Our First Non-Tandem Organized Ride

Adams, Ostrander, LeRoy, Taopi
Comments: Ride Time was 4 hours 11 minutes, average speed: 11.4


We started this biking day with an hour drive west to the small town of Adams, MN, where we registered along with 144 other bikers to bike the 13^th Annual Shooting Star Bike Ride. This was the first organized ride where Dennis and I decided to ride our single recumbents. Alan and Michelle Andersen and some of Alan’s work buddies were getting ready to ride as Dennis and I drove into the parking lot. The skies were cloudy with a forecast of 10% rain but we only encountered a few sprinkles throughout our day of riding.


Michelle and I headed out on a modified 45-mile route and ended up with a total of 48 miles on our singles. The guys opted to take the 60-mile route and ended up putting 63 miles on their bikes. Michelle and I stayed ahead of the guys until reaching Ostrander where we waited for 90 minutes for Susie’s Bar and Grill to open and the guys to show up. We enjoyed watching all the riders along the route pass by with smiles and waves as we waited on the bench outside of Susie’s. Our group of 11 had lunch together and then continued biking east towards LeRoy. We rested some at the LeRoy rest stop and then headed back towards Adams using the Shooting Star Bike Trail.


This bike event was well-planned and organized by a group of very friendly volunteers. One volunteer cycled the routes on his motorcycle and visited with each rider before moving down the road to the next group of riders. He was checking to make sure we were all doing ok. Another volunteer stopped in Ostrander while Michelle and I were resting to make sure we didn’t need any help. What a great group of people.


We all made it back to Adams around supper time hungry and hot. We drove to Rose Creek for food and beverages before heading home. We will definitely consider adding this ride to our annual bike event schedule for the future. It was great to have Alan and Michelle join us on this journey and hope they will continue to enjoy the miles of smiles to be had travelling along the roads using their own pedal power.