Day 6 Monticello to Minneapolis 79mi

Today we were joined for breakfast by 3 cyclists(Dan, Hugh, Roy) from Minneapolis who would escort us all day from Monticello to Minneapolis.  From L to R (Dan, Doug, Hugh, Wendy, Roy, Cindy, and myself)

The lunch stop had a Linus outside the entrance.

The group along the riverfront in downtown Minneapolis.

Dan led us through the city on the multiple connected trail system that exists.

Waterfalls and lock as viewed from the iconic Stone Arched Bridge connecting St Paul and Minneapolis.

Tonight were invited to stay with Dan and his wife.  Hugh and Roy arrived with their wives. We all enjoyed lively conversation and a spaghetti dinner. 

It was a beautiful day with many sites along the trailways of Minneapolis.  Dan will ride with us tomorrow morning until we are safely on our way to our next destination that will be somewhere in Wisconsin.

Day 5 Little Falls to Monticello MN 77mi

This is my irreverent photo of the day.  This is a 3 word charade that I will leave up to you to figure out.   The MRT signage along the road is supposed to stand for Mississippi River Trail but today stood either for More Rain Today or Monsoon Rains Today.  By the afternoon of a long ride we were having enough of it.  

Our ride today took us further south along both sides of the Mississippi and included Sauk Rapids and Saint Cloud.  

This was actually a display of vintage gas station in someones front yard in St. Cloud that was pretty impressive.

This photo is just a small portion of an extensive English garden, also in St. Cloud.

We dove under a picnic shelter next to this spillway just as the rain started to pick up for the afternoon.  

Our overnight stay turned into a cabin instead of a tent due to the rain at the end of the day.  It was heated allowing us to dry out at the end of a long ride.

Day 4 Crows Wing SP to Charles Lindbergh SP 31 mi

We rode into a strong headwind most of today.  Fortunately, we had planned a shorter ride down river to Little Falls, MN which is the childhood home of Charles Lindbergh.   This post office box was along the route so I mailed the cards that I picked up yesterday.

It turned out Charles wasn't home and the museum and home weren't open on a Thursday.  We were able to walk around the grounds where the home he grew up in has been preserved.

We backtracked back to Little Falls for our planned stay at a hotel to dodge some expected weather later tonight.  

Tomorrow promises to be a wet day. . . and a chance to test out our rain gear. 

Semper P to my daughter from Little Falls.

Day 3 Hackensack to Crows Wing SP 69mi

We were told about a breakfast place to visit just down the trail in the direction we were heading.  I was interested in some oatmeal and pancakes for the long ride ahead. The waitress recommended that I would only need one pancake.  The pancake that arrived was a cookie sheet pan sized pancake like in the movie Uncle Buck.  It could have fed two persons.  There had been a two pancake option. I thanked the waitress for recommending only one.

After breakfast it was back to the Paul Bunyan Trail and sites like this to look forward to.

Next stop along the line was Pine River Chamber of Commerce.  I spotted the bull that I called the Vegeta-Bull outside and moved in for a closer shot.

The bull was painted with all kinds of farm scenery and crops.  I found my first set of post cards to send out.

Pequot, MN was the next interesting town we came across.  They had a fishing bobber theme going on as you can see with the water tower in the background.

Next to the water tower we found . . . water, and some more Paul Bunyan lore . . .

Another blue ox and a huge chair fit for Paul Bunyan.

The climb to seat level wasn't as easy as it looks.  It looked like a simple horizontal beam and angle bracing to use as footholds was all it took.  The seat actually had a large overhang that turned the operation into an obstacle course climbing wall maneuver to alley OOP my upper body and legs over in the 10s delay I programmed into the camera. I literally got into position as I heard the click go off.

Our somewhat longer ride ended at a nice state park (Crows Wing) just south of Brainerd, MN.  We were back on the banks of the Mississippi which had grown substantially wider from the last we saw of it.

Day 2 Bemidji to Hackensack MN 57mi

The day started out with a pilgrimage to two of Bemidji's legends: Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  They were located in Bemidji's downtown park at the start of the Paul Bunyan State Trail that we will be taking south for the next few days.

Special thanks to the construction crew that gave us permission to cross into their work area to snap the 1st photo.  

About 25 miles into the ride we stopped at a grocery store.  I took in a pint of chocolate milk and paid my respects to the Sinclare Dino next store. 

A short pause in the action in Walker, MN to take in the lake view after our lunch stop.

This is a somewhat irreverent selfie in front of Paul Bunyans girlfriend, Lucette.  Cindy photo bombed the shot at the last moment.

It was nice riding the rail trail all day long.

Another great weather day.  We ended up as guests of a family run resort that was closed for the season but they invited us to stay for free in the camp area near the lake. See you tomorrow.

Day 1: Bemidji to Mississippi Headwaters

Today was Labor Day and coincidentally the first cycling day of our adventure.  We're out in front of the hotel about to pedal the distance to the recognized headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca.  It was also a day to work out any mechanical bugs in our bicycles or bodies before leaving Bemidji for good tomorrow.

The 30+ miles ride out was on a lightly traveled road through the scenic countryside of mostly northern Midwestern forests.  We had an early start so arrived at the Headwaters by late morning.  These photos are taken outside of the conservationist Mary Gibbs Welcome Center where the Mississippi River begins.  There are alot of fun facts and diaramas of the complete Mississippi River basin.  The Mississippi is the 4th longest river behind the Nile, Amazon, and a river in China.  

Wendy is pointing to where we are on the map of Minnesota.

On a ride like this it is ceremonial to dip the bicycle wheels into the waters at the start of the trip.  Here we are at the beginning of the long flow of water down to the Gulf of Mexico.

It was time to get my feet wet and test the waters.  It'll take approximately three months for each drop of this water to make it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

We learned alot about the river today that we will be traveling along for the remainder of the month.  We left the Headwaters and returned back to Bemidji.

Arrival in Bemidji

Bemidji, MN is the closest point of civilization to the headwaters of the Mississippi River.   Cindy, Doug, and Wendy drove up from Iowa.  Flying into Bemidji is the other viable option that I chose. My flight plan took me to Minneapolis first.  Here is a shot of downtown Minneapolis situated on the Mississippi River.  We should be riding through here in about a week.     It took an hour for Delta Airlines to find a pilot capable of flying a 737-900.   A pilot flying the Connecticut route got voluntold to get us out of Detroit air space and on our way to Minnesota.

Upon arrival in Bemidji I had a 1 mile hike to the hotel where I had a reunion with my disassembled bicycle (in box). My other gear came with me on the flights out.

I had alot of the bike reassembled by the time Wendy, Cindy, and Doug arrived but still had some fine tuning and organizing to do before our planned ride to Itasca State Park and the Mississippi headwaters tomorrow.