Slippage

The switch from having my ride assisted by Cycle America to being supported for the final week’s ride by my dear friend H. Malarkey Wall caused some slippage in my blogging schedule. So I will attempt to catch up on the last three days of riding plus the Sunday off all in one entry.

On Saturday (July 21), the ride was from Hutchinson to Northfield, MN. I skipped part of it to give myself time to pack for my departure, but I did ride about 52 miles from Belle Plaine to Northfield. It was a beautiful ride through green, rolling hills with quite a few lakes. Here’s a shot of some of the hills.

On Sunday (July 22), we had our weekly rest day. This week, since we now have a car, we spent the time in Minneapolis/St. Paul. We went to REI, where I purchased a new seat for my bike which I hope will relieve some of the problems I have had with saddle sores.

After dealing with the exchange of information with a young man who plowed into the rear of our rental car (no one was hurt-the car was just scratched up), we took a long walk around St. Paul. I shot this view as we walked across a bridge over the Mississippi.

And this is a boat on the river that bills itself as a bed and breakfast.

After a delightful dinner at Pazzaluna Italian restaurant, we drove up to the historical residential area and saw the homes of James J. Hill, founder of the Great Northern railroad, and author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Here’s a shot of Fitzgerald’s.

On Monday morning (July 23), I was due to begin riding again, but we had to drive to the airport to exchange rental cars and then drive back to Northfield so I could continue the ride from the Northfield High where it ended on Saturday.

By the time I got started riding, it was noon.  The first little town I passed was Randolph, MN, where I was amused to learn the high school team was the “Rockets.” My high school team in Park Forest, Illinois, was the Rockets and I had not seen a team by that name since. Here is a photo of the Minnesota Rockets’ field.

Later, I rode through Cannon Falls, home of Cycle America, with whom I rode the first five weeks of this journey. Here I am in front of the headquarters.

The country between there and Redwing was beautiful. 

Here was the first sign I was entering Redwing.

After Redwing and after crossing the Mississippi into Wisconsin, I began the long ride along the shores of beautiful Lake Pepin. It was formed because the strong current of the Chippewa River at the southern end washed sand across the path of the Mississippi and backed up the bigger river because its current was more sluggish.  Here’s  the whole explanation.

Here’s a photo I took of the river as I was nearing the city of Pepin and the sun was going down.

On Tuesday morning (July 24), I rode out of Pepin for Onalaska. It was raining pretty steadily, so I did not get any decent photos until later in the day. I took this one of a beautiful garden at a farm outside Trempealeau.

Trempealeau has done a great job of preserving its history. Here is a shot looking down the main street toward the railroad and the river. The Trempealeau Hotel is on the left. That’s where I got my pass to ride on the Wisconsin State Trail between there and Onalaska.

I finally arrived in Onalaska at about 8 pm. On Wednesday, it’s on to Reedsburg.