To celebrate my 75th birthday, I decided to head to the upper Midwest.

Early September would be a good time to start.

The summer heat should be over by then.

And, there are no mountains or steep hills.

 

I started at the border of Manitoba and North Dakota, and then headed south.

I quickly crossed over the Red River, and I spent the rest of the trip in Minnesota.

 

For the first several days, I was pushed along by a wind from the north.

However, the settlements were very small, leaving few places to eat or drink.

Sugar beet farms stretched for miles and miles. (Picture is Early morning on Central Lakes Trail)

 

I was averaging 50 miles per day, but on day 4, I pushed myself to ride 75 miles.

I had planned to stop at mile 45, but with the help of a tail wind, i arrived at 12;30.

The next motel was 30 miles away, so I foolishly kept going.

Needless to say, I was tired when I arrived in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

 

By the next day, the tail wind turned into a head wind! ( Picture is Royal Canadian Mounted Police statue)

The next motel was 60 miles south, so I decided to head east.

There was a motel only 30 miles away.  I needed an easy day.

 

In Fergus Falls, I noticed a bike trail, the Central Lakes Trail.

I usually am not a fan of bike trails, especially those in big cities.

But this trail was relatively unused.

Once out of Fergus Falls, I rarely saw anyone for 25 miles!

Straight, flat, wide, and sometimes tree-lined, I became a rail trail fan.

 

After 50 miles, the Central Rail Trail became the Lake Wobegon Trail. (Picture is road sign Entering Minnesota after crosing the Red River.)

This combined trail went about 125 miles.

Only near the end at St. Joseph did the bike traffic pick up.

 

I had no predetermined route on this trip.

But as I approached Minneapolis, I figured it was time to rent a car and head home.

 

After the bike trail ended, I picked up part of the Mississippi River Trail (MRT).

Some of this trail was a bike trail, and part was on roads.

But it often ran right next to the river, offering spectacular views.

 

After 8 days of small towns, I started entering the Minneapolis suburbs.

My map app sent me down roads with bike lanes.

However, my phone started losing power, and it had the only directions to the airport and my rental car.

 

So I had to stop at a Dairy Queen where a kind young man charged my phone.

Once back on my bike, I knew there was only ONE way that a bike could get to the airport.  It involved a bike trail that went through a wooded area, parallel to a major highway.  The only way to the airport was to take a bridge across the highway.

 

So, here is where things got "interesting".

Without warning, the bike path was barricaded for repairs!

And as I looked at my phone for another route, I realized that the phone was almost out of power. Yikes!

So I backtracked, hopefully to find another route to the airport.

It was then that I spotted another bicyclist, pondering his paper map. (Picture is The City Restaurant in Ashby, Minnesota )

I asked if he knew of another route to the airport.

 

"Nope. There's only one way.  You have to get to THE bridge."

 

We were both in the same predicament. 

But he said, maybe we can walk our bikes through the construction?

 

granSo off we went, walking around the barricade.

Luckily, the dirt track was short and packed enough to ride.

We stopped and discovered we were both long-distance bike riders.

It was a great ending to a fun trip.

 

Just as I made it to the airport bridge, my phone died.

Somehow I found the rental car counter in a maze of buildings.

 

On the long drive home I stopped to visit old friends in Chicago and Michigan.

 

All and all, the weather was good (no rain), and my grandchildren now have proof that Grandpa John can ride a bike a long way...

 

For a daily journal, click here: 

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Grandpa75