Day 12 - Fergus Falls to Fargo

Please visit:  https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

The last leg of the trip! 626 miles!

Route

Fergus Falls, MN to Fargo, ND - 60 miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  63 to 81
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable, right crosswind becoming a headwind

Significant Events

Finished the ride!

Today's Songs

"I Shot the Sheriff" as performed by Clapton

"Bedbugs and Ballyhoo" by Echo and the Bunnymen

Wildlife Observed

Red-winged blackbirds
Barn swallows

Today's Ride

Last day and another early start. The temperature was forecast to be in the mid-80s in the afternoon and we wanted to beat that.

Today's entire ride was on roads, all of it paved, except for about 2 miles of compacted gravel and dirt right at the beginning.  One section was even freshly paved and not even open yet for traffic but the construction guys let us through. 6 miles of virgin road, with no traffic, no joints, and no potholes. We made pretty good time on that section of road.

Tour de France
contender

We stopped in Barnesville for a rest stop and had a BLT and some coffee.  We cruised back up the road and stopped in Sabin for another break. The general store in Sabin had, in addition to mini-bikes, hardware, and food, a selection of over 550 different types of soda. They had a very impressive collection of several types of root beer, ginger beer, sarsaparilla, etc.  Most noteworthy were the peanut butter and jelly soda and the bacon soda.

550 different sodas

Peanut butter & jelly

Bacon

We stopped by the Great Northern Bicycle Company to coordinate shipping the bikes back.  It's a very nice bike shop with a knowledgeable and friendly staff.  After dropping the bikes of, we went out for some well deserved steaks at a place called Maxwells.

Welcome to Fargo!

Day 11 - Alexandria to Fergus Falls

Please visit:  https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Alexandria, MN to Fergus Falls, MN - 51 miles
For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  61 to 74
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable

Significant Events

Crossed the Laurentian (Northern) Continental Divide

Today's Songs

"Crawling From the Wreckage" by Dave Edmunds

Wildlife Observed

Chipmunks
Deer (none with a deathwish!)
Red-winged blackbirds
Turtles
Pelicans
Yellow headed blackbird (warbler)

Today's Ride

A longer (medium length) day so we got a pretty early start, about 6:45 am.  As we got back on the Central Lakes Trail, we ran into "Big Ole", a very large Viking statue. It is believed that Norsemen visited the area back in the 1300s.  Big Ole was actually built for the New York World's Fair back in 1964.  He was brought back here and prominently displayed ever since.

"Big Ole"

The Central Lakes Trail is a very nice trail.  We were kind of amazed that this wide, well paved, and long trail is free for public use, while the trails in Wisconsin carry a daily usage charge. The Wisconsin trails are great trails and were some of the earliest in the rails to trails program.  I guess it is a difference in the way states and localities fund stuff like this.

With all of the lakes and ponds we passed, we saw numerous waterfowl. Most significantly (to us anyway) was the sighting of a number of American White Pelicans.  Ileana quickly identified these; I thought they were storks. Turns out storks aren't seen around here at all...

Grotto Lake (Fergus Falls)
with tree full of birds

Fergus Falls has a pretty nice downtown area.  It is a historic town and had a lot of Norwegian ancestry.  Apparently a lot of Union civil war soldiers settled here as well.

Norwegian Rosemaling display

Rosemaling

Rosemaling description

Most of today's route was surrounded by thousands of acres of corn.  I had no idea that this much corn was grown in Minnesota.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Hoy no hay centavos

Day 10 - Sauk Centre to Alexandria

Please visit:  https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Sauk Centre, MN to Alexandria, MN - 28 miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  High overcast
Temperature:  64 to 74
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable

Significant Events

Saw two Honda Z600's

Saw a real classic, a Geo Metro

Today's Songs

"Stick Around for Rock and Roll" by The Outlaws

Wildlife Observed

One chipmunk
Deer (a large doe that literally almost knocked Ileana off of her bike)
Red-winged blackbirds
One crow

Today's Ride

Since we had a short ride ahead of us today, the Brit in me decided to have a "lie-in".  For me, that means to sleep in until about 6am...  

Sauk River

Sinclair Lewis home

Nevertheless, we did sleep in, ate a good breakfast at the Palmer Hotel, and hit the trail around 9am.

We continued on the Lake Wobegon Trail, still not encountering the famous Lake Wobegon.  We rode it to the end in Osakis, MN, where it joined the Central Lakes Trail.  This is another really nice trail on a former rail line and it passes through many small towns.  Osakis was but one of these towns.

Local family car

"Osakis - Small Town, USA"

Although I have done some flying over Minnesota and seen the multitude of lakes from the air, cycling past them has really shown me why Minnesota is called the land of 10,000 lakes.  We passed them constantly and they all looked beautiful.

I stopped to take a picture of Lake Osakis and Ileana rode on ahead. As I was about to catch up to her, a large doe bounded out from the left side of the trail and almost knocked her off of her bike! A near-miss!  Ileana took this all in stride and didn't even miss a beat.  I don't think she slowed her cadence or swerved one bit.  It was probably a good thing for the deer that it missed her...

Lake Osakis panorama

We made it to Alexandria pretty early which allowed us time to explore the downtown area. A pretty nice town, looks like a typical small town.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Last night we stayed at an amazing hotel called Palmer House. It's a historic and beautiful building.  Also, it's haunted!  In the lobby there are many stories (in 2 files) of people that have stayed there and experienced paranormal activity! Moreover, it was featured on "ghost adventures" for several episodes!  (Which right there confirmed the validity of the stories!).

So, I went to bed and I told myself that there is nothing  to be afraid of becuase that stuff is not real.

Well, around midnight I woke up becuase I felt the bed was moving!  I told myself just go back to sleep and I closed my eyes and I felt the bed moving again!  I'm not making this up! It felt real! The power of sugestion is so powerful! I'm  glad we did not spend another night there, just in case!

Day 9 - Clearwater to Sauk Centre, MN

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Clearwater, MN to Sauk Centre, MN - 57 miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Partly cloudy
Temperature:  54 to 79
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable, mostly from the front, gusts up to 10 mph

Significant Events

Hit 6000 miles on the Trek 720

6000 and counting!

Today's Songs

"Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh

"Eminence Front" by The Who

Wildlife Observed

Red-winged blackbirds

Today's Ride

Got an early start on a nice cool clear morning to try beat the afternoon heat and wind.

We were on roads for the first several miles, still following the Mississippi River Trail (MRT).   At St. Joseph, we joined the Lake Wobegon Trail.  This is a nice paved trail that follows an old  Burlington Northern (formerly Great Northern) railway line.  It runs through several small scenic towns and give you a good look at "Small Town, USA". Try as I might, I couldn't actually find Lake Wobegon. I was really hoping to see it.

Mississippi River Trail

Lake Wobegon Trail

We stopped in Freeport for lunch and ate at Charlie's Cafe.  Highly recommended. If you are in this area and need some chow, go to Charlie's. You will not be disappointed. The food was excellent and plentiful. The desserts looked wonderful but the meal was so large we had no room left for dessert.

Old fire engine in Freeport

We got to Sauk Centre pretty early, beating the afternoon heat and wind. Sauk Centre is the home of Sinclair Lewis. It is an interesting, historic town. We checked into the Palmer Hotel, established 1901. It was the first place to have electricity in the town. Apparently it is also haunted. There have been several ghost sightings here and there are occasional séances and other paranormal events here. I hope we sleep OK.  Who knows, maybe we'll see a ghost!

We went for a walk about town before dinner and saw Sinclair's childhood home. Pretty nice house. He is pretty popular around here...

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Yesterday's ride was semi-brutal!  I'm comparing it to the one from Saturday which takes the Brutal title with no doubt!

However, yesterday the wind was so bad that it felt like a giant hand was placed on my forehead to keep me in the same spot spinning my wheels but not going anywhere!  That feeling reminds me of the old cartoons like Tom and Jerry.

I mean the wind was so bad that we HAD to pedal on the way down or like Nolan kept saying "we may go backwards on the hills!'

Ileana's view of headwinds

Nolan's view of headwinds

Day 8 - Minneapolis to Clearwater

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Minneapolis to Clearwater, MN - 54miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Overcast to broken
Temperature:  62 - 84
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  Scattered thunderstorms
Wind:  Headwind to left quartering headwind; 20 - 35 knots

Significant Events

Rode in a constant headwind

Today's Song

"20th Century Man" by The Kinks
"Lovesick Blues" as performed by Arlo Guthrie

Wildlife Observed

From Saturday: Snake tentatively identified as a Western Fox Snake (python)

No significant animals were seem today. Dead or alive!

Today's Ride

Sunday was a nice relaxing day in Minneapolis. Our hotel suite was on the top floor and had spectacular views of the city.

Minneapolis is a pretty nice city, and the Mississippi runs right through it.

The "Lars Anderson Suite"

View to the north

View to the southwest at dusk

Today, we tried to get an early start again. However there was a very large storm system moving eastward across the state. We decided to wait for it to pass and finally got on the road around 10am.

Minneapolis has a nice layout of bike trails and bike lanes and we took full advantage of them. A lot of the streets are one-way but we found it easy to navigate. The drivers seem to be accustomed to bicycles.  It's not always like that in Virginia!

The scenery that we had grown accustomed to in Wisconsin and along the Mississippi River into MSP was no longer with us.

The route was relatively flat but we were riding into a constant 20 - 30 knot headwind.  There were fast moving thunderstorms around but fortunately our paths didn't cross.

A nearby thunderstorm

The Mississippi River Trail (MRT) follows the river pretty closely. However, you don't normally see the river, it is usually 1/4 mile away or more. I thought it sounded good following the river, but if you didn't know the river was nearby you wouldn't know the river was nearby...

We made it to Clearwater OK, but tired and hungry. Tomorrow's forecast is good. I hope it holds!

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Saturday was a cruel and VERY long day.  I thought the word "BRUTAL" summed up the day pretty well.  After some rest and a WONDERFUL massage, I feel that I can explain what make the day so brutal.

Well, the events that contributed to an already tough 74-mile day to be worse started as follows. Actually, it started the night  before.  Nolan and I were enjoing the wonderful dessert (best pecan pie ever!) that he posted a picture of and the owner of the place asked Nolan and I if we had "ear plugs".

Naturally, we asked why? He stated that the train was very loud at night and we probably would not be able to sleep.  We assured him that "we are so tired, that the train will not bother us.". We proceeded to devour the pie.

Unfortunately, he was RIGHT!  We did not have a good night sleep!  Stockholm is right on a road crossing, so every single train (and there were many) blew its whistle! It was like it was in the bedroom with us (I kid you not!)

Then, of course we were up before 5am (because of a train) and planned to leave by 6am.  However, there was a very powerful storm coming our way.  We decided to wait (it was l so bad that the power AND water went out in the town!) and this put us leaving at a later time which is the hottest part of the day!

Followed by hill after hill and pretty challenging (for me of course, becuase Nolan claimed that he "didn't even sweat"!) and to make it even worse it was very windy! Needless to say that the windy conditions made the ride go much more slowly  (again only for me becuase Nolan didn't even notice that it was windy!) It was a very tough day.

Para los que hablan Español: el sabado cuando yo puse la  palabra "Brutal". No quise decir que fue brutal por que fue una experiencia facil y rica. Al contrario, es el dia mas largo y cruel hasta el momento!

Day 7 - Chillin' out in Minneapolis

No blog Sunday. We found a Westinghouse and we're just "westing"....

Day 6 - Stockholm to Minneapolis

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Stockholm, WI to Minneapolis, MN - 74 miles

For details of the route, please click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Overcast early, partly cloudy later
Temperature:  59 to 78
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None in the same location as us!
Wind:  Pretty constant headwind variable to left quartering headwind; at times estimated at 20 - 25 knots
Comments: Thunderstorms passed ahead of us and behind us.

Significant Events

• Passed the halfway point for the trip!
• Crossed into Minnesota
• Crossed the Mississippi 3 times
• The longest day - 74 miles!

Today’s Song(s)

"Hay Que Empezar Otra Vez" by Celia Cruz

"Country Road" by James Taylor

Wildlife Observed

Bald Eagle
Raccoon (dead)
Snake

Today’s Ride

Although posted on Sunday, the ride was Saturday.

We woke up early and got our stuff around but mother nature would have nothing of it! A massive storm system, extending from south of Stockholm to north of Minneapolis, was about to hit us. We decided to wait it out since it contained numerous embedded thunderstorms.

The storms cleared around 9am and we hit the road headed north. Well, the first 8 miles or so of today's ride were some of the most beautiful and scenic we have seen. Numerous views of Lake Pepin on our left, with bluffs on the right, and a few small towns.  Lake Pepin is a naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi.  We passed the mid-point of the trip fairly early on while still next to the lake.

Lake Pepin panoramic

After about the 10 mile point or so, the scenery became less spectacular. However, the lack of scenery was more than made up for by steep climbs and wind. Two of the more "moderate" climbs were approximately 3 to 4 miles in length, with an elevation gain of about 300 to 350 feet. The doozy was 2-1/2 miles long with a 450 foot rise. That's about an average 3.5% grade. A couple of the sub-sections of that hill were even steeper. All with a headwind. Thank goodness for 21 inch gearing!  Of course, on the other side of the ascent is usually a pretty nice descent!  With the headwind, however, the descents were even slowed!

Speaking of hills, I was tempted to start a discussion on Hillary. I decided not to...

We lunched in Prescott, WI and crossed the St. Croix river to enter Minnesota. With the largest climbs behind us, we rode the "rolling hills" and crossed the Mississippi three times on the way into St. Paul.  We decided to ride through the twin cities and check them out. There is a pretty nice and comprehensive system of on-road bike lanes and dedicated bike paths in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and we took full advantage of them.

Minnesota state line

Fellow bike trail user

We finally made it to the hotel a few hours after I had hoped, tired, but still in one piece!  Nothing a cold beer (or glass of Merlot) couldn't fix!

Dedicated bike route across Mississippi

Minneapolis from the hotel room

Now for a day of rest and sightseeing in Minneapolis.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Brutal!!!  I have nothing more to say!

Day 5 - Trempealeau to Stockholm

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Trempealeau to Stockholm - 59 miles

For details of Part 1 of the route, click here.

For details of Part 2 of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  62 to 77
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable, mostly a left crosswind

Significant Events

Had some delicious apple pie and pecan pie "a la mode" at the Stockholm Pie Company.

Dessert!

Today's Song

"Running Down the Road" by Arlo Guthrie

"Take Me Down to the Pocomoke City" (adaptation of "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses)

Wildlife Observed

Bald Eagle
Deer
Rabbits
Beaver
Turtles
Numerous Red-Winged Blackbirds
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Numerous American Goldfinch
3 chickens

NOTE: Bird IDs made possible by Jeremy and "Merlin" by TheCornellLab.

Today's Ride

Another early start. Today's route started on the Great River State Park Trail, which is a dedicated trail.  About 10 or 15 miles into the ride, we joined the Mississippi River Trail, which runs the length of the Mississippi. The MRT was entirely on roads today, which was fine. The roads have 4' - 6' shoulders and the drivers are cool. They generally give you a wide berth whenever possible.

The wind was light, the temperature was nice, and the road was smooth. We were able to make pretty good time today.  Dedicated cinder trails are nice but it is also nice to ride on a smooth surface!

Riding northbound on the MRT is very scenic. There are a number of small towns full of character. We stopped in Alma for lunch and ate at a pretty old place.  We made a rest stop in Pepin which is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The whole route is steeped in history.  Not only that but the views of the river and the bluffs on both sides of the river (Minnesota on the other side) are stunning.

Pepin, WI

Lake Pepin panoramic

Barge on the Mississippi

We arrived in historic Stockholm, Wisconsin, around 2:30 pm. I did a little cleanup on the bikes, we took showers and chilled for a few minutes before venturing "downtown".  Fortunately we didn't wait too late because Stockholm, population 66, closes at 5.  Beautiful town though, and the weather is beautiful. We are sitting on our private deck drinking a local hard cider and watching the streets where people would be walking by were there people here.

Stockholm Garage

Hard cider and cribbage (no board)

Now to teach Ileana how to play cribbage...

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Today was an eventful day.  Great weather for riding!  However, I do not like hills at all. Hills make me cranky and I do not like to talk while I'm climbing one (or trying to climb one).  On the other hand, Nolan loves hills and he becomes talkative when we are climbing a hill!

For instance, this morning while we were riding the most challenging hill, he started to talk about POLITICS!  Politics?  Really?  So, I gave him "the look" and he laughed and stopped talking politics.  We went down the hill and of course I go faster than he does (becuase going down hill is my favorite thing to do:)).  We go to the next hill (there is ALWAYS another hill!)  and Nolan goes "I can go faster than you up hill" and took off!  I'm watching him going up (I think he thought for some reason I will be competing with him going UP hill?). The only thing I can think at that moment was "you go tiger, show that hill who's boss!"

So I put my gear on easy and took my time going up!