The Delights Keep Coming

June 13, 2022

Lake Byllesby County Park

I woke up early, made coffee, drank coffee, broke camp and packed it all up. Then I rode up the rugged trail out of there. A short distance up the main road, I parked my bike next to a restroom and went on a hike along and above the Mississippi River. I did not see another person, thereby avoiding another intellectual conversation. I wasn't ready for something like, "hiking, huh?"

My reply would have been, "yup."

I liked the path leading away from my cart-in campsite. It keeps the riff-raff out.

A view from 400' above America's greatest river

This boring view is from only about 390' above the river.

The sky was darkening. I knew storms were coming, so I cut my hike short. I prefer to make progress and face a storm on the road than to sit still waiting to see what might happen. Hence, I rode away from the park in a light sprinkle.

A quick picture before the descent got CRAZY FAST!

About 10 yards from the state park entrance is a thing called Hill Avenue. I missed it on the way to the park yesterday. I only knew of its existence because Scott & Rocky told me about it. They tell people about routes all over the world, so why shouldn't I check it out?

All I can say is, Hill Avenue turned out to be the highlight of my day. It's gravel, so Son of Bing Bong got a chance to show off the beefier tires it has than its predecessor, The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong, had.

The hilly green setting is what I imagine Vermont looks like.

Toward the end of that bucolic four-mile excursion I found out why Hill Avenue is named Hill Avenue. It was up and up, and on the other side it was down and down and down. That ratio of two ups to three downs worked in my favor. Had I been riding from the other direction, I might have been singing a different tune.

Too soon, I was back on Highway 61. That's where I saw my first flash of lightning, followed by a resounding roll of thunder. That combination repeated itself four more times. I picked up my pace, knowing that shelter was six miles in the distance.

It rained lightly. I can ride in rain. I can also ride in flashes of lightning. When I see BOLTS of lightning, well, that's when I prepare to hunker down in the nearest ditch.

I never used to take many pictures, but now I'm getting into this photography business. Not even lightning flashes can prevent me from stopping for at least a couple of photos.

According to my well-detailed De Lorme map, that's Rattlesnake Bluff.

This is the main building of the Minnesota Correctional Facility on the outskirts of Red Wing. There is a lot of secure fencing all around.

I made it to downtown Red Wing before the heavy rain hit. I parked my bike and myself under a gazebo, plugged my near-dead phone into an outlet and waited.

When the rain reduced to a sprinkle, I decided to continue my ride by hopping onto the Cannon River Trail. I was westward bound for the town of Cannon Falls and beyond that, to the campground at Lake Byllesby County Park.

I took quite a few pictures along the trail, but I'm saving many of them for a separate post on the animals I've seen on this mini-tour. I will now display a couple of pictures that, aside from ME, do not involve animals. That will be followed by a video I made while riding one of the roads adjacent to the bike trail.

ME, riding the Cannon River Bike Trail . . . and enjoying it.

I rode around the town of Cannon Falls for a while. A guy shouted out to me, "how was your trip." I described it in the most modest terms and thanked him for asking. Then he said his company organizes guided tours and he's loading up his trailer right now for a tour from Seattle to Boston. Only then did I notice his T-shirt.

"Oh, you're with Cycle America. I've seen the sign in front of your building for years and always wondered what you were all about." Then I felt like I should apologize for my preference to tour alone.

I was prepared to buy a bottle of Cannon Falls wine for one of my world famous wine reviews. Alas, the winery is closed on Mondays. So was the brewery across the street.

From there, I made my way to Lake Byllesby. There were 40 recreational vehicles for every tent at the campground, but I liked it nevertheless. It's not as remote as last night's campsite but, as a trade-off, it does have the conveniences of electricity, flush toilets, a beach, a store, and paved bike trails. No showers though, so it looks like I'll be washing my body with a wet bandana again tonight.

I was convinced that I'd have more success blogging with my phone and my new keyboard than I had last night.

WRONG! It was worse and I'm pretty sure I'll go back to carrying my laptop on my next mini-tour.

Anyway, this evening I resigned myself to the idea of posting everything after I get home. In compensation, I was happy to revert back to writing in my notebook while blasting loud music, drinking Minnesota beer, and ignoring everybody who walks by my campsite.

This is the tried and true way I've done it for years.

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Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 79 miles (127 km)

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