Fall Biking - Camping Trip

 I forgot to write my usual story to accompany photos and the video. So here is a hopefully a short story of last week's biking-camping trip.

First a clarification...we did not bike with our camping gear. We drove to the bike trails and drove to the camp sites. Two guys in their sixties do not need to be overdoing anything :-)

We (my friend Bud and I) first went to Albany, Minnesota. It is just off I-94 between St. Cloud and Sauk Centre. Albany is along the Lake Wobegon Trail which has a side route that connects to the Soo Line Trail. The Soo Line Trail goes through Holdingford and Bowlus to the Blanchard Dam on the Mississippi River.

These are rails-to-trails -- old railroad rights of way converted to cycling, walking, and snowmobile use. Because they are old railways, they are super flat and nearly completely straight. While the countryside might go up and down a bit, the trails just glide right through. Perfect for biking. We also learned what State Rail Bank Property is (there are signs all along the trails)

We saw lots of different farms and fields but the rail rights of way also provide for trees to grow along the trails. I was surprised there weren't more flowers (asters, black-eyed susans, etc.) along the way but they mow along the trails and the farm fields don't have much of a buffer.

We stopped in Bowlus at Jordie's Trailside Cafe and ate the biggest sandwiches I've ever had. Our destination and turn around spot was the Blanchard Dam on the Mississippi River. It is much bigger than I thought. It produces hydroelectric power.

On the return trip, we stopped at BoHo Cafe in Holdingford for a beer and pretzel bites . It is only a year old and has a winery feel to it. Holdingford has a charming covered bridge over the trail. It is not as old as one thinks.

The first day ride was 40 miles! -- 20 out and 20 back. We were very sore but made it to our camping destination - Sauk Centre. We set up our tent at a campsite right in town next to a small lake. We were the only tent and were surrounded by giant RV campers. It was kind of comical.

We ate at the local Mexican place in Sauk Centre. The food was very good. Back at camp, we were the only ones with a campfire which felt good on a cool night. We could see stars but there were street lights and lots of car noise. Even so, I slept really well after a day of cycling.

Thursday morning we had coffee and breakfast at camp. I made scrambled eggs with my new camp stove. We drove to Brandon which was further north on I-94. Our destination was Chippewa Park in Douglas County. There was only one other camper set up when we arrived. This time we had a spot where only tents were allowed. It was very spacious. We went ahead and setup the tent before going on our bike ride.

Thursday's bike ride was on the Central Lakes Trail - another rails-to-trails path. We started in Brandon and headed north 15 miles to Ashby. Again it was very level and very straight.

Lots of lakes and ponds along this trail. In Ashby we found City Restaurant. We got there just 20 minutes before the end of lunch. Grilled cheese and chili were perfect. And best of all, homemade blueberry pie!

We got back to the campsite and were the only ones there. It was a bit creepy to be honest...out in the middle with no one around. There was no place to eat in Brandon. We had passed through Evansville on our bikes which was a bigger town. We ate at the Backroad's Bar and Steak House. I had a steak salad with a really nice balsamic vinaigrette. We were entertained by the stories being told a the table across from us.

Lantern holder?

By the time we got back the campsite, an RV camper had setup with a large family and a huge tent was setup 2 sites down from us. There was plenty of room and honestly it felt good having other people around.

I was hoping for clear sky for star viewing but clouds kept coming and going. The clouds ended up coming for good because it rained over night early in the morning. It stopped raining by the time we got up. We made coffee in camp and decided to close up camp, have breakfast somewhere, and head back to the Twin Cities. I had planned on making eggs goldenrod but it seemed a bit complicated and making toast was going to be a problem.

We had breakfast at the State Street Cafe in Garfield. We highly recommend the fritter French toast.

We took a scenic route back to Minneapolis and successfully avoided the interstate. It was nice driving through the towns and seeing more of the country side.

The video of the trip can be viewed by clicking here.