Off to Duluth with everything we go! - 150 Miles North to Duluth from the Twin Cities
Sunday May 20, 2018
Total Milage Today: 44.13
The day has come to finally get out on the bikes. Time to break in all the new gear and make sure old gear is still good to go. It's also time for Katie to break in those new cycle touring legs. See how a couple long days back to back feels and get an understanding of what she has gotten herself into. :)
We decided to load up the bikes with everything we are planning to take to Alaska. We wanted to see how it all fits and get a good feel for how the bikes will handle fully loaded.
We had a perfect day to start the trip. It was sunny and 80, really couldn't have asked for a better day to start our trip. To start it all off Katie cried because she didn't want to leave Zeus, 4 months is going to be rough - Good Luck Jimmy! Almost made it out of the driveway before Katie had her first mechanical problem...her breaks were rubbing. It was a quick fix and we made it a solid 3 miles when one of her Panniers than almost fell off. This also was a quick fix, but you guessed it another 2 miles down the road she had to adjust her clip-in pedals on her shoes because something felt off. A morning in the life of Katie. All minor changes and fixes, but nice to be getting these things taken care of now, instead of in Alaska getting attacked by a horde of mosquitoes!
Not a bad day once we got going :) It was pretty flat but need to work on weight management on the bike, it gets a little wobbly. We stopped in Forest Lake for some lunch.... Peanut Butter tacos (Peanut Butter is a staple for Jimmy)! Lunch by the lake, you really can't ask for better scenery.... OH YES YOU CAN.... MOUNTAINS AND LAKES.... just 2 more months!!!
AND to apply some sunscreen, we might have forgotten that part when we first left.... Hence Katie below..... It's not like she hasn't gotten sun poisoning or had an allergic reaction from the sun before or anything.
It was a pretty uneventful day! We did see a deer/fox/horse/pony/dog thing cross our path. AND Katie did ask Jimmy about 30 miles into the ride, "what do you find enjoyable about this?". AND Katie does not like the fact that once you stop pedaling, you stop moving forward. It's going to be a LONG 4 months for her!!
We did get to talk to some lady who got reminiscing about "younger" years when she would bike tour. It was fun to watch her get excited talking about her different trips, I hope I am like that years later after all the tours we will go on. She told us to do this all while we were young..... Jimmy officially hates that saying "do it while your young"! We will always be young to do adventures!!!! :)
The night was spent in North Branch. Just outside of town is a conveniently placed park, Riverwalk Park. Perhaps not meant for camping, but we didn't see any signs saying no camping so we made dinner, read our books and waited for the kids to go home and get a little dark before we set up the tent for the night. Apparently kids don't go home at a normal time on school nights.
Just as we were settled in some punk ass little kid came by and smacked the tent and than ran off. The kids had been hanging out watching us all evening so they were just waiting for a chance to do something. Katie was already nervous camping out in the open park. She was scared someone was going to either call the police or steal the bikes, so these kids didn't help the situation. Jimmy to the rescue when he surveyed the area for kids, no sign... and he tied our bikes together with his rain jacket, no one will definitely steal them now. Nothing more happened but it doesn't make for the most relaxed nights rest!
Good Night for now.... Until Tomorrow!
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