst out the other end and headed to our traditional first ride: The Cannon Valley Trail http://www.cannonvalleytrail.com/ . We actually left the house by 8:30 a.m., then an hour and hot chocolate and soy vanilla latte later we arrived at the Cannon Falls trailhead. Actually my map reading skills were defective so we drove around Cannon Falls for a while before we found the trailhead. Typically we start at Welch and never go all the way into the town of Cannon Falls. Two issues with starting from town: a U-turn onto the bike trail from the parking lot which is impossible for us to complete and a hill coming back into town. Remember: hills are not our friends.
Clogging up the bike trail was an inordinate number of people on roller skies (or whatever you call them). These are insidious athletes who poke their ski poles into your bike lane. The response is to move your bike as close to center as possible and play chicken with them. Big bike vs. young girl in teeny shorts and sports bra; result – ugly. Our early start tactic to ward off the high dew point was shared by too many people
The Cannon Valley Trail moves from woods to prairie to bog so the quantity and type of wildflowers are amazing. Just a few we saw (not everything) were harebells, purple prairie clover, cow parsnip, Goat’s Beard, Gray headed coneflowers, and wild bergamot. Despite the high traffic we had a pudgy raccoon cross our path headed for the river and off on one side trail saw a mother turkey herding her five poults (young). Several hawks circled over head but not close enough to identify.
At the Welch rest area we were treated to polka music from Ray Sands of the Polka Dots http://raysandsandthepolkadots.com/about_the_band.html . He’s been in the business over 60 years! Grandpa’s Garage in Cannon Falls donated free sugar cookies topped with pecans. We met a couple riding Ran single recumbents and had a chat about the advantages of recumbent bikes and why we like a tandem and they didn’t. They were about our age so it was interesting to get their perspective which really centered on our comfy seats.

Leaving Welch to return to Cannon Falls I was leafing through the wild flower book when our new friends passed us. The Mrs. single recumbent pulled alongside of me to comment on how I was “reading” when she drove a young kid off the trail. When her husband came up alongside of us he commented that he’d try not to replicate her effort.

It was very satisfying to get to pass them eventually since we pedal, never coast, and actually were keeping an even pace. I didn’t thrust my arms up in celebration.
We stopped outside of Cannon Falls to take a photo of the falls and a swan plus cygnets alongside the trail. The single recumbents rode past but Mrs. couldn’t keep momentum going up the hill and fell over. Will looked at me and asked if we should walk it and I said “never”. Off we went creaking up the hill at about two MPH. Success!! We got the pass our new friends again while they patched up the Mrs. Our second attempt to make the U-turn into the parking lot missed again however.
After the ride we strolled through Cannon Falls. The hardware store was closed for Megan’s wedding: congrats to Megan. The Cannon River Winery http://www.cannonriverwinery.com/ was humming. You could get a massage or tan on the main street. We ate at the Old Market Deli http://www.theoldmarketdeli.com/ – food was great but the service was slow and odd. We helped an older couple clear the table and another couple found them silverware. Neighbors helping neighbors.
Hopefully we’ll be out again on my furlough day this week. Keep on biking!

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.