The Big City

Winsted to Minneapolis – 51 miles
Average Speed – 10.2 mph

We didn’t notice how smoky the room was last night, most likely because we smelled far worse than the room when we arrived. But, the stench made it difficult for me to sleep. We got out of there early as today was a very big day for us because we are staying with a former student of Robert’s and I am meeting one of my friends as well.

We went back to continue on the Luce Line Trail, but couldn’t find the trailhead, which logically, should have been right across the road from where the trail ended coming from the other direction. There are no directional signs for guidance, so we stopped and asked. We had to backtrack, but eventually found the trail again after wasting much time. We followed the trail all the way to Wayzata and tried to find our way to the Cedar Lake Trail to connect to the Midtown Greenway. We encountered some construction and a detour, but while consulting our map, Norm who was out for a spin asked if he could help us find something. He gave us directions and then offered to lead us to the Midtown Greenway. Had it not been for him, we would have missed one important turn as it is not marked on the trail. It took us several hours to get to our destination from Wayzata, even though we had been told that it was only a distance of 12 miles. It was definitely our slowest time ever.

We easily found Christine’s house, which is conveniently located near the end of the trail. We met Marci, did laundry and borrowed Mitch’s car to take a look downtown. We haven’t seen a large city with skyscrapers since Portland.

Riding in a car seemed odd as did riding through the suburbs. The number of people walking, cycling and inline skating impressed us as did the vast network of trails, which have lanes for cycling in each direction and a walking lane. The surface was the most pleasant that we have ridden since the shoulder of I-94 in Treasure County Montana, many miles ago.

Tomorrow we head southeast and the winds will be strong out of the southeast. I seriously considered heading northwest tomorrow, just because the daily winds become more and more aggravating. Somebody suggested doing a tour based on wind direction. Simply head out with the tailwind. Now that sounds like my kind of tour.