Journey along the Root River Trail

Root River Trail—Lanesboro to Preston: 21.17 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 1 hour 32 minutes, average speed: 13.6

Today I drove the van down to Lanesboro to see what the Bracchetta could do on the Root River Trail. I started out very sluggish for the first 10 miles and then as I neared Preston, I became rejuvenated. Picture this: as I neared Preston, blue birds formed an arch above my head as the theme song for Free Willy began on my headset—you know the tune. What a remarkable welcome to Preston! I rested a bit in Preston and then headed back to Lanesboro. I never do tire of the young bicyclists that exclaim as I pass, “Mom! Look at that bike.” I then ring my bell and adults and children alike grin ear to ear. I came upon a racer-type cyclist and decided to see if I could keep up with him for a time. We were sprinting about 20 mph as we neared Lanesboro but then I backed off as the trail became more congested and I became more cautious about my riding. It was a great day on the trail. Temps were in the 70’s and wind was slight. The skies did threaten rain but not a drop fell. So, as usual, the urge to bike won out again and I finished, feeling good about the day’s journey along the Root.

Getting Lost in Rochester

Rochester Trails—Essex Park Loop: 14.11 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 1 hour 19 minutes, average speed: 10.6

While expanding my riding knowledge of the bike paths in Rochester, I stumbled on a beautiful bike trail through Essex Park on the Northwest side of town. My average speed suffered as I explored this new loop which finally brought me back to Med-City. I was able to bike mostly trails until near the end of my journey when I found myself downtown near Mayo and was planning on exiting the trails closer to the Barlow Plaza. I completed my ride by joining the vehicle traffic on the roads. No honkers tonight! The wind was slight and temps were in the 80’s—slightly warm for this time of year but who’s complaining?