The Middle of the Northern Tier 2018

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2741961098?share_unique_id=20 Today we had a nice cruise up the Lake Wobegon trail and then the Central Lakes trail from Sauk Centre to Fergus Falls.  The trail was beautiful, visiting small Minnesota towns and in between giving us views of lakes, woods and freshly planted fields. We covered nearly 70 miles and had challenging headwinds, but the wonderful pavement blue sky's and dry 78 weather made it a delightful day. I did take a few pictures which tell a lot about the sites and sense of humor of rural Minnesota.

Red Wing to St Paul https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2734771566?share_unique_id=12 Saint Paul to St Cloud https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2737166478?share_unique_id=14 St Cloud to Sauk Centre https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2739115156?share_unique_id=16 It has been a very busy 3 days. On Monday Memorial Day we cycled from what Red Wing to St Paul Minnesota.  As we pulled into town after the 65-mile ride the temperature gauge switched over to a hundred degrees. We had the pleasure of staying with Scott and Lynn Young, Julie's brother and sister-in-law. We had a wonderful stay.   It was a wonderful surprise that Julie took a 5 hour detour to see me on the way home from "up north". The next day we set off early in the morning for the 80 mile ride to St Cloud. We were chased into town by a severe thunderstorm and arrived at the home of my good friends Judy and Gary Berg 3 minutes before the rain started. We were treated to cold beer, ni...

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2731967645?share_unique_id=10 Today was our first day of cycling all day in Minnesota. Despite the 95° temperatures, we had a wonderful day of cycling. We zipped right up Highway 61 with marvelous views of the Mississippi all the way along. We visited several rivertown's including Winona, Wabasha, Lake City and ended in Red Wing. I'm afraid I did not take many pictures in my haste to get up to Red Wing and into a cool hotel room. We completed the 64 miles with an average speed of 12.9 miles per hour, which is not bad for a fully loaded bicycle.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2729303742?share_unique_id=8 Today was another outstanding day of cycling. We started the day riding on the road instead of the trail because of the rain the prior night. We were rewarded by finding Linda's Bakery in West Salem as our first stop of the day. It look new on the outside but the inside was vintage Wisconsin Bakery with young high-school girls serving the crowds of people. It was especially fun to watch the dad's bringing their kids in buy donuts on a Saturday morning. The next stop was 1949 Sandalwood drive in Onalaska. That was where Julie, me and the boys lived from 1992 to 1994. As you would expect from 25 years things have changed a lot, but the neighborhood still look good and the home still look cozy after all these years. We rode through town to the Mississippi and headed up the trempealeau bike trail. It was a beautiful ride through the marshes of the Mississippi. As my friend Derald noted if you had Spanish mos...

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2726805833?share_unique_id=6 Today we cycled through a bit of Wisconsin history.  After a quick ride from our camp to Reedsburg, we caught the 400 bike trail, named after the train route from Chicago to Minneapolis.  That was followed by the famous Elroy-Sparta trail.  This trail was the first of its kind in the nation.  It has 3 tunnels, the longest over 3000' long. The weather was warm, but nice.  We raced into our motel in Sparta shortly before a thunderstorm arrived. We covered another 69 miles and will cross the Mississippi tomorrow.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2724254485?share_unique_id=4 We had another interesting day on the trail today. We started out from Token Creek Campground and went to Lodi where we had second breakfast.   As you'll see from my picture, I had pigs in the blanket with duck butter. That means butter made to look like ducks, not Butter made from ducks. After that we rode to Merrimack where we took the ferry across the Wisconsin River. The Baraboo Hills were challenging, climbing 400 feet in the Sun and Heat. In Baraboo I was happy to see that the circus World Museum still in business. I like the sign at the Museum that says "experience the thrill it never gets old."   We are settled for the night in Mirror Lake State Park which is a beautiful Campground. With over a hundred miles in everything is so good so far.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2722234680?share_unique_id=2 Today was a great start to the journey.  After a big breakfast and hard goodbye to Julie, we headed down the Glacial Drumlin Trail.  It was a great day for cycling.  It was sunny, 75 degrees and we had light winds.  We put in 68 miles We had only cycled 5 miles and a cyclist caught up with us and asked us where we were going.  He was very impressed with our pronouncement that we were going to Montana but much less than impressed that we had just started 20 minutes ago in Hartland. We are camping tonight at Token Creek Park.  Right now, I am sitting in the tent to avoid the mosquitoes and wondering if 7:40 is too earl to go to bed.... Since I have no intention of getting up at 4 AM, I will certainly try to stay up later. I have a few photos to share, our departure from home, a look at the trail and some good old fashioned Wisconsin wisdom.

On Wednesday, May 23rd I will depart my home in Hartland, Wisconsin for a 1500 mile journey to somewhere in Montana.   I am happy to be accompanied by my friend Derald.  We meet 4 years ago on the Southern Tier ride and did the Atlantic Coast ride last Fall.  I adopted Derald's goal of doing the perimeter of the United States by self-contained bicycle (that means carrying all of our gear without a support vehicle). Derald has completed the West Coast.  I have cycled from Vancouver to San Francisco and would like to do the final section when the road is fully open along the coast (closed last year by mud slides).  The Northern Tier is the longest segment.  We have chosen to complete this trip in several segments, rather than dedicate an entire summer to the journey. This promises to be a fun, yet challenging journey.  Julie is going to pick us up at the end of the trip, so our "plan" is to get as far as we can by the 24th of June. I hope ...