85 and Windy: Photo Dump

Now that I'm well rested, I'll share a bit of the scenery from yesterday's ride.


The roads were still wet from the previous day's rain when I left the house at 7 A.M. Worms were everywhere. I did my best to not run over them, but judging by the number of carcasses all over my bike by the end of the morning, I didn't do that great of a job.


After 11 miles of riding, I finally got to my first windbreak. Thank you trees! Unfortunately, it only lasted for a mile and a half before I had to turn back into the wind.


Still wet.


Caribou Lake


Once I crossed Hwy. 53 I passed an osprey nest and was lucky enough to see the pair in flight.


Swamp Sisters
This is a folksy little restaurant that's only open during the summer. Looks like I'm a little early.


It's nice to have a sign telling you what the windspeed is.


Truss Bridge


Cloquet River


Rolling Graffiti-Bringing big city atmosphere to the country.


My first chance to take advantage of a tailwind. It felt like I hardly had to pedal.


Nichols Lake


1 mile of 4 lane is 1 mile too many. Even though there is a wide shoulder, there is just too much traffic. I'm much more comfortable on a lightly traveled 2 lane, even without a shoulder.


This is what happens when you don't close your bag after stopping for a snack break. I had six Fig Newmans, but was only able to save four (the 10 second rule does not apply when outside). I'm sure a crow had a nice treat.


The pavement has to end eventually. I think about 18 miles of my ride was on gravel. All with a tailwind.


Sun, Wind, Trees


Back to pavement, with my friends here blocking the wind for me.


More nice scenery.


Island Lake
By this point the wind speed was 30mph, gusting to 40. I had to lean quite a bit to stay upright.

I was home around 2:30 and ended with 85.1 miles. I would have gone for a century, but I didn't want to burn myself out. There are still 16 more days to ride this month and I don't want to miss a single one.