Start: 8:33 AM

Finish: 5:23 PM  

Saddle Time: 5:25

Ascent: 38 feet

Descent:  150 feet

Miles: 70

Total Miles: 1,985

Highlight: Riding on rail trails all day

Lowlight: Thinking I needed to replace my freehub which would require a 3 day wait for shipping.

Cyclemeter:  I had technical problems with cyclemeter today, the data is incomplete. My distance above is accurate but ascent and descent are not, although it was very flat.  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.

Today was a top 5 day for sure.  All but a few of my 70 miles were on rail trails with favorable wind conditions. I’m really liking Minnesota. This place is a fantasy land, everything looks like a movie set with quaint towns where you just have to think, that’s not real.

I had a slow start again today, had trouble getting up in the morning and I wanted to get yesterdays blog post out.  My body does not want to get moving anymore.  Last night I was falling asleep so I had to stop writing.  Perhaps it’s the few beers I had with dinner last night or the bottle of wine the night before but I don’t think so, my body will metabolize absolutely anything at this point. I feel like I can eat or drink without consequence. I do think I could use some good rest.

The ride started where I left off on the Central Lakes Trail. At about 15 miles I made it to the town of Osakis and noticed an hardware store.  My headlight fell off when descending the continental divide weeks ago and I lost the wing nut that holds it in place, been meaning to buy one so might as well be now. After I went across the street to a coffee shop for second breakfast. They served good tamales which I had along with a mocha. Not something you would stumble across in Montana or North Dakota but maybe in Washington.  When I stepped outside I thought, this does not look real.  The small main street was fully occupied with store fronts and looked vibrant.

At this point the Central Lakes Trail became the Lake Wobegon Trail.  Fans of public radio know what I’m talking about.  Minnesota public radio personality Garrison Keillor lived in the area and told stories about a fictional place called Lake Wobegon in his series named  “Prairie Home Companion”.

At one point I stopped at a boat launch to take pictures when a car approached. The driver stepped out and asked if I was on a cross country bike ride. He’s part of the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.  I told him how much I loved the trail.  He asked if I knew the Lake Wobegon reference which I did and he asked if I stopped in Freeport to see Charlie’s Cafe.  When passing by I saw the cafe from the trail, it sounded familiar but I didn’t know why.  Keillor was regular there when he worked at a local radio station.  Listening to farmers talk gave him inspiration for a lot of what became a Prairie Home Companion.

I made several stops along the way. After the coffee shop I stopped at an ice cream place.  I must be getting like my mother where I don’t pass up a chance for ice cream. Later I stopped at a grocery store with the intent of buying Gatorade for which I have an insane craving while riding. I almost never drank the stuff in the past. I ended up getting a fried chicken dinner from their deli. Good fuel for the rest of the day.

The other half of the day was not so fun.  I noticed yesterday that my freehub may have issues. When rolling the bike my pedals moved and when coasting the top of the chain went slack. I was concerned it would get worse and potentially cause other problems. I made the decision last night to ride straight through Minneapolis so I will be in St Cloud this afternoon where there are a few bike shops. I stopped at the first bike shop on the way in town.  They were accommodating enough to look at my bike on the spot.  They said it’s definitely the freehub and showed me how you can see it clicking when the wheel spins. Unfortunately it’s not a part they or most shops stock especially in covid times.  Ordering a new one would take a few days.

I decided to call another shop, maybe with a bit of luck they will have one in stock.  I was prepared to offer them a bounty to procure one from another new or used bike in the shop. The guy took a quick look at my bike and realized the plastic disk between the cassette and spokes on the back wheel was moving. The tabs holding it in place bent and was causing it to jamb the cassette.  These disks are required by law on new bikes because you can destroy your spokes if your gears are not set properly. Once removed, problem was solved all for $10 labor. What was a huge relief.  I didn’t want to stay here for 3 days, although there are a few breweries in town.

I have to figure out my approach to Minneapolis.  Once I find a reasonable place to stay I’ll just use Google cycle directions to guide me there.  Bike problems aside I figured it best to just ride through Minneapolis.  I saw no compelling reason for the long diversion north.  There is a popular bike hostel up that way but I’d rather shave a day or more off my time.