We awoke this morning to completely clear skies and the promise of a dry day. In spite of yesterday's soggy experience we feel that on the whole we've had very good luck with the weather. We expected some rain back here, and four fair days out of five is quite good.
We'd like to get an early start, but we can't leave town until my brake is repaired. Fortunately there is a bike store in Rice Lake, and they open at the reasonable hour of nine (which we knew, because Rachael called them last night while I was futzing with the brake). Before that, we have another errand to run - a trip to the post office. I accidentally left Wabasha with the key to the front door of our B&B, and Brenda would like it back.
The brake repair went smoothly, and we were on the road headed for Seeley by 10. Not bad at all.
Grinders, a sporting goods store and bicycle repair shop in Rice Lake. What luck to find this place here! Without this, we'd have been hitching a ride to a larger town up the road somewhere.
I don't think I've ever seen a bike with wooden fenders before. I asked the mechanic about it, and he beamed proudly. It's his bike, and he loves the fenders. They give it a real touch of class.
Two days later: as will happen, I've gotten behind on the journal again. This seems like it's happening a bit more often - I'm not as prone to wake up at three in the morning as I was when I was a young sprat in my late sixties. This works badly with my other aging symptoms, because my memory isn't so hot either. Two days later, things get to be pretty blurry.
Some things still stand out about the day's ride though. First off, the weather was fine and it stayed dry all day. So, we're doing quite nicely on the weather front: 4-1/2 out of 5 dry days (90%) is beating the odds for this part of the world, I'm sure. Second, it is green everywhere - and getting greener the further north we ride. At the beginning of today we were riding primarily through open farmland, but by the end we were in unbroken woods for miles. The trees are transitioning too, and we're seeing more birch and evergreens in the mix.
Looking at the maps, we're surrounded by lakes. We don't actually see them that often, even when they're only a hundred yards away. We biked along the eastern edge of Long Lake for nearly ten miles but almost never saw it because it was hidden behind unbroken forest.
We were reminded again today of the advantages of cycling through an anglophone country. We had several enjoyable and informative conversations today - at the bike shop, with the groundskeeper at the church in Dobie, and with the docent at the Sand Lake historical society - the sort of experience that is rare when we travel overseas.
We ended the day in tiny Seeley, staying at the rustic Lenroot Lodge and eating at the adjacent Sawmill Tavern. The place is quite busy, which surprised me because it feels so remote. I was a bit anxious when we checked in at the tavern, and the hostess/barmaid couldn't find our name on her completely full guest roster. All the entries were penciled in and smudgy, so it was easy to imagine an error. The finally flipped the register over to me and asked me to look. There we were, to everyone's relief.
The place was even more crowded at dinner. It's OK, but no great gourmet destination, so this was surprising too. The next morning we learned the reason - there's an ultra-endurance event tomorrow, departing from the tavern. The lodge and campground look booked solid by entrants and support crews. Good thing we booked a room months ago.
Passing the north end of Rice Lake, on leaving Rice Lake.
This is Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, in Dobie. We stopped to admire it and got into a conversation with the volunteer groundskeeper, a retired football coach/bike tourist. We enjoyed swapping stories about our cycling experiences until we felt it was time to move on. This photo doesn't quite capture how lovely this church is. It is constructed primarily of rose quartzite, giving it a unique and beautiful coloration. Th materials came from the nearby Blue Hills, and was brought to the site in Horse-drawn sleds, with each family in the community responsible for one load.
The cemetery adjacent to Our Lady of Lourdes Church. Most of the original community were French Canadians, later joined by Irish and Bohemian immigrants.
The next ten miles north of Dobie are completely straight and nearly completely flat. It makes for smooth cycling, but notice that the skies are no longer blue above us.
This beautifully restored caboose, built in 1913, is the pride of the Stone Lake Historical Society. The Soo Line had a depot at Stone Lake (the depot is also part of the museum), and played an important part in the development of the Stone River community.
We're enjoying an unexpected three miles of gravel on Peters Road due to a navigational mishap: nearby Henks Road was our planned route, but it's not actually an option. The road apparently goes through, but there's about a quarter of a mile section in the middle that is privately owned. Peters Road was the only available option that didn't substantially lengthen the ride.
On Peters Road. I've fallen behind Rachael here because I wanted to take a zoom photo of her on this hill. While I was pulling the camera out though, she suddenly disappeared. I was afraid she'd taken a spill, but she was only hidden from view in the trench just behind her.
It was a rowdy evening at the Sawmill Saloon. While we were there, a boistrous, fun-loving crowd came in and dominated the joint. Here, they're lustily accompanying Dean Martin as he sings That's Amore.
