44.8 miles/ +617.8 ft/ Total miles 2084.7
My ride today was entirely on rail trails. The trail seems to gain elevation steadily, with a maximum grade of 1.9 percent. The rail trail runs in a straight line, with an occasional large-radius curve to get around a lake. Sometimes it’s on an embankment and sometimes in a cut, to smooth out the rolling hills to make one long grade. Compared to riding on the road, it’s kind of boring, but it’s a good kind of boring.
A farm near Alexandria:
Grain elevator:
Today I rode on the Lake Wobegon Trail, which connects to the Central Lakes Trail. Both are converted from the old Burlington Northern rail tracks. In the winter, they are snowmobile trails.
Garrison Keillor lived in this part of Minnesota and these farming towns are the inspiration for the fictional towns in the Prairie Home Companion stories from Lake Wobegon.
The weather was once again in the 50s, warming to the 60s in the afternoon- more or less the same since Saturday except that today there was no rain and the wind was not as strong. I feel so lucky to have such nice cool weather. I hope it lasts …
I stopped at Jake’s Bikes in Alexandria for a few adjustments. Highest priority is checking for chain stretch, so I can make sure to swap the chain for a new one before it damages the cassette and chainrings. All checked out A-OK, so they cleaned the chain, adjusted brakes and rear derailleur, and generally cleaned it up. Riding on unpaved trails and in the rain (sometimes both at the same time) had left the bike pretty dirty. Looks great now. Thank you, Jake!
While Jake worked on the bike, I had lunch and stopped at the grocery store, where I found
from Selah, Washington. I got one bag for Jake and one for tonight’s Warmshowers hosts. Yum!
Judy's Bike Ride 2017 
No mention of Big Ole or the Rune Stone? Enjoy those rail trails while they last.
Good to meet you Judy on the Woebegone Trail. Watching and talking to Riders like you on the Trail is interesting for us old folks.
It was fun to meet you. I think you will see 2 more riders today. I just met them on the trail near Ashby.
Keep cool. There are 50 warm showers bike vagrants waiting outside your apartment here in Seattle. Send the key so we can let them in! :). They say they will clean up.
…and all the kids are above average! Some pretty prairie pothole country coming up, and the Detroit Lakes area is nice. Enjoy. After that you drop into the glacial Lake Agassiz basin flats to Fargo – windy country. Congrat’s on the progress. We enjoy your daily posts. Ken and Barb.
Judy – nice to meet you at your Garfield stop. It was also nice to see you talking to the young man headed the opposite direction on his way to Maine! I’m sure there are so many interesting stories that could be shared by those of you living out such amazing adventures. Hope you can enjoy each day and that your next states are as kind as Minnesota has been to you. Your pictures are great! Keep them coming.