If you have kept up with this cycling blog over the years you know that I’ve been extremely lucky in terms of weather. Other than a day of showers along the Rhine in 2011, a frightening above tree line lightning storm on the Great Divide Trail in 2015, and a few days of blistering heat in Australia in 2014, I’ve been very lucky with really nice riding weather on all my tours.
That streak has held for the most part on this trip, with the exception of yesterday’s ride, which kept being interrupted with on and off thunder storms and really hard rain. And anyone who thinks Minnesota is always cold, has not been here in the summer! This Southerner has certainly been feeling some serious heat and humidity along this ride. But it’s all good…as long as you are prepared!
I was also able to finally meet some cross-county cyclists the evening I stayed with Alice, another great Warmshowers host near Royalton (this was the evening I strung-up my hammock in the barn and got the personal tour of the farm and equipment by Jase, Alice’s young neighbor and helper). Hank and Rick also had a North Carolina connection, given that they were former classmates at Wake Forest back in the late 70s! They had started cycling in Seattle several weeks ago and are making their way to the East Coast. And as intense as you might think my trips are (or crazy, depending on your perspective), these are the true, hard-core cycle tourists! It was quite inspiring to hear about the adventures they were having as they cross our great country by bike – especially when it’s while we are having breakfast in a converted corn silo!
I was also able to take advantage of my location to catch the Soo Line Trail from Royalton to Albany (it actually turns into a spur of the Lake Wobegon Trail at Holdingford), which allowed me to complete all of the Wobegon regional trail system, with the exception of the part south of Albany. Like most of the other rail trails in Minnesota, it’s straight and flat, which allowed me to rack-up lots of miles and thanks to my legs and lungs getting back into top form, increase my average speed per mile. In addition to traveling through more scenic Minnesota farm country, I was able to cross the Mississippi at the Blanchard Power House (the highest falls on the Mississippi) and see a really cool covered bridge in Holdingford.
Leaving the hot and sticky Soo Line/Wobegon ride ride behind, I made my way to Hinckley, MN, where I enjoyed another delightful evening chatting with Warmshowers hosts Wes and Betty, who have added a charming bunkhouse to the farm that has been in Betty’s family for generations. As with many of the folks I met, they also have a connection, given they they spend the winters in Newnan, Georgia (I should also mention that Alice winters where Hygie and I used to live in Daphne, Alabama).
Commercial Break for a Shameless Pitch for this Sport: Unless you force yourself out of the comfort zone of your car, hotel, etc. you will never have true human interactions that let you learn and experience the culture of a place. I have to do that on my bike. I have to routinely ask people questions, directions, advice, etc.; I get to meet Warmshowers (or Couchsurfing) hosts who live in and know a place in much more detail than any tourist guide; and I get to see a region at a much lower pace than I could ever do from an interstate highway. There. I feel better. Commercial over.
I woke to a rainy morning so after a filling breakfast, I avoided the rain by taking advantage of Hinckley museum and learned about the Hinckley Fire. I then moved up to Moose Lake and began riding south on the Willard Munger Trail. Most of this ride, however, kept getting interrupted by heavy downpours. Fortunately, most of the small towns along the trail have a park with a pavilion, where I could wait for the rain to slack off enough to not get soaked. I didn’t get as many miles in as I had hoped, but given that I had been riding every day for 10 days straight, I needed a low mile day anyway.
The day ended back in Moose Lake, with yet more fantastic Warmshowers hosts, but more about that and my ride along Lake Superior next time…
Practical Guides to Bicycle Touring 