August 24, 2021
46.5 nets 36.9
Late start today due to morning rain and thunderstorms. Headed to the northern trailhead of the Paul Bunyan State Trail at Lake Bemidji State Park. Shortly after turning onto the trail from the park I crossed a small bridge over an early stage of the Mississippi River. Certainly not the image most of us have.
The trail followed the eastern shore of Lake Bemidji for about 8 miles of very pleasant riding. As I approached Bemidji, I dutifully followed a sign directing me to Walker, the goal for today. 4.5 miles down the trail, it ended abruptly...no sign...no clue. The trail turned to dirt. I consulted my trusty GPS which directed me to turnaround. Back to Bemidji I spotted a second sign directing me to Walker. The trail quickly entered a residential area and it occurred to me both signs were right. Snowmobiles are allowed to use the Paul Bunyan Trail. The first sign was directing snowmobilers on an alternative route to a void the havoc of going through a residential area.
Now back on track, I called Laura and told her I would be a bit late meeting her at our agreed upon meeting spot 25 miles down the trail. Arriving late, we needed to load my bike on the back of the truck in order to get to a bike shop in Park Raids where I had dropped of my other bike to get a new rear tire. Apparently the tire had picked up a couple of slices on the Mickelson Trail in South Dakota.
So glad they had a tire. Didn't want to take any chances when I shift back to using my hybrid on gravel trails later in this trip.
Loaded up the hybrid and shuttled to Walker for an early evening ride back to our originally agreed upon meeting point. Completed today's goal, but certainly not in a straight line. Guess this is why it's an adventure.
On the shuttle to Walker we could not resist another picture of Paul Bunyan!
Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 936 miles (1,506 km)
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3 years ago