
Today we got to experience 90 miles of Minnesota's great trail system "Rails to Trails". Years ago, when the railroad tracks were taken out they paved the old bed and transformed it into a now well-known bike path. There are two perks of riding on a path originally intended for trains: 1) trains can't handle any inclines over like a 1% grade and 2) trains also can't take sharp turns. These two perks mean that the 90 miles we rode on the trail system were beautifully flat, straight, and for the most part displayed flawless pavement. It was the ultimate red carpet of Minnesota.
I talked about the perks of the trail, but one negative stood out to me in particular... the literal curtains of mosquitos or gnats or whatever the heck they were. Ever since we crossed the border into the state of Minnesota the density of nasty insects has greatly increased. At one point on the trail today we would literally ride through dense clouds of these insects. The best strategy we came up with is closing all face holes and exhaling super aggressively. We still ended up with bugs in our cavities, but not near as many as we would have without using said strategy.
123 miles later, with tired and worn out attitudes, we turned the county highway corner to be greeted by Miles (this week's support) holding up a cutesy homemade sign displaying "Alice's Attic". Our accommodations for the night were in a dolled up hayloft in this angel of a women named Alice's barn. Not only did we get the neat opportunity of sleeping in the loft of a traditional barn, but Alice greeted us with lots planned for the evening. After showers she led Gabby and I upstairs and surprised us with free massages! Two very talented masseuses from nearby towns were right there in Alice's Attic with ready hands all for us. It felt like a mother's sweet love. After our massages we gorged ourselves in potluck style food provided by the local high school's honor society. A group of 7 girls our age from the school joined us for the evening. We enjoyed getting to know them and of course the food they provided - Thanks ladies! After dinner finished up, the music (live!) began, and the barn dance that Alice had planned picked up. We all learned how to 2-step and a couple of us learned a few other more complicated dances. The country style barn dance was so much fun. Good people, Good times, etc, etc
Check it out: http://www.alicesattic.com/index.html
After everyone left for the night, two girls from Royalton, Minnesota stuck around and then escorted us to the local Dairy Queen. We love our night time snacky runs - DQ being top of the favorites list. We messed around in front of a stunning sunset in Royalton for a while and then made way full speed ahead to our sleeping bags in Alice's Attic. Early wakeup tomorrow for another 120+ miles ride! Wisconsin tomorrow!
xoxo,
JT
I talked about the perks of the trail, but one negative stood out to me in particular... the literal curtains of mosquitos or gnats or whatever the heck they were. Ever since we crossed the border into the state of Minnesota the density of nasty insects has greatly increased. At one point on the trail today we would literally ride through dense clouds of these insects. The best strategy we came up with is closing all face holes and exhaling super aggressively. We still ended up with bugs in our cavities, but not near as many as we would have without using said strategy.
123 miles later, with tired and worn out attitudes, we turned the county highway corner to be greeted by Miles (this week's support) holding up a cutesy homemade sign displaying "Alice's Attic". Our accommodations for the night were in a dolled up hayloft in this angel of a women named Alice's barn. Not only did we get the neat opportunity of sleeping in the loft of a traditional barn, but Alice greeted us with lots planned for the evening. After showers she led Gabby and I upstairs and surprised us with free massages! Two very talented masseuses from nearby towns were right there in Alice's Attic with ready hands all for us. It felt like a mother's sweet love. After our massages we gorged ourselves in potluck style food provided by the local high school's honor society. A group of 7 girls our age from the school joined us for the evening. We enjoyed getting to know them and of course the food they provided - Thanks ladies! After dinner finished up, the music (live!) began, and the barn dance that Alice had planned picked up. We all learned how to 2-step and a couple of us learned a few other more complicated dances. The country style barn dance was so much fun. Good people, Good times, etc, etc
Check it out: http://www.alicesattic.com/index.html
After everyone left for the night, two girls from Royalton, Minnesota stuck around and then escorted us to the local Dairy Queen. We love our night time snacky runs - DQ being top of the favorites list. We messed around in front of a stunning sunset in Royalton for a while and then made way full speed ahead to our sleeping bags in Alice's Attic. Early wakeup tomorrow for another 120+ miles ride! Wisconsin tomorrow!
xoxo,
JT