The longest day - Northeast Minnesota 2023 - CycleBlaze

September 20, 2023

The longest day

Day 14: Virginia to Duluth

THIS IS THE DAY that's had me concerned since A D first shared the routes for the tour.  What climbing there is will be gentle, and mostly in the first ten or eleven miles.  There's a five or six hundred foot plunge to Lake Superior over the last two or three miles.  Everything in between is essentially flat.  So, what's the big deal?  

It's 71 miles with a headwind the entire way, that's what.

The last time I rode anything like that distance was 14 months ago, on an extraordinary day in Montana.  I'm not at all certain how I'll respond to this challenge, but there's really no alternative.  Needs must, and all that.

On the plus side, we're due to have the warmest day of the tour, topping out in the upper 70s, so we don't need to worry about being cold.  Add to that brilliant blue skies, eliminating any threat of rain.  On the debit side of the ledger, we're riding more-or-less due south all day, meaning we'll be slugging into a 10-15 mph headwind for the entire ride.

That's touring, of course, just like the inevitable  wettings we all endure from time to time.  It's the challenging days that make the glorious days so much the sweeter.  And they make for better stories, once they're over.  But they're tough to endure as they happen.

Endure we did, however, and everyone made it in alright although we are all tired.  So, the rest of this story will consist of scenes from the road.

Leaving Virginia.
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Charmaine RuppoltThat's a great sign! :)
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1 year ago
Keith AdamsTo Charmaine RuppoltI almost missed it. Another rider pointed it out as we went past.
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1 year ago
Halfway for the day. 35.71 done ...
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... and 35.6 left to go.
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Kelly IniguezI'm not the only one to play the numbers game! It's great entertainment during the day. I also watch mile markers and count them down (or up).
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1 year ago
Keith AdamsTo Kelly IniguezAs I get close to the end of a ride, I start equating the distance remaining to other rides I know: to REI, home from the office, home from "downtown"Rickville, etc. Helps me finish.
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1 year ago
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Bill ShaneyfeltLooks like some kind of sparrow. Wikipedia lists 28 species for the area. Little brown birds give me fits!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Minnesota#New_World_sparrows
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1 year ago
Keith AdamsTo Bill ShaneyfeltThere were a bunch of them, so sparrow seems like.y.
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1 year ago
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Bill ShaneyfeltMight be a purple finch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_finch
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1 year ago
Keith AdamsTo Bill ShaneyfeltA new type of finch, to me. But very finch-like.
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1 year ago
Bill ShaneyfeltTo Keith AdamsI'm not a real birder... Several others out there are, so anything I post on birds may be suspect. My Ornithology course at AZ State ended in 1969 and I was definitely a star in that class!
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1 year ago
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Bill ShaneyfeltDestructive fuzzy-tailed rat!!
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1 year ago
Keith AdamsTo Bill ShaneyfeltYeah but it's so cute!
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1 year ago
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Bill ShaneyfeltLooks like a goldfinch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_goldfinch
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1 year ago
Keith AdamsTo Bill ShaneyfeltAgreed.
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1 year ago
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Today's ride: 72 miles (116 km)
Total: 620 miles (998 km)

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