Little Falls to Baxter

 We started out today with cooler temperatures & the threat of rain.  That caused me to wear full length leggings, a sweatshirt under my long sleeve jersey, and full fingered riding gloves.  I also packed in some rain gear.  Sure enough, after about 5 miles it started to rain slightly, so I put on my rain coat.  Again that had the effect of causing the rain to stop.

Our first 25 miles today were on roads, headed to our next trail.  The roads were good, and lightly traveled, so it was an easy ride even with a little rain.

Part of my theme from yesterday had to do with the railroad, and today that theme continues, but in a totally different way.  The first thing that happened was we came to a bridge that carries cars, and also has a railroad track running down the middle of it.  I've never seen that before.  We couldn't tell if it is actually still used for trains, but it appears to be in good enough condition.

Railroad tracks are a true hazard for bicycles.  The worst are tracks that cross a road in anything other than 90 degrees perpendicular to the road.  It is so easy for the bike tires to get caught up in the tracks, and before you can even think about it you're down.  This track which ran over the dual purpose bridge then started to curve away from the road.  One of our riders wasn't sure to have his bike cross true perpendicular & went down hard.

I was a few hundred yards behind him, and didn't actually see him go down, but he was flat on the ground when I came up to him.  Fortunately he was not injured badly, and after about 10 minutes of recovery was able to get back up on the bike, and rode the rest of the way.  Here is what that curve looks like.  This picture was taken as we were heading out.

A little further on, we got on the Great River Road.  Here's a picture of a few of us riding that stretch with me out in front.

Our next stop was at a rest area which was the start of a large park & the Paul Bunyan Trail that would take us into Baxter.  Of course I had to get a picture with the namesake.

Just minutes after our arrival, some real rain started to come down.  The radar showed it would last about 30 minutes, so we took advantage of some rest time in the visitor's center.  After some rest and refreshments, we headed out for the final leg.  This trail was a real treat. Nicely paved, gentle curves, reasonably flat.

At one point the trail is diverted onto a road with a bridge crossing the Mississippi River.  This far north, the river is not as mighty, but still certainly navigable.  When we stopped there were a few kayakers coming down.

I recruited a fellow rider to get a picture of me as I rode past the trail sign.

 We had no further weather to challenge us on the way into Baxter, but we did put on some extra miles trying to find our way through town.  There were no less than 4 either mistaken turns, or missed turns.  Three different riders, including the leader who set up the route in the first place took turns leading the way, and then giving up.  I am unqualified to offer any assistance, so I just rode the extra distance.

This is a great group, with no one belly aching about such a situation, and in the end we made it through just fine.  The hotel wasn't fully ready for us anyway.  We normally enjoy a nightly dinner together, and tonight was no different.

Tomorrow is a rest day, followed by a couple of days of almost exclusively trail riding.

40 miles today.