Coasting UpHill

We started our first day by driving to Itasca State Park and parking the van. We unloaded the bikes and got everything assembled, loaded up, and ready for riding. Next we found the visitor’s center and the path to the headwaters. It was a beautiful spot! A little stream flowing from a pristine lake. Hard…

Tomorrow Mel and I are starting the first leg of (hopefully) a multi year section by section bicycle ride of the Mississippi River Trail. This trail starts at the headwaters of the Mississippi in Itasca MN and ends at the Gulf of Mexico. While following the river the landscape will change from northern Minnesota forests…

The ride this year felt different in a lot of ways.   I started to notice it during the planning, during the ride, and at the finish.  Couldn’t put my finger on it for a couple days but then I realized what it was.   The trip had all the same elements of the previous 5…

Today we had a mix of everything.  We started with a 400+ foot climb from the river into very rural Amish country.  We descended back to the river and had new roads with extra wide shoulders.  That led us to urban riding through Lacrosse and by the UW campus there.  We then found paved paths…

This trip is going to be HOT! We had a lot of heat day one and that was a short miles day. So we planned to be riding by 6am to hopefully get about 60 of our 75 planned miles done before lunch. We set out at 5:45 and went to the BP for some…

It all started about 7 years ago when Kevin and I had a crazy idea about riding our bikes from Illinois to St Germain Wisconsin.   One of those “wouldn’t it be cool to…” types of discussions.  Most of the time those ideas don’t happen, but this idea did get me thinking.   I thought…

Earlier this year Mel and I were talking about different bicycling adventures, schedules, and travel. I had my eye on doing the 2023 Ride the Rockies in Colorado. I was looking forward to riding in the mountains again after having so much fun last year. I was looking forward to the massive climbs and descents…

I heard this phrase a lot as people would often come to ask me what I was doing, where I was going, and how long I had been riding. Every time my response was something like – you would be surprised.  With some gear and determination you can do it too.   And that is totally…

Had a different kind of morning today. Woke up with no plans to ride today. I didn’t get my snacks ready to load, didn’t check maps or make sure the bike was in good order. The riding part of my sabbatical is over. Yesterday I left Grand Lake CO and rode Trail Ridge Road through…

I had a great ride again today. It started in the campground where I spent the night. There was a huge family reunion there this weekend and they gave us fresh and good coffee! Always a great rway to start the day. Overall the ride was climbing in elevation with 5 “hills” to ride up.…