Bike trip last weekend - trip report

[dreamshark]

As soon as I made that reservation at the Candlelight Inn, the weather turned gloomy and threatening, and we actually packed our bikes and headed for Cannon Falls in a dismal rain on Sunday. But, fortuitously, the rain had swept through Cannon Falls and off into the wild blue yonder by the time we got going, and the weather was just fine. Cool and breezy, but not too cold for riding. minnehahaK was right, the trail is well protected from wind.

On a few occasions we got hit with a prodigious blast while traversing a road in an open field, but as soon as we dived back into the long green tunnel on the other side, we were fine. The trail was paved all the way and beautifully maintained. A little hillier than expected, but not steep hills. It was really a lovely ride. I didn't have any trouble riding the 20 miles, but Richard was running out of steam towards the end. I have done a lot more riding this year than he has, and maybe it was pushing it a little to do a long ride this early in the season. We managed to spend more than 3 hours en route, arriving in Red Wing at about 5:30.

I must say that Red Wing was something of a letdown. The west side of town (where the trail ends) is neither attractive nor bike friendly. The trail just drops you onto a very busy two-lane street with no bike lane, intermittent sidewalk and no appreciable shoulder. After a couple of miles of car dealerships, closed strip malls, and trucks thundering past, the cutesy little downtown is like a little slice of Disneyland in the middle of the New York Thruway. Cannon Falls was much more appealing, with a network of local bike paths and pleasant smalltown neighborhoods, minus the kitsch.

The B&B, however, was wonderful: one of those beautifully crafted Victorian houses with a different type of marble fireplace in every room, original chandeliers with art-glass shades, and so on. We took the largest room with the fanciest bath, and the double heart-shaped hot tub did not disappoint. Since it was Sunday night, we were the only guests. The landlady and I hit it off immediately and chatted quite a bit. We ate in the Staghead Bar/Restaurant, which was okay but overpriced for the quality of the food. The best part was the other people that was eating there, who were wearing the strangest outfits: knickers, argyle knee socks, and in some cases tweed jackets and ties. My first thought was that they were part of some sort of ethnic festival going on in town. But we finally realized that they were a bike club from Britain. I knew British bikers (and motor car enthusiasts) dressed like that 80 years ago, but I didn't realize they were still doing it.

Next day we again woke up to pouring rain (bummer), but once again it cleared up and turned into a perfectly nice day. Monday was cloudier than Sunday, but considerably warmer, giving us the opportunity to wear our lighter change of clothing. Richard was still tired out from the day before and eventually decided to wait at the halfway rest stop at Welch while I went on to Cannon Falls and came back with the van. That worked out fine. It was kind of fun driving the backroads to get to Welch, a really tiny spot on the map with very little raison d'etre for the 6 months of the year when the ski resort is closed. There IS a Trout Scream Cafe, but it was closed Mondays. In fact, the entire town appeared to be closed. We didn't see one person or a single moving car in Welch. The Trout Scream Cafe is for sale, incidentally, as is the old (long-closed) Creamery.

All in all, I had a lovely time. Richard enjoyed it somewhat less, I fear, but was a good sport about it. I think he agreed to do another trip once he's gotten into a little better biking shape. I'd sure like to.

Comments

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that you had a good time! (Too bad The Trout Scream was closed and Redwing a disappointment. The B&B sounds great.)