Biking Dude Blog

This was the view just inside tunnel 1 on the Elroy Sparta trail. The trail was built on an old railroad path that went through three tunnels with a combined length of 1.36 miles. The rain from the previous night combined with the heat made the air around the tunnels hazy with fog. Bikes are walked through these tunnels, and the cool air was a welcome relief. Approaching the second tunnel, I was actual able to smell the tunnel air before I rounded the bend and saw the tunnel entrance. In the third and longest tunnel, I just stopped in the middle, turned off my light and listened to the water drip in the dark of the tunnel. Greg, thanks for the tip on taking this trail, it was really, really cool.

I finally got to la Crosse Saturday afternoon, after a grueling day of riding limestone trails in the heat and humidity. I had a beer at pearl street brewery before meeting up with Olena, my host in la Crosse. I met Mike, Toni, and Dan/Doug (it was hard to hear) there, and talked about my trip a little. Hi guys, thanks for offering to help me find a place to spend the night! Olena was my wonderful host, we talked about traveling and the sights we have seen. Thanks for hosting Olena, I hope we meet again someday!

I woke up early this morning to the sound of a surprise thunderstorm rolling in. I delayed my departure for a while, leaving around 8am. The first 30 miles were on a dirt trail, and it was still raining, though the thunder had abated. My rain great performed admirably, but I still got lots of dirt in me and my bike. I also had my hardest down tree yet, I had to carry my bike sideways under a tree trunk. Once I got off the trail, I took 30 minutes to clean of my bike and dry my raincoat (the rain had passed by then). The next sixty miles were easy by comparison. Paved roads with generous shoulders, a slight tailwind, and cool, sunny weather. I crossed the Mississippi at Nelson/Wabasha, and continued on to my hosts Martha, Brad, Emily, and Willa, who live on a farm just west of frontenac. There was a really good climb up a dirt road to get to their house, which was actually pretty fun after the flat (but fast!) terrain along the river. The picture is from reeds landing. I saw a barge going up the river, a pretty cool sight. Now I'm all caught up on my posts, whew.

I traveled about 82 miles today.
I realized that I never sent a post from my bike ride into the twin cities last Monday, so here is my delayed update. I had another morning rain storm as I was getting ready to leave, so I didn't get going until a little later. Pretty easy ride, just following the MRT into st Paul. I stopped at the great water brewing company for a bit while I waited to meet up with my parents. Great waters is pretty unique in that it does cask conditioned ale and is CAMRA certified. For those that aren't familiar, I'll just say that they make some very fine English ales. Met up with parents mid afternoon, and we rode together for 20 miles to my house in Richfield. Then it was a lengthy dance of driving my car back to st Paul to pick up my parents car, driving back to my house, loading up our bikes and gear in my parents car, and driving that back to my parents house in EP. Then, I sat on the couch for a week. Nice rest, but it's good to be back on the road.

I traveled about 62 miles today.
Just crawled in my bivy sack to escape the bugs. There was a church event in the commons outside the library, so I ate dinner there. The event was songs and testimonials presented by Minnesota adult and teen challenge , which is a faith based program for people suffering from addiction. There were some really powerful stories shared by people from all walks of life. I donated some of the money I had on me, as these folks are on a much more difficult journey than I. I did a bit of research on the group, it seems like a very good and transparent charity. Had a shower at the campground before turning in. Looking forward to my ride tomorrow. It will mostly be along 7, which had faster traffic but nice, wide shoulders. Glad the weather cleared up, it's a nice night for camping

I traveled about 78.3 miles today.
This is Mark and Celeste, my warm showers hosts today. By some crazy coincidence, I already knew their son, Mike, from working at Many Point Scout Camp. I had recognized the surname, but thought it was just a coincidence. What's are the odds? Got an early start this morning, but highway 7 did not have the wide shoulders promised by the Minnesota DOT bicycle map. I'm still pretty upset about that, as a misleading map is worse than no map at all. I ended up rerouting north to take some less busy roads to Montevideo, which added about ten miles. Not a big deal, but I would have been SOL without my phone or cell service. Going to watertown tomorrow. I pretty much have to take 212 all the way in, there are no good alternate routes as almost all parallel roads are unpaved. Oh well, I'm not the first to go this way, and I won't be the last.

Crossed over into south Dakota today. Rode about seventy miles from Montevideo to Watertown along 212. Pretty good ride, there were a few places where the shoulder was a little tight, but nothing terrible. Strong wind out of the south today, made it difficult when the road turned south for a few miles. Planning on some longer rides the next few days, but forecast is strong winds from the west, so that may have to change. Stopped at the library when I got to Watertown, and they're showing the mighty ducks this afternoon, so I'm watching that now. Probably head over to the brewery later before getting dinner and finding a place to camp.

I traveled about 79.3 miles today.
Went over to the Watertown brewery after mighty ducks ended, a little after 4. I meet Scott and Marcus there, and talked about my trip a little and shared some pictures. Really cool guys, they were kind enough to pick up my tab. I was a particular fan of the IPA and porter. Got some subway for dinner (yum), then biked a few miles west of town to the Sandy Shores state park to camp for the night. This was kind of the textbook ideal day for a trip like this: early(ish) start, strong biking through the morning and early afternoon, finding a chance movie screening at the local library, meeting some cool people at the local brewery, and camping by a lake watching the sunset. I feel very fortunate and happy to be able to do this trip and be supported by so many people.

I met Charlie and Rita last night when I was getting water at the campsite, and they let me set up camp at their campsite so I would not have to pay for my own, which was really nice. I sat by the fire and chatted with them and their friends Mark and Barb until I started nodding off and went to bed. Thanks Charlie and Rita for your hospitality, sorry I couldn't stick around for breakfast.
Woke up early and hit the road just after sunrise. This is a picture from one of my rest stops. Apparently, there have been times when the water level reaches the road. Yikes!

Stopped in Willow Lake today to refill on water at a place called Scud's Bait and Tackle. Turns out, they were having a big family get together this weekend, and I met Caleb, who rode from Washington to Bar Harbour with two friends several years ago. We talked for a while about my trip, and Eaton gave me some fruit and banana bread to eat. Really nice group of people, I'm very fortunate to have stumbled across them. Caleb lives in the twin cities area as well, so hopefully we can stay in touch. Thanks guys, it was great to meet you!