The rains finally ceased sometime late in the night, but it is still overcast when we wake. It will remain so all day, and occasionally a light mist will develop. With temperature in the low sixties and with a light but favorable wind, we experience a pleasant ride down to Moose Lake.
We began the ride by exploring around the Duluth waterfront a bit more, making up somewhat for having sat yesterday out. I can tell that it is a place I'd be happy to spend more time in, and am sorry when we leave. Hopefully we'll make it back again someday.
Quiet this morning. The lake seems different every time I look at it. I think I could stare at it for a long time without tiring of its different moods.
Duluth's iconic lift bridge raises his deck for a group of sailboats. It looked like they had been circling on the other side of the bridge for awhile. I wonder if it goes up on a regular schedule, or if the operator waits until enough traffic has queued up to pass through?
A few miles out of he city we arrived at the northern terminus of the Willard Munger State Trail, a long north-south bike path we ride the rest of the way to Moose Lake and will continue on tomorrow. The northern half is paved to at least Hinckley, our midpoint for tomorrow's ride - we'll be on this thing in total for nearly a hundred miles. It makes very pleasant but undramatic cycling - mile after mile of riding through green woods on a flat, mostly straight path. Highlights along the way include frequent sightings of bunnies flushed from the grass beside us and an occasional white tailed deer standing in the distance staring at us approach.
We weren't enthusiastic about the options for dinner tonight in Moose Lake, so when we saw a sign by the path advertising the Streetcar Kitchen and Pub in Carlton a mile ahead, we decided to flip our food plan for the day. The muffaletta could wait for tonight, and we'd have our main meal now. It made a fine lunch stop - Rachael had a huge grilled chicken salad, and I had a Reuben sandwich with fries and a Bent Paddlle Black Ale. We sat around reading the news for awhile afterwards before continuing on the last miles to Moose Lake.
The knee is definitely improved today. The swelling isn't gone but has definitely lessened. At the end of the day, it seems better than this morning. So that's good news. I imagine that the symptoms will eventually clear up and I'll never be sure what was going on here.
Before leaving Duluth's western suburbs, we stopped at Gannucci's Italian Market to see what we could find for lunch materials. We walked out with a huge, delicious-looking muffuletta.
Starting on the Willard Munger State Trail, which we'll ride the rest of the way to Moose Lake. This curved section isn't quite characteristic, because most of the trail is straight.
