a midway bikelog

the WIN-MSP Dual Mode Double Metric ride

(or, the DMDM 1.0 :-)

(all images link to an enlarged version with caption in the photo gallery)

On Sunday, i spent an excellent day with two good cycling friends on a fun day trip. We departed from St. Paul, MN on the Amtrak, rode the train to Winona, MN, then rode our bikes home.

It was my first century ever, and the first one of the year for the other two, though they’ve each done much tours before. We made a leisurely tour of it this time, making plenty of stops along the way for food (ice cream! pie!) and scenery (eagles! topless teens!), and some interesting detours along the way. We got in a bit later than planned, but the night riding was sublime, and i finished feeling good enough (or was stubborn enough) to ride a final 4 miles around my neighborhood to round the trip up to an even 150 miles (240 kilometers).

I had a blast, can’t wait to do it again. Continue on for the full story and pictures!

We met up at my house at 6:30 on July 1 – 07-01-07 for the short ride to the Amtrak station in St. Paul. The train was scheduled to leave at 7:50, but we had to box up our bikes, which meant removing pedals and turning the handlebars. After entering the station, we were quickly directed to the baggage window, where we found a very friendly and helpful person who got us the boxes and forms, along with packing tape (which we were apparently supposed to supply ourselves). So, for $19 (ticket) plus $15 (bike box and cargo fee), we were ready to go. Well, ready to sit. The train left an hour behind schedule.

I apparently was on a train trip when i was quite young, my parents wanting me to have that experience before the passenger trains went away. I don’t remember that one, but this trip was a lot of fun, and i found it a wonderful way to travel, promptness issues aside.

The train is just like a very large and spacious airplane, for those of us who grew up only flying planes (i suppose that airplanes are hopelessly cramped trains for the older generation). The fittings in the coach car are very like an airplane, with the same sort of tray tables and overhead lights, but everything is bigger and spread out. I could actually cross my legs (i’m 6′4″) and not touch the seat ahead of me. I probably could have put a full-size coffin in the overhead bin and not inconvenienced my neighbors. It was also fun to wander the train and see the lounge car, with very nice table seating and huge windows. The ride was very smooth, even when i could see that the cars were swaying from side to side through the doors.

The train is also a refreshingly casual way to travel. There’s none of the extensive lines of people waiting for their body cavity search before boarding, just the usual reminder to not bring stranger’s bags with you. When we arrived at Winona, we watched the handlers unload the bags, and when they started to pile our bikes on top of the cargo tram, they happily let us just take them ourselves at trackside. We re-assembled the bikes and re-mounted luggage and were ready to head out.

Though not specifically planned to be, this was an all-Rivendell ride. I was on my Redwood, Jim was riding his Romulus, and Gordy had his freshly-built Bleriot. Jim and Gordy had fancy generator lights, which really came in handy later on. I was using a handlebar bag for the first time, and it worked pretty well. It did have some affect on the steering, but it was fine, and nice to be able to grab the camera while awheel.

After the delayed train and bike work, we were on the road by about 11:45. There are no end to the ways to get back to the Twin Cities from Winona, but we opted for starting on the Wisconsin side, so we headed across the river to hwy 35. We started off with a lovely SE tailwind, so were were easily cruising at 20mph both up and down hills for the first 35 miles or so. We broke for lunch around 2 at the Nelson Creamery, where i had a pretty good reuben and the best $1.00 ice cream cone ever. An hour later, we were back on the road. This helped set the tone of the ride; long stops, plenty of food. We are not randonneuring role models

After our late lunch, we cruised through Pepin along with the Harleys and then braved a couple of dozen viscous gnat clouds before stopping at the Smiling Pelican in Stockholm around 4 for some pie fortification. The slice of raspberry sour cream pie i had was incomparable, and we lingered in the garden longer than strictly necessary before moving on. We had perfect weather all day; cool in the morning, high of around 82, dry, and just clear enough at night to see some stars.

There was quite a bit of weekend traffic, mostly Harley riders with stupidly loud pipes, but we did get a couple of jackasses (one Volvo, one pickup with duallies) who didn’t think we belonged on the road and decided to buzz us and gesticulate wildly. Considering the traffic and increasing hills ahead on 35, we decided to swing back to the Minnesota side at Red Wing. The stretch on hwy 63 heading across the river into Red Wing was the worst stretch of the trip. Very narrow shoulder and the heaviest traffic of the day. It also came shortly after the biggest hill of the trip, a 2-mile climb and 2.5 mile decent, so we were ready for a break by then.

We contemplated a dinner stop in Red Wing, seeing as it was 7:00 or so, but decided to snack and soldier on to Hastings. We head out on to the Cannon Valley trail and enjoyed our ~10 miles of car-free cycling. Leaving the trail at Welch, we also enjoyed our first and only sighting of a topless woman for the trip walking along the county road there. It’s nice to get these little boosts after 80 miles of riding.

From Welch to Hastings, we used a route suggested by good cycling friend Tim, and it was about the most pleasant stretch of road of the whole trip. We rode into the twilight with virtually no traffic, a straight smooth road, and a perfect view of the full moon and stars. Nicholai road is a wonderful place to ride a bike when the weather is perfect at night.

We hit the Perkins in Hastings around 10 and made a refueling stop. Jim and Gordy had breakfast food, and i opted for a burger. Slow service kept us there an hour or so, and we were all ready to get moving by the time we could pay up and go.

After Hastings, we had our first and only navigation error of the trip, thanks to incomplete markings on both the road and the Google maps section i’d printed out. A couple of miles lost, but a drop in the proverbial bucket. We wound our way through suburbia and came out of Fort Snelling around 2:00 am. Jim split off for home while Gordy and I rode the remaining 7 miles or so back to my house where he could pick up his car and get home. Sick bastard that i am, i did a 4-mile lap around the neighborhood to round the miles up to an even 150 for the trip.

I felt great during and after the ride, aside from getting a little sleepy. I wore only silkweight boxers and linen shorts, and a light Rivendell wool t-shirt the whole day and felt fine. My shoes desperately need new insoles, but no real damage done. All bikes performed perfectly, not a single flat or other mechanical.

I have to say again that i wish the train went north so we could do a fall tour around Duluth and the North Shore, but perhaps it’ll be good enough to simply plan the next trek home from Winona. It was a great time with a couple of good friends, and i can’t wait to do it again.

More pictures in the trip photo gallery, with good captions even.