Wisconsin, our sixth state, is today's destination.
We set out from downtown Minneapolis this morning in rush hour traffic. Bikes everywhere. One guy saw our panniers almost immediately and came alongside to ask questions. We rode with him for a few blocks, then he sent us in the right direction to the bike path along the Mississippi. Yes, this was the day the route actually crossed it. Our bridge was a ways south so we got to ride along the river for a mile or two & admire all the engineering feats it displays. A lock, falls alongside it, bridges of all types and ages. There were several signs telling some of the history, but I got caught up in the rush hour feeling so we didn't stop much. We did stop for a few pictures once we were on our bridge.
We spent some time on the St. Paul streets - still plenty of bikes, but not quite as scenic as Minneapolis. More industrial. It was fun seeing the great variety of cyclists: the guy we talked to early, all rigged out in one of the Tour de France jerseys & matching shorts; lots of people in shorts & t-shirts; several guys who thought it was too hot for shirts; lots of people in their work clothes & shoes; all ages, all speeds; one young woman on an older road bike wearing sandals who pushed and swayed to pass me on a steepish little hill, then laughed when I passed her at the top, she, off the bike and gasping, I, just pedaling along at my tortoise pace; once we got out of the cityish areas, lots of kids. The bicycle is a major way of getting around in the Twin Cities.
We were soon on the Gateway Trail. 15 miles of paved trail through shady woods and wetlands and fields and a bit of town. Again, bikes and bikes, and occasional runners and walkers. Parts of the trail were designed for horses - an unpaved bit that criss-crossed our paved path - but we didn't see any riders today. A few miles out another cyclist started chatting. Terry has lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota and rides a lot. She also knows many trees and flowers, so we spent many miles interrogating her- so many miles that we missed our turn & had to backtrack a couple. From there we had only about 20 miles to go. It was all easy today. We even had some tail winds.
The last few miles followed then crossed the St. Croix River, the boundary between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Only a mile or two in we reached our B&B, a very comfortable one with a little balcony overlooking the river.
The only negative is that we seem to have miscalculated a lot of the ride lengths over the next few days. Tomorrow threatens to be close to 90 miles. We have looked at all sorts of maps and will at least partly be going on alternate routes. There are some great looking but unpaved trails. Keeping our fingers crossed!
Miles today: 56
Total miles so far: 2336
Thinking of you. LOVING the postcards!
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