Orange Beach, Alabama in the News

Dover Loop: 20.63 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 1 hour 33 minutes, average speed 13.1

Goal reached: 512 miles for August and we still have a few more riding days in the month. We enjoyed a quiet supper ride to Dover and while eating our “Tuesday Tacos” heard on the news that hurricane Isaac was preparing to roll into the Orange Beach, AL area. Our 2012 biking season started in Orange Beach and we were familiar with the images we were viewing on the large screen at the Roadhouse. The evacuation process went into effect and all that could be done was to wait it out. It was a relief to hear that the storm was downgraded as the evening went on—what a relief.

Hurricane Isaac threatens the coast of Orange Beach, AL

We headed home to start getting ready for our main event of this biking season: The Midwest Tandem Rally being held in Middleton, WI will begin Friday, August 31. The event is being hosted by our COWS Tandem Club and has been in the planning for two years. We are expecting over 400 teams—very exciting!

Smooth Pavement

Utica Loop: 21.51 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 1 hour 39 minutes, average speed 12.9

We are working hard to get 500 miles for the month of August and came from within 9 miles of that goal today with 5 more days left to this month. We routed to Utica with a rest stop at Brewskies. We queried our man George, Brewskies’ bartender, about the construction situation on US-14 heading back towards Saint Charles and were amazed to learn the paving was complete, just some painting left to do. We get excited about new pavement so on down the road we went and what a smooth ride it was. We reached Saint Charles just as the town’s summer fest was wrapping up. We returned waves from those still milling around the tents downtown as we rolled on through on our bicycle built for two.

Attack of the Grasshoppers

Tri-County Trail: 53.31 miles Tandem Pedal Time: 4 hours 15 minutes, average speed 12.5

With our morning chores out of the way, we had the afternoon to play. It was agreed we would bike from home to pick up the Tri-County Bike Trail near Eyota and then bike the trail into Elgin. We noted the temperature was in the 90’s as we began pedaling down the road but a slight breeze out of the south added comfort to our ride. We stopped in Saint Charles for a Subway lunch and then pedaled down US-14 towards Eyota. We cranked our pedals around and around for 18 grueling miles before we pulled onto the Tri-County Trail to enjoy a 2+ mile non-pedal glide towards Viola, MN. The attack of the grasshoppers began shortly after we reached the trail. They continued to jump onto various parts of our bodies causing us to jerk and twitch which made for a rather unsmooth tandem ride.

At 25 miles into our route we found ourselves in Elgin and directly in our path was the Huddle Bar & Grill. This bar not only offered a cool place for us to rest but also provided an extremely friendly atmosphere. From the time we stepped inside we were greeted by all with introductions and friendly chatter. Dennis was surprised to learn that the bartender was married to the daughter of a VoTech teacher he had in the 70’s—small world.

It was now time to turn this bike around and head for home. Remember those 2+ miles of downhill? Well, we now got to repeat those miles but in reverse—always up for a challenge. Once on US-14 we had no problem enjoying the wind at our backs as we pedaled towards supper awaiting us in Dover at the Roadhouse. We hate to eat and run but the sun was already starting to crawl below the horizon and we still had 10 miles to go.

We pedaled down our driveway as the sun quietly slipped from the sky. This trip of 53 miles will definitely be a repeater—such an enjoyable day.

Supper Time

Dover Loop: 20.57 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 1 hour 41 minutes, average speed 12.1

I was so tired after work today but just the mention of a bike ride brought blood back to my brain. Dover was our destination for this evening and the promise of eating at the Roadtrip Roadhouse Bar motivated me to pedal into the surrounding hills along this neighborhood route. We enjoy the welcoming feeling we get each time we visit and the variety and flavor of food served keeps us coming back.

We enjoyed temps in the 80’s but could have done with a little less wind—20 mph out of the SW forced our average speed to decline but we still made it home before the sun fell from the sky.

Banana Run

Saint Charles and Home: 12.35 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 1 hour 2 minutes, average speed 11.8

We can tell the hours of daylight are decreasing. Biking after work must now consist of short loops around the neighborhood. We made a banana run to Saint Charles and then climbed out of town to head for home. The hill out of town remains a challenge but we always manage to talk ourselves through it. It’s smooth sailing once on top and then we see the beauty of the sun setting in the west and all struggles are forgotten.

2012 COWS Wrangler Ride – Cumberland, Wisconsin

Hosted by Mike Lindgren and Terri Backus

Cumberland, Wisconsin Wrangler Ride: 45.02 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 3 hours 31 minutes, average speed 12.7

Mike and Terri were wonderful hosts for this Wisconsin Wrangler ride. We drove 3 hours to get to their lake-front home in Cumberland, WI, north of Menomonie and near Rice Lake. We reached Cumberland at 9:30 a.m. and began unloading the bike along with 12 other teams. That is when the rain decided to fall. After a quick check of the weather radar, we were given thumbs up for a clear day of riding and the rain only delayed us for 15 minutes.

Our lunch stop was scheduled at the County Line Tavern, 30 miles into our 45-mile route. This was a very quaint bar and grill nestled amongst the desolate wilds of northern Wisconsin. After lunch, we had only 12 miles of riding to finish back at Mike and Terri’s.

What could be more pleasant than resting out on a deck overlooking a lake, enjoying sunny skies, being served drinks and a variety of delicious eats and visiting with new biking friends? It was hard to say goodbye! We thanked Mike and Terri for planning such a wonderful event and then returned to our van for our 3-hour trip home.

Almost A Century

RRT and HPT: 83.87 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 6 hours 33 minutes, average speed 12.7

Today was a play day in and around Lanesboro, MN. We packed the tandem in the van and drove to Lanesboro to begin what we hoped would be a 100-mile biking day. We started pedaling at 8:30 a.m. towards Rushford then turned the bike to head back to Lanesboro. On our way back, we came across Quinten and Glorie Ann Robley from Canton whom we just saw recently at the PIGS Tandem Rally in Iowa. We had a short visit and then continued back towards Lanesboro.

We now had 40 miles on the bike but wanted 60 more so we continued along the RRT towards Preston and up to Harmony. We stopped for lunch at the Chrunchy Side Grille happy to have a total of 60 miles accumulated thus far. Will we make 100 before 5:30 p.m. when we would have to stop to get ready for our dinner/theatre date with Alan and Michelle? As we neared the trail junction at Isinours, it was 4:00 p.m. We debated going up towards Fountain but decide that would make us late for our 5:30 reservation at Riverside on the Root so we turned the bike towards Lanesboro again, satisfied with the 83 miles we were able to ride on this beautiful near-fall day.  We fell short of our goal by 17 miles today but will try again another day before this biking season is over.