Day 29, August 23: win-wind situation, part 1

Tom MacDonald rides with me from Minneapolis to Pepin, WI http://cyclemeter.com/85ef50859d8f1e5c/Cycle-20150823-0805

Distance: 88.5 miles

Total trip distance: 1598 miles 

Average speed: 13.9 mph

Maximum speed: 34.3 mph

Riding time: 6:21

Weather: it was 60° with west winds of about 10 mph when we started at 8 o'clock. The winds eventually reached 15 to 20 mph with higher gusts for most of the day. We saw whitecaps on the Mississippi River and on Lake Pepin. Lake Pepin is a widening of the Mississippi River that covers about 40 mi.² The wind vacillates between west and northwest. Our route was mainly east with some south, so we enjoyed strong tailwinds. The sky was mostly cloudy.

Terrain: uphill 3011 feet, downhill 3166. The route profile shows three big downhills and two big uphills. These hills involved descending the bluffs to the Mississippi River Valley or ascending the bluffs out of the Mississippi River Valley. The elevations of 750 feet or lower represent roads along the Mississippi River or Lake Pepin.

As I noted toward the beginning of this blog,Tom MacDonald and I have done 17 bike trips over the years. Most were four days long and went 300 miles or more. This week Tom took a couple of days off from his job at Cray, Inc., where he manages a Chapel programming language development team. He will bike with me for three days, beginning on this day, Sunday, August 23.

Tom and I are set to depart on our 18th multi-day bike trip.

A fierce storm blew through the Twin Cities last night as a cold front displaced warm humid air. By morning the streets were dry because of a strong west wind. We felt a few drops during the first hour; otherwise it was a gray, cool day, with the high temperature of 66° being 11° cooler than the normal high.

Our route began in south Minneapolis at Tom and Pam's house. We went through Minneapolis neighborhoods to the Mendota Bridge and crossed over the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.

Google Maps terrain view screen-grab with route overlay showing the start in south Minneapolis and the finish in Pepin, WI.

After several miles of traveling through suburbs and exurbs we got to the huge Pine Bend refinery. Next we blew into Hastings, MN, a small river port city and then ride along the river to Red Wing, MN. There we enjoy walleye sandwiches on the St James Hotel veranda, which is mostly sheltered from the wind.

The brisk west wind, by now gusting above 20 mph, inflates the wind sock in the upper left background as well as filling Tom's jacket and making him look like the Incredible Hulk.

Mural depicting the Mississippi River heritage of Hastings, MN.

We cross the Mississippi at  Red Wing and enter Wisconsin.

History repeats itself. Tom posed in front of this sign back in 2001.

Some of this day's roads are busy highways, so we take back roads when we can. East of Red Wing, we took 150th Avenue to avoid parts of US 63 and WI 35. The road does not go through, though, because of multiple railroad tracks, so we improvise and portage our bikes.

150th Avenue shortcut is blocked by railroad tracks.

We look both ways before crossing these railroad tracks to get from one segment of 150th Avenue to the next.

Lake Pepin is the widest naturally occurring part of the Mississippi River. We enjoy viewing it for about 20 miles. Along its Wisconsin shore are several small towns. Bay City, Maiden Rock, Stockholm, and Pepin have managed to stay economically viable by offering services to people who drive along Lake Pepin.

Lake Pepin is in the background.

Lake Pepin with Minnesota bluffs in the distance.

Stockholm, WI art gallery.

We end the day in Pepin, WI and get to the Pepin Motel only to discover that they do not allow bicycles in the rooms and that they have no storage room or any other alternative. We have stayed in more than 75 motels and bed and breakfasts over the years and this is the first time a place rejected bikes. Fortunately the nearby Great River Amish Inn had one room left and we got it. It is important to note that this fiasco would not have happened if Tom booked the room. He still asks, despite 75 straight times that motels have taken us in, if the motel can accommodate bikes. I guess I will follow his example.

This day had one of our best tailwinds ever, in both strength and longevity. Most of the time we feel fortunate to get tailwinds for an hour or two or on rare occasions for several hours. Today we had strong tailwinds all day long. It is rare for us to average 13.9 mph, which includes urban and suburban riding as well as exploring Hastings and Red Wing. As Tom noted, it was a win-wind situation.