GMRR Day 25 - Red Wing, MN to Bloomington, MN

The link to today's route and ride statistics is here.

Today was a fitting end to a great trip up the Mississippi.  We left early (7:00) due to a threat of rain around mid-day.  We quickly exited Minnesota, going back over the river into Wisconsin, where we spent most of the ride.  The weather was perfect, with temps in the high 50's to low 70's, a slight tailwind most of the way, and overcast skies.  I think the whole group was enjoying the day, as you can see by the SAG stop at a park where the St Croix River joins the Mississippi.

I stopped to take a photo of some wildflowers that have appeared along the route frequently over the last several days.

I also need to leave you with one more photo of a Wisconsin farm.

So after a day with a couple of climbs and lots of rolling hills, the Twin Cities came in to view,

We were put on bike paths for the last 10-15 miles in the city.  Some of them were pretty good, and some were not.  At any rate, we finally got a little rain in the last 5 miles or so, but not enough that it really bothered anything.  So in the end, we got rained on for two short stretches of a trip where rain threatened on a number of days.  Not too bad.

To wrap things up, we covered 1744 miles in 25 days, going through 9 states.  We saw the variety the heartland of this great country has to offer.  I am very pleased to have done this ride

GMRR Day 24 - LaCrosse, WI to Red Wing, MN

The link to today's route and the ride statistics is here.

Today, the winds were out of the northwest, so which way do you think we were riding.  Of course, straight into the wind.  While they weren't helping, they could have been worse.  Other than the wind, the weather was perfect for riding.  Temps started in the upper 50s and probably were still in the low 70s at finish.
I found the first two thirds of the route fairly uninteresting.  The river was mostly hidden, and when we saw water it was mostly marshland.  Here is a shot with our mechanic to give you an idea.

We saw a couple of more dam and lock combinations.  I will only show one, since they are all pretty similar.  This one was in the town of Alma.

After the town of Pepin, the route became more scenic.  In fact, according to one of the historical markers, it is one of the most scenic in the country.  That is because it borders Lake Pepin, which is pretty nice.  But first, I must comment on Pepin the town.  It is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder of the Little House books.  Here is the historical marker.

The town also has a museum, but I didn't have the time to visit.  I did like the map of her travels that was outside the museum.

Since it was a nice day, there were a number of boats on the lake.

Finally, after a long day on the road, we crossed the Mississippi into Minnesota.  Here is a shot of the Red Wing marina from the bridge.  Red Wing is also the home of Red Wing shoes.

Since tomorrow will be the final day of the ride, and many folks will be leaving quickly after they get in, we had our farewell banquet tonight.  It is clear that everyone very much enjoyed the ride, and appreciated the very fine staff we had supporting us.

We have one last chance for a rainy day, and the forecast is pretty iffy.  Wish us well.

GMRR Day 23 - Prairie du Chien, WI to LaCrosse, WI

The link to today's route and ride statistics is here.

Today was another fine day to be on a bicycle.  We had almost ideal weather, with the wind not really a factor one way or the other.  The roads started a little miserable, but turned quite good 15-20 miles in.  There was little to no climbing involved, so I largely used it as a recovery day, in preparation for a big day tomorrow.
The route basically followed the Mississippi from Prairie du Chien to LaCrosse.  The first 15 miles or so, the river was hidden behind trees, but after we came to dam and lock #9, we had a visible river most of the way.  Here is the dam.

We moved up the river less than 30 miles when we came to dam and lock #8.

I  also took a picture of the historical information sign that was in the area.  It gives a little history of the dams on the river.

Once we were in LaCrosse, we had miserable roads to take us to the motel.  When we finally arrived, it was on what is called the Black River, but a map shows is merely a branch of the Mississippi on one side of an island.  Here we are on the motel dock looking up the Black River.  That is Drew, Michael (our mechanic) and me.

All in all, a nice day on the river.  Tomorrow we have 101 mile to Red Wing.