Baxter to Hackensack

 If you've been following my blog, you may have noticed that there was no post yesterday.  That is because we had a day off riding.  As much fun as this is, it is still nice to have a day where you don't have to get everything ready & ride.  In this case, it was also nice because it rained, which would have been unkind for riding.  It did clear toward evening, which means there is a picture to post.  When I first saw it, I thought it was a wildfire, but it is actually the sunset.  Thanks to Jim A for this picture.

We had two unpleasant surprises as we were getting ready to start out today.  First, one of our riders had not been feeling 100%, and this morning he tested positive for Covid.  He has a daughter who lives in Minneapolis, and she came to pick him up.  If he is able to get a negative Covid test in the next week, we will welcome him back.  

Second, as I was getting ready to check the tire pressure on my bike, I noticed that the rear tire was completely flat!  With all of the experienced bikers here, it didn't take long to replace the tube, but it is a mystery to me how it was fine when we arrived the other day, the bike sat for a full day, and now it was flat.  Here we are working on the repair.

Notice in the picture how everyone is dressed with extra layers.  It was about 40 degrees when we left this morning, but the sun was shining, and it warmed up nicely during the day.  This was an interesting day of riding because we were 99% of the day on the Paul Bunyan Trail.  The first stretch out of Baxter took us deep into the woods, and had some beautiful scenery.  Here is a picture where the clouds show a mirror image in the lake below.  Thanks again Jim A.

We then got into an area where there were a number of small towns along the way.  Paul Bunyan is a big deal around here, and each town seems to have its own way to celebrate his popularity. Pequot Lakes has Babe the Blue Ox.  Here I am with Babe in my color coordinated gear for the day.

Hackensack has Paul's wife Lucette.

There are also a number of old train stations along the way, some of which have also turned into museums. 

The further north we got, the more the trail ran alongside a highway, which gave opportunities for a few more pictures.  Notice the horses made out of old fuel oil tanks.

Tonight we are staying at a resort just outside of Hackensack.  Our leader could not find a hotel for us, and he convinced the resort folks to rent to us for just one night.  They usually have a one week minimum stay, so we are grateful they are allowing us to stay.  It also means that there isn't a restaurant close by, but because the cabin has a fully equipped kitchen, we were able to make our own meal.  Kind of a nice break from the standard schedule.  My contribution was to wash the pots and pans, which is about all I am qualified to do when it comes to food service.

One feature of the cabin we are staying in is the absolutely largest bathroom I have ever seen.  It could be a bedroom.  Someone commented that they maybe just haven't installed the hot tub yet.

The resort is on a lake, and I am going to finish my post with a more traditional sunset than the wildfire look I started out with.

51.5 miles today.  More trails tomorrow.