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We find ourselves driving I-35 north from Des Moines to Minneapolis several times a year. Every time I look out the window at Faribault, MN, and see the brown signs announcing a trail and say to myself, "I'm going to ride that bugger one of these days!" Yesterday was that day. Mary and I had tickets to a concert in the Twin Cities and the day off. Threw a couple of roadies in back of the Pilot and left our warm home at 7 am.
Of course, I did the research first. If one is driving to Minnesota from Iowa stop at first rest stop after crossing the border. This place has all the 411. There are several free printed pamphlets about Minnesota bicycling trails. Look up said trail on Google Maps and search for it with your favorite search engine. The information is out there. We discovered that the trail in question is paved, 39 miles in length and has towns that provide the provisions so we would not need to schelp supplies with us. Two fast bikes with water bottles is all we needed yesterday. Most importantly, such research shows where one can park their vehicle at the start of the ride. The plan was to park at the Hy Vee grocery store in Faribault, pronounced "Farbo."
It was going to be a long, cold windy day. Green Winter has Middle America in its grips. My internal clock plus the needs of the dog and cat had me out of bed by 5 am. Dog wanted out, cat desired fresh water and I coffee. This seems to be the daily routine. 4 hour drive to Minneapolis. Stop at Faribault for the trail. It would be 40°F with a 24 to 28 mph sustained NNW wind. Lovely. Obviously, an 80 mile day was out of the question. Although the trailhead was less than an hour away from the concert venue, we would have to change out of the bicycle uniform into something that would be appropriate for concert of an industrial electronic band and the people that are attacked to that noise. Somewhere on the trail my left ear felt clogged and that sensation reminded me that I left my earplugs at home which resulted in a two mile hike to Walgreens in Minneapolis. More time wasted. Yes. Mary wore a black dress with red stockings and I the latest New Order tour shirt, grey, to represent my tribe. Probably need to eat before the show because beer + rock music on an empty stomach = issues. And 35W in Minneapolis is always a fookin' nightmare. We would ride 15 miles out before turning around at a Casey's convenience store. Just a taste of the trail.
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| The office ride of Faribault's Tourism Board, Chevy Kingswood estate! 400CI V-8. Given the lack of 5 mph bumpers I'm guessing no performance killing emission controls and smog pump. |
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| At the Tourism building, Faribault, MN |
Faribault is right on I-35. We spotted a blue "Tourism Info" sign before we found the Hy Vee. Why not? All the pamphlets were on an outside wall. Found a map but then the greeter came outside and told us that everyone parks at the Dairy Queen on the trail and pointed us in the proper direction. We passed the Hy Vee but the DQ avoided about 2 miles of crap urban riding with its intersections to cross. Good call, great advice.
Once rolling we stopped to photograph the trail sign map. Always a good idea. Then we encountered the mileage markers. A small brown Minnesota shaped piece of plastic on poles on both sides of the trail. Both markers have the same mile noted. 37 was the first one we encountered. The trail itself is asphalt and smooth. Rail grade. Remnants of the original rail line are scattered throughout. Cancrete whistle crossing signs, WX, and large multifaced distance markers, M 39 for example, left behind as pieces of lost history. M may be Mankato. These markers are very similar to the ones found on Iowa's Great Western Trail, the Wapsi Great Western Line and the Chichaqua Valley Nature Trail. This makes sense because line the aforementioned trails the Chicago Great Western Railway was the rail line that these trails descended from.
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| About 3 miles from the Dairy Queen, Shager Couty Park, home of a large kybo. One more table outside of photo. No electricity but there is a kybo just to the right. Note that on May 1all the jettys and other structures that go into the water are still on dry land. |
The trail is mostly flat, rail grade. Highway 60 is on the south side and farmland and lakes on the north side. There are houses and cabins on the north side as well depending how close they are to the lake(s). At times the highway moves away from the trail. There is a kybo about 3 miles from the DQ for those who are in need. A large picnic shelter is there as well with 6 tables. Sleeps 6 as baggers would say. The video below shows just how windy it was. White caps on this otherwise peaceful lake.
There were few small towns that we rolled through. Warsaw is just north of the trail and it has a bar. Morristown is the next town. It has a tavern (food) and a bar plus a liquor store. Liquor stores are important in Minnesota since gas station convenience stores do not sell beer or booze. Kwick Stars are the exception.
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| Hobo hut. Low ceiling. |
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| The campground at the hobo hut. |
Outside of Waterville is Sakatah Lake State Park. The lake is on the north side of the trail. We found a "hobo hut." a shelter that used to protect people from the elements. This one is part of a campground with its open side facing the south. If today was any indication, the wind is very strong from the north. All sorts of outhouses are located on the lake side of the trail. In the park we had to "cyclocross" over two fallen trees that blocked the trail. An attempt to perform community service and remove the first tree came to naught. Then it was downhill to Waterville. We stopped at a Casey's and got a slice of pizza and a Gatorade.
Thoroughly cold we said good bye to the headwind and enjoyed a tailwind back to our transport. Strangely, we only encounter one fallen tree. It was less than an hour after we were stopped by it but it was cleaned up! Puzzling as we kept thinking it would appear at any moment.
As for trail users, we encountered about 8 pedestrians. No cyclists. Monday morning may all the bikers have day jobs. Maybe they thought it was too windy to ride. As strong as the wind was it merely slowed us down and prevented us from overheating. The trail is nice and smooth and in much better shape than the ones we have at home in Des Moines.
Someday we will ride the entire trail. Today we lacked the time and ambition to ride 80 miles, half of which were into the wind.
Further Reading:
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