Where’s Kman

Sauk Centre, Minn. to Pelican Rapids, Minn.
91 miles
15.3 average mph
Lake Wobegon Trail
Central Lakes Trail
County 7
County 2
County 1
County 3
Rode along the bicycle trails again for the majority of the day today. These two trails together are about 125 miles going from St. Joseph, Minn. to Fergus Falls, Minn. roughly parallel to I-94. Here is the evolution of these trails; First, it was the oxcart trail from St. Paul, Minn to Canada used by fur traders. Second, it was a railroad line. Third, it became a bicycle trail. Fourth, in about 3 months it will be a snowmobile trail.
Also rode to Inspiration peak and made the short hike to a good view of the countryside and lakes below to the north, east, and south. Also saw the Kensington Runestone in Alexandria, Minn. (Sorry the picture didn’t turn pout to well). This stone is proported to show ancient Norse writing proving the Vikings had established a residence in central Minnesota in 1362 much earlier than Columbus had. Come to America. The authenticity of the stone, however, is subject to uncertainity.

Clearwater, Minn. to Sauk Centre, Minn.
75 miles
14.5 average mph
County 75
Lake Wobegon Trail
Great day of riding today. Most of the day on the Lake Wobegon Trail which is a 65 mile long paved bicycle trail which passes through many of the small towns which inspired the Lake Wobegon stories; namely Freeport and Avon. I just missed seeing Garrison Keillor who did a free live broadcast of Prairie Home Companion live from the town park in Avon yesterday on July Fourth.

Belle Plaine, Minn to Clearwater, Minn
80 miles
16.3 average mph
State 25
Hwy 212
County 9
County 6
State 24
It was great weather for riding today. Kind of overcast in the morning but sunny and about 81 in the afternoon. It’s getting even flatter but I found really good roads all day. The are lakes everywhere and I took pictures of some of them. Lots of people were out on boats or fishing today or having picnics since it is the fourt of July. According to Scot who I met in Annandale there are actually more than 10,000 lakes in Minnesota – 15,492 if you count all the lakes and swamps in the state.

Pine Island, Minn. to Belle Plaine, Minn.
92 miles
15.6 average mph
County 11
State 57
State 60
County 1
State 246
State 21
State 19
County 5
I had been so happy with the riding conditions but today I encountered the darker side of Minnesota roadways. Some of the paved road have huge cracks and potholes every 20 feet or so (due to the cold winter conditions, I’m sure) which makes my road go bump, bump, bump and I was afraid I might fall into some of those cracks they were so big. After about 2 miles of one such road, I detoured in search of a smoother ride. I found a really smooth road but it didn’t last more than a few miles and it changed into a gravel road. So now a have white wall tires.

Preston, Minn. to Pine Island, Minn.
113 miles
15.5 average mph
Hwy 16
County 2
County 20
State 30
County 13
County 5
It turned out to be a perfect day for riding. Sunny and 77 degrees.
It is very flat farmland so got in along ride. Made it to the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minn which was very interesting. Thanks Lee for letting me stay overnight and good luck with the kayak.

SPAM stands sor spiced ham and was first introduced in 1937. It is produced by Hormel.Foods which is headquartered in Austin, Minn. There is a Spamobile, spamburger, and the world famopus spamettes. The SPAM Museum is really quite interesting. They did not have any samples at yhe museum so I didn’t get to try any.

Sparta, Wi. to Preston, Mn.
97 miles
15.4 average mph
Hwy 16
Root River Bicycle Trail
It’s still cool today. Only 64 degrees but no rain and no wind so really a perfect day for bike riding. I went through LaCrosse, Wi and saw the old Heileman Brewery (now the City Brewery). I wanted to take a tour because ther was a sign for tours but tours were no longer offered. I crossed the Mississippi on a big bridge which did have a partitioned bike lane/sidewalk. Minnesota has been a great place to ride so far. The roads have wide, clean, and smooth shoulders AND there is a well maintained, paved, 70 mile long bike path called the Root River Trail which goes up the Root River Valley from Houston, Minn. to Harmony, Minn. It reminds me of the Tweetsie Railroad grade for those of you who have done Roan Moan. I rode on the trail for about 50 miles because it was going exactly the direction I wanted to go and it was nice not having to watch for cars.