Committed for our first out of town bike trip

[dreamshark]

I made a reservation for Sunday night at the Candlelight B&B in RedWing, so now we're committed to riding the Cannon Falls Trail! Since we got a 50% discount with our MPR member card (which I must remember to take along!), I went for the most expensive room in the place, the one with the "heart-shaped two-person hot tub." Whee!

I've been excited about this plan for weeks, but now I'm a little concerned about the weather. Tomorrow looks fine, but the current weather.com prediction for Monday is heavy winds in the afternoon. There's a chance of rain, but it doesn't look too likely. However, it looks like the temp could vary from 62 to 87 during our likely riding times, so we'll need several optional layers of clothes. I hope the wind isn't too bad. The trail is 20 miles each direction, which is a long way for us.

Does anybody know if there are restaurants in Welch (the town halfway between Cannon Falls and Redwing?) I was hoping to stop for lunch there, but looking on the Internet I can't find a single restaurant that admits to being in Welch. I guess we'd better pack some sandwiches just in case.

Comments

[tesla-aldrich.livejournal.com]

Isn't Treasure Island casino in Welch?

A search revealed to me the charmingly named "Trout Scream Cafe" but I'm not sure that I believe it.

Hope you have a wonderful trip! It sounds like tremendous fun.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

The casino isn't near the trail.

K. [not sure if it's in Welch at all, but it's not close to the trail where the trail passes through Welch]

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

A lot of that trail is in sheltered woods, like riding the old trail between Minnehaha Park and Fort Snelling. So that'll help with wind.

Welch, what little commerce there is, is not directly on the trail, and you'd have to ride a 1/2 mile off-trail to get to it. I think there was an ice cream place last time I was through there, maybe that was 6 or 7 years ago.

K.

[vgqn.livejournal.com]

Make something for lunch that would be a real treat -- smoked salmon sandwiches, hot wild rice soup in a thermos, sandwiches from a local deli, whatever floats your boat. Then you won't mind not being able to stop in a restaurant.

Sounds like a lovely trip!

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

What an adventure! It sounds like fun. I agree with vggn about packing a special picnic.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Are you going to leave the car in Red Wing or Cannon Falls? If you leave it in Red Wing, you can ride to Cannon Falls (20 miles, should take you a couple or 3 hours), then have lunch there, then ride back. We've done it that way; it's a pleasant day.

K.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

You are apparently mistaking us for people that are capable of riding 40 miles in a day. It's taken us quite a while to build up to 20 miles, thank you very much, and we're a little nervous about that.

We're leaving the car in Cannon Falls, staying in what looks to be a perfectly lovely B&B in Redwing, then riding back the next day.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

There's several nice bars and places in Cannon Falls, which has one of those lovely old downtowns of a few square blocks of brick buildings. Finding the trail head wasn't all that obvious, but someone is sure to point you to it.

In Red Wing, Randy's serves surprisingly nice fast-food chicken. They're right downtown a few blocks west of the St. James, where Barb got married.

I am betting you have a good ride both days.

K.