Lake City, MN to Hastings, MN was to be one of my prettiest rides. It took me along the Cannon Valley Trail and the Cannon River. It also had my last significant climb of the trip. For all that, it was a short easy day, just 42 miles, 3:36 pedaling.
With just two days of the trip remaining, and guaranteed good weather, I stopped at the Post Office in Frontenac, MN to send more of my gear home. The lady said, “If it fits, it ships” so I managed to cram my spare pair of shoes and my rain gear and a few odds and ends into a medium flat rate Priority Mail box. That made it a bit easier to close my panniers. Maybe it says something about my life priorities that I chose to schlep this stuff five miles along my route to the Post Office in Frontenac instead of one mile backtracking to the Post Office in Lake City.
Though I had made extra space in my panniers, I still did not have enough room for the spare bike that I did not want to pass up. Sadly, I had to leave it behind. It’s probably still there if you want an extra bike.
It was hard to force myself to ride through countryside like this. Wide shoulders. Very little traffic. Greenery everywhere. Cool and sunny. Heaven on earth!
A few miles later, I rode into Red Wing. I don’t know why but I like the shapes of these stacks and the water tower.
A bit farther on, I passed a fascinating building. There was no sign so I had to look it up on Google Maps later to learn that it was the Minnesota Correctional Facility. It’s probably good that I didn’t ride up the driveway and start poking around with my camera for more interesting pictures. Do they keep Rapunzel at the top of the round tower on the edge of the clock tower?
I had two stops to make in Red Wing. First up was the Red Wing Bicycle Company where they kindly set me up with a spare inner tube to replace the one I had used back in Fountain City. They also advised me that the Hanisch Bakery across the street was well worth the wait. It was, too. I was tempted by their cookies but ultimately succumbed to both a Bavarian cream donut and a sticky pecan roll.
I left Red Wing on the Cannon Valley Trail, a/k/a the CVT. This was my first experience with a bicycle toll road. There was a nice guy at mile 18 who dutifully collected $5.00 for me, granting me the privilege of riding the trail for the entire day. We had a nice chat and I was on my way, thankfully not needing the entire day to traverse the trail.
This was Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. I was by no means the only one on enjoying the trail on a fine morning.
The CVT eventually led to to the Cannon River.
Riding down to the river meant that it was time for my last climb. Two miles and 630 feet of ascent but, fortunately, the maximum grade was only 6.3%.
Once at the top, it was an easy 12 miles to my hotel in Hastings. I passed one of the last MRT signs that I would see, this one in much better condition that the ones I had ridden by in Missouri. Even though Hastings is a small city, it has nice bike paths along the busier streets.
After dinner, I walked up to the Hastings Creamery for an ice cream cone. It was a quite reasonable $1.50 for delicious chocolate soft serve, making up for the absurd $8.50 that I paid for an ice cream cone in Galena, IL. I also would have bought this adorable onesie if only I had had an infant grandkid to wear it.
To be continued… just one more time…
