Start: 8:03 AM

Finish: 5:37 PM  

Saddle Time: 7:12

Ascent: 610 feet

Descent:  219 feet

Miles: 84

Total Miles: 1,915

Highlight: Getting a free lunch at Dairyland in Fergus Falls

Lowlight: All day full on headwind.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

I hated today before it even started. My plan was to ride about 80 miles to Alexandria heading southeast from Barnesville the whole way while the wind is predicted to be out of the southeast. That’s just a recipe for unhappiness but I think the story of today was more about the people I met along the way and one fantastic rail trail.

I remember waking up in the dark, looking up and seeing stars.  It’s been super dry so I typically don’t put on the rainfly unless the sites are on top of each other. I had an isolated spot last night. The next thing I remember is light outside.  I usually start waking up around 5:00 with sunrise around at 5:50. Today I didn’t wake up until sunrise but I think the days are starting to wear on me, I needed the rest.

After a slow start I was on the road at 8:00, should have been earlier but it will have to do. The first 30 miles worked out as expected, I hated it. Peddling into the wind, about all I saw was the 2 feet of pavement in front of my bike.  The road was fine, a quiet road through farmland.  Most of the roads lately have been perfectly acceptable.  If I were to complain about anything it’s the cracks in the roads every 10 yards or so. I keep banging into them which is tiring physically and mentally.

At one point a jeep passed me and pulled over a half mile down the road.  Roads are flat and straight so you can see off to the horizon. I saw a guy get out of the car and meander around the road, crossing over to the other side and back. I thought maybe he had car troubles but it looked like he was waiting for me.  As I approached he pointed up in the tree across the street, a bald eagle. He asked me where I was going so we started talking. He’s about my age, maybe a little older. He did this ride back in the early 90’s and was dressed up for biking today, heading to a rail trail about 20 miles from here for a day ride.

Just after passing him I entered the town Rothsay which has a large prairie chicken statue.  They seem to be, perhaps self appointed, the prairie chicken capital of Minnesota which I think makes them the prairie chicken capital of the world. A few miles back I spooked two birds from the side of the road which looked somewhat like partridge to me, probably prairie chickens.

I made it to the town of Fergus Falls which is where I’ll pick up the Central Lakes Trail.  Minnesota has done a great job with rail trails. This one connects to a few others making for a 180 mile stretch of paved rail trail (not sure if the whole length is paved but most at least is). I’ve been looking forward to this for a while so I’ll try to not let the wind spoil todays segment.

I stopped at Dairyland on the way into town, a local ice cream/lunch place. The woman taking my order asked about my trip.  We talked for a while then she said lunch is on the house!  Very nice! Turns out she and her husband wanted to do the southern tier in 2020 but couldn’t because of covid. I later went up to pay for a sundae but she also gave it to me on the house.

The rail trail was very nice. The pavement was mostly in good conditions, some sections with deep cracks or mounds with crack filler so a bit rough at times. The first part was surrounded by trees so protected from the wind.  I was able to ride at my usual rail trail pace of 12-15 MPH without too much additional effort. The trail later opened up at times so I was back into the headwind but still way better than riding the road. I’m very much in the Minnesota lakes region. There area lot of ponds and lakes along the trail.

I stopped to check my map, I still didn’t have a place to stay tonight, wasn’t sure if I would make it to Alexandria in the wind. I ended up deciding to go for it and booked a cheap room at a Super 8. As I started back up I saw a cyclist approach and start to pull over.  It was the eagle guy from a few hours ago.  He was making his way back from his day ride.  We talked again for a while.

When I was about 10 miles from my destination I saw a cyclist off in the distance ahead of me. I was slowly gaining on her (figured a her with the pink). Eventually I passed her and she asked where I was heading.  I slowed down and we road together and talked for a long while.  She was very interested in my trip, said it’s all she’s going to talk about with her friends over dinner tonight.  She was on the trail training for a triathlon.  After turning 60 she wanted to do 10 triathlons in 10 states, or something like that. It’s always nice to speak with random people I meet along the way, makes the day more interesting.

I eventually made it to Alexandria and headed south into town.  My motel was a good 3 miles off route which seemed to take forever at the end of a long day.  There’s a Boulder Ale House across the street so that will be dinner tonight.

I’m unsure about how to approach the next few days.  The route continues on the rail trail to Albany then heads northeast, I think also on a short branch of rail trail. It continues to loop along the northern side of Minneapolis then south to the west side into Wisconsin. I’m debating riding straight into St Cloud on the rail trail then using Google to navigate through Minneapolis to rejoin the route. I see no compelling reason to travel that far north other than to avoid the city. I think I prefer to shave a day or so off my travels so I’m going to look into how to get through Minneapolis by bike.