Windy Trail Ride

Tri-County & the Douglas Trails: 54.54 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 4 hours 26 minutes, average speed 12.2

Is the bike season officially here? Snow is still in the forecast but on this beautiful day we need not worry. The temperature shot to 80 degrees on the sunny side of the trail. We started off on the Tri-County Trail near Eyota and biked the complete trail to Plainview and back in the morning for a total of 27.73 miles but we weren’t ready to quit just yet so drove to Rochester to bike the Douglas Trail to Pine Island and back to add another 26.81 miles to today’s ride. The trail was very busy with walkers, skaters and cyclists. It’s great to see everyone enjoying the trail.

April Miles: 198.33
Total 2013 Miles: 277.92

Million Dollar Ride

Douglas Trail + Rochester Extension: 33.13 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 2 hours 43 minutes, average speed 12.1

Being the day before Thanksgiving, we slipped out of work early to begin biking the Douglas Trail northwest of Rochester, MN. The weather was gorgeous—reaching 74 degrees which is rare for mid-November in Minnesota. We were able to bike in our usual summer clothing without the layering of our winter bike gear.

We continued on the Douglas Trail to Pine Island and turned back towards Rochester. We still had time before the sun set so decided to check out the newly paved bike route connecting the Douglas Trail to Rochester’s inner city. We heard of the “million dollar” bridge built for pedestrians and cyclists and came upon it just a few miles from the Trail exit. The bridge was awesome! It took us over busy Hwy 14 and continued to wind towards the ponds at Cascade Park—all was very beautiful and we were very impressed with what Rochester has done here.

We truly enjoy exploring the unknown on the bike. We get excited about the unusual discoveries we find along our path to nowhere. We pedaled back to the van waiting at the Douglas Trailhead, packed the bike up and were heading for home just as the sun was beginning to set. Because of this bike outing, we are now only 7 miles from breaking our 2007 season total of 3251 and the weather looks like it will hold for at least one more day.

Apply the Math

Douglas Trail –Pine Island and Back: 26.11 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 1 hour 37 minutes, average speed 16.0

The tandem came to work with us today. The promise of 60-degree temps gave us the motivation to pack all bike gear and hit the trail following or work day. We used the van to change out of our work clothes and into our MTR jerseys and bike pants. The weather was so nice; we didn’t even need our bike jackets. We took off down the trail at break-neck speed and then a realization hit me: If you increase your pedal speed, you can get more miles in before the sun sets. What a revelation! That average speed of 16 mph is not a typo.  It is a speed we are proud of and it did take some effort and concentration—no talking, Dennis, just pedal. The camera even had to stay in its bag (except for one shot).

We were back at the van before dark and heading for home by 6:00 p.m. Each mile we bike is one more towards our goal of 3000 by season’s end—will be make it? Just 250 to go!

Douglas State Trail

The Douglas State Trail is a paved 12.5 mile, multiple use trail developed on an abandoned railroad grade. This trail crosses outstanding rural scenery, traversing some of the richest agricultural land in Minnesota. The trail begins in northwestern Rochester, travels through the small town of Douglas (for which the trail is named) and terminates in Pine Island.

Biking the Rochester Trails

Rochester Trails: 34.68 miles
TANDEM: Ride Time was 2 hours 47 minutes, average speed: 14.0

Today we met with bike friends, Alan and Michelle Andersen, in Rochester, MN to bike the Douglas Trail to Pine Island and back. Again we had a gorgeous riding day with temps in the 70’s. We stopped in Pine Island at the Island Bar & Grill for lunch and enjoyed mixing our own flavors of slushes. The ride back to Rochester went fast and Dennis and I still wanted more riding once we parted with Alan and Michelle so we decided to drive to Essex Park and check out the trails there—rather disappointing. We just can’t seem to find enjoyment biking in this urban city which uses sidewalks as bike trails that repeatedly cross busy traffic. We much prefer biking the roads where we can be seen clearly by motor vehicles. I am thankful I have such a great captain watching out for his precious cargo.

Midwest Tandem Rally Day #3

Rally Day #3: 49.66 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 3 hours 37 minutes, average speed: 13.6

Another 9:00 a.m. mass start but Jim and Shirley joined us in the crowd. It was fun to witness them enjoying their first Midwest Tandem Rally. We chose the medium route again today which took us towards Byron and into Mantorville for an early lunch—a repeat of yesterday’s lunch. We visited here for quite some time before moving on towards Pine Island. We were joined by Kathi & John Johnson and Joan & John Laabs for an ice cream treat at the A & W in town before trekking towards the Douglas trail for our route back to Rochester. We then packed the bike in the van and drove to MCT to clean up for the evening banquet beginning at 5:00 p.m. We arrived back downtown with some time to organize a pre-social hour with our friends outside Chester’s. The MTR banquet was fun and the food was good. We sat with our PIGS friends from Iowa knowing we would not get a chance to visit with them again until next year. It was during the banquet entertainment that Faith was given the opportunity to announced Dennis’ Friday blunder, which received a roar from the audience. We visited some following the banquet and then headed back to St. Charles to set up another campfire for our weekend campers and prepare for the COWS Post MTR Ride in Lanesboro, MN.

Midwest Tandem Rally Day #2

Rally Day #2: 52.16 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 3 hours 52 minutes, average speed: 13.4

I sure do enjoy a mass start! The staging area was held at the Mayo Civic Center Circle Drive. All the bikes lined up and prepared for the 9:00 a.m. start. We were escorted out of town by the Rochester police—inexperience showed but we did all make it out of town with no injuries. The medium route sent us out on CR 1 towards Simpson, through Racine and High Forest, stopping at Bear Cave Park outside of Stewartville for lunch—a cold sandwich and not much else to speak of. We then continued on CR 8 into Rochester where we picked up the city trail again to return back to the Peace Plaza. This was our second great-weather day—in the 70’s with no wind and plenty of sunshine, a biker’s paradise! We intended to return to Rochester early so that we had time to visit the vendor area and as we were nosing around, Jim and Shirley Hamm found us and we chatted some and invited them to join us in the COWS' hospitality room starting at 5:00 p.m. We made introductions and before the evening ended, they decided to join the COWS tandem club. What an exciting moment for them. We did not have supper yet so made plans with Joan & John, Marilyn & Gary and Kathi & John to walk to the Canadian Honker, an excellent choice. Following dinner, we parted to return home to St. Charles with Lane and Linda. We were all too tired to sit by a campfire so went directly to bed. Thanks Lane and Linda for the gift—a photo of Dennis and I taken by the rally's pro photographer, Miles.

Midwest Tandem Rally Day #1

Rally Day #1: 22.67 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 1 hour 58 minutes, average speed: 11.4

Following our morning ride around our neighborhood, we lead our Wisconsin friends to MTR Rochester and unloaded bikes at the Peace Plaza downtown. After finding parking places for all vehicles, we met up with riders to bike the Friday ice cream ride through Rochester via mostly bike paths. Half way through our ride, Dennis was surprised to be informed that his stoker was not on the back of the bike! I was left behind while all bikes began descending a steep hill along one of the bike paths. This was the joke of the event and was even announced during the Sunday banquet (good one, Faith). Following the planned ride, we biked to Dos Amigos with 16 other riders. It was dark when we began our short ride back to the host hotel. The streets of Rochester were well-lit allowing us to get back safely. We then drove home to St. Charles with Lane and Linda—they were camping in our yard for the weekend. A campfire in our yard ended this excellent beginning to the 4-day rally.