Season 4 Episode 15. Saddle Snap and Swap.

Season 4 Episode 15. Saddle Snap and Swap. 

8/25 Park Rapids, MN to Pequot Lakes, MN 67 miles. 1,173’ climb. 

We rode paved trails the entire day, part of Minnesota’s incredible state trail system. We started east on the Heartland Trail and connected south on the Paul Bunyan Trail. It was very relaxing to be off roads all day, not thinking at all about passing vehicles. 

It felt like autumn in the air for the first time as we saw a few leaves with a reddish color and there are some leaves on the trail. We forget that along the latitude line, we are further north than most of Maine and further north of Montreal. 

Because the winters are so severe, you can see where the electric utility company prunes the trees so there can be no ice or snow on branches that can weigh down the electricity wires.

They take their Paul Bunyan lumberjack folklore and mythology very seriously in MN! There are several Paul Bunyan statues but they claim this is the “tallest” version of a Bunyan statue anywhere. There are other models higher, but supposedly if this kneeling version were to stand up straight, he’d tower over the others.

Even bike trails have construction detours. But Sunday morning with no workers means we go ahead with no detour. We’ve noticed that we now interpret “Road Closed” signs only as a suggestion. This is probably not a good thing.

The trails connect small towns with cute trailside restaurants, ice cream parlors and shops. We ended in Pequot Lakes, population 2,365, and one of them being our fantastic WarmShowers host, Jonathan. He generously gave up his own primary bedroom for us so that we could sleep in the more comfortable and cooler downstairs space (it was a hot night!). Even though he had to go to work early the following morning, he let us sleep a little later and let ourselves out which was very helpful. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner together, swapped bikepacking stories, and he taught us lots about life in this region. His actions reinforced our impression of the stereotype of kind Minnesotans. 

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8/26 Pequot Lakes, MN to Royalton, MN 75 miles. 523’ climb. 

Kind (and smart marketing) Minnesotan supermarket sign where we grabbed breakfast.

My new friend Terry, 83 years young, retired as a builder of custom bikes. We rode talking for about 8 miles. He rides 20 miles a day. I can only hope I’m riding as strong as Terry in 22 years when I’m 83.

Amazing that there's no visible current and this is the Mississippi - our first of what will be many crossings. The river is so still, glass-like, more like a lake.

A downside of all these lakes and river water is the mosquitoes are ferocious, especially in today’s near total humidity. We could barely stop to snack as the bloodsuckers pounced on us. Both of us killed mosquitoes that exploded with red splotches on our legs. Hope it’s our own blood as we’ve read of fatalities back east from Eastern Equine Encephalitis passed along by mosquitoes. 

Another gas station lunch. Live bait - yum.

At least a place to sit in the shade.

Yes the M. River yet again and looking very un-river like.

The thing we didn’t anticipate is so many suburban-like homes that back on to the river. Hey kids, go play outside on your trampoline or by the river. 

We arrived in Royalton to another WarmShowers host who more than surpassed our now high regard for Minnesotans. Ron, a retired high school English teacher, would be as comfortable running an inn as a classroom. Unfortunately, his wife was out of town, but she left her famous home made granola for breakfast. Ron and his sister in-law Renee cooked up a feast, including his daily homemade bread. Renee baked a delicious zucchini cake and large batch of chocolate chip cookies. Somehow she knew to put the leftovers of both cake and cookies right in front of me at breakfast, which I enjoyed a second time, and they still sent us with a goodie bag of thirds to eat along our way. They were kind, warm and caring. And even though they were already hosting us, they hosted another rider as well. It turned out to be a rider who we met back in Sand Springs, MT. Ron had cycled the full length of the Mississippi and had an innate sense of cyclists’ needs.

Thank you Ron and Renee. We hope we exhibit the same hosting graciousness with which you’ve blessed us.

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8/27 Royalton, MN to Monticello, MN 56 miles. 852’ climb. 

Last night there was a downpour with thunderstorms. We were again grateful for our WarmShowers stay with Ron, especially since we were originally scheduled to camp here. Count us lucky!

Until now, nearly all the riverfront homes have been modest. South of Riverbend, MN, we started seeing a change from rural homes with horses and some farming to some newer and larger homes on River Road, but for the most part very modest homes along the river.

Looking across the Mississippi from beneath a bridge support. 

A three ringed ramp to ride up to the bridge crossing at Sauk Rapids.

We rode through St. Cloud and were surprised St. Cloud State University copied Montreal Canadiens hockey logo.

Remnants of last night’s storms across the bike paths. Minor inconveniences.

Monticello, MN, another river town and our stop for the night. About 175 miles by road from Lake Itasca, but 443 river miles per this sign.

Cornerstone Cafe in Monticello had delicious and healthy dinner salads. Dessert was a difficult choice, but our server said her fave is Milk and Cookies. This was dreamy, creamy, and a moan in every bite. Might even be better than the Rockaberry pies - another culinary highlight of Montreal.

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8/28 Monticello, MN to Inver Grove Heights, MN (thru Minneapolis St. Paul) 67 miles. 1,808’ climb. 

Kaleidoscopic Bob Dylan mural in MSP.

Prince Mural

Mary Tyler Moore (MTM) statue, feminist icon, TV star of her show in the 1970’s. Others our age were also visiting this landmark that has no meaning to a younger generation. We started talking with two strangers about the Saturday night TV schedule in the 1970’s of MTM, All in the Family, and the Bob Newhart show and all the spinoffs from MTM. Amazing what cultural touchstones those shows were especially in a pre-VCR and pre-streaming era.

MSP really has many skyways to connect buildings in frigid, snowy winters and as depicted in the opening scenes of MTM show.

Minnesota State Capitol...

...Impressive on the inside as well.

St. Paul’s Cathedral.

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8/29 Inver Grove Heights, MN to Red Wing, MN 49 miles. 1,530’ climb. 

Headwinds from the southeast exactly against us and oh those gusts of 25 mph.

This is a wonderful stretch of river towns and exactly what you want in a bike trip: ride to a nice cute town for lunch (Hastings) and then ride to another for dinner. 

From Monticello on, the historic river towns have had a great food scene and healthier, tastier options. 

Red Wing, MN.

Never seen thunderstorm clouds roll in like this, we luckily beat the rain by an hour.

Unfortunately after an amazing lunch, when moving my bike, one of the saddle rails broke. This could be a disaster. There was no bike store in Hastings, and we still had 23 miles to Red Wing.

By sheer luck, when I sat on it, my weight pushed the 2 broken ends against each other, so that although it was a bit bumpier ride, the seat supported me enough to get to Red Wing where I visited a bike store. The owner Andrew was the nicest guy who explained to me that because the rails are an alloy, they can’t be welded, nor can they be replaced. He was certain I’d not be able to make it a few more days on my old seat and I was lucky to make it this far. 

The last thing any rider wants to do is change seats in the middle of a big trip like this. And especially me with my rear end, sit bone challenges. But that’s what needed to happen so from the very limited inventory, we picked a seat that was most similar to what I was on and I’d have to take my chances of breaking in a new seat and seeing how my body accepted this change. 

Among the various bike issues that can arise, this was not the worst that could happen, but picking a saddle (seat) is a very significant decision. I went to bed nervous about what the coming few days’ adjustment would bring. 

Copyright Mark Segal 2024.