7-1-10 Day 26: Duluth, Minnesota to Grand Rapids, Minnesota: 85 miles in 5:35 hours. 40th street to Skyline Drive to Rt 2 west.
Another stellar day in the saddle. This is what I live for. This is what sets me in such a state of tranquility that it’s pretty indescribable - riding a bike on a gorgeous day like today as I’m rambling across the United States. Did a quick eat and pack at the motel in southern Duluth and got going about 8 AM. Now the receptionist had warned me that I’d have to take a detour out of town because of the road construction on Rt 2 in the city. The reroute sends traffic on the interstate for about 3-4 miles, and obviously I couldn’t ride on the interstate. She had mapped me out the directions yesterday, and it looked like a no-brainer.
A small front had moved through last evening and last night and put some rain down, so it was just a tad cool out. Couple that with the winds off of Lake Superior and you have some locally nippy weather. Plus, the wind was blowing pretty hard out of………………the southeast!! Yes, at least it looked as though I’d have a cross tailwind. So I got on 40th street, right next to the motel, and you could just see the thing go up into the stratosphere, winding it’s way far up onto the bluff the surrounds the Duluth to the west. I knew it would be little cookie material. Two minutes into the day I was climbing in the little cookie, and this motha just kept going. Then I was out of the saddle, in the easiest cog, a 34, and just pushing it on this super steep pitch. Now I’d NEVER walked a climb in Canada, but be damned if this little sweetie might break me. I mean I was humping it HARD on this 2-mile climb. About half way the pitch gentled out a bit and I was able to go seated and finish the thing out.
May have started out a bit chilly, but by the time reached the jcn with Skyline Drive, I was just drenched in sweat, what with my long sleeved jersey on. Made the left onto Skyline and the climb continued, but nowhere near as steep as on 40th street. Came to a place where I had a great view of Duluth down below, but kept going since that was kind of a gnarly gravely parking area with some glass in it. I figured that there would be several vista points on the 4 or so miles of Skyline. Turns out that was it. By the time I realized that I was moving further away from the cityscape shot, it was too late, and I just kept going. The traffic was darned near nonexistent and I could ride this kind of beater road out in the middle with zero problems.
Skyline always had a slight pitch to it, so I was still climbing, but not in the little cookie. Then I came to an intersection and a “Road Closed” sign for Skyline. Now I had no idea where the hell I was other than what I was told to do: take Skyline all the way to the jcn with 2. So I figured that being on a bike I’d have a good chance to skirt the construction area up ahead. And that’s indeed the case, as I just hit a stretch of gravel road where construction vehicles with entering and exiting, and bing-boom-bang I was on Rt 2 west.
I was in a state of bliss with the berm Rt 2 had in Michigan, but here in Minnesota……wow! Berm is as wide as a lane and just fantastic, especially the section I had started out on which was fresh, glass smooth asphalt that was still being manicured by the MDOT folks. The cross tailwind out of the southeast was just a joy. “Man,” I was thinking, “this is what it felt like riding across Canada with a bloody tail or cross tailwind the lion’s share of the days. Felt amazing to kind of have that push down the highway. The terrain up here is pretty darned flat with just a smattering of these very gradual rollers every now and then. Nice thing about the graduals is that I had a chance to get out of the saddle and stretch out the legs. Bad thing about the flats is that my butt was really starting to rub me the wrong way!
Nonetheless…..cross tailwind, beautiful day, rolling across Northern Minnesota on my bike – heaven indeed. At times I was doing 20+ mph just flying down the highway. I noticed that the woodlands were changing since I had left Superior behind. The trees up here seem to be smaller, and there’s few areas that I rode through that had hardwoods. Most of the stuff up here is a shorter type of pine and then there’s softwoods like birch and aspen. And all the water – lakes, streams, rivers, ponds. It’s everywhere. It’s kind of like the prelude to the Great Plains, and reminiscent of the terrain we encountered in Manitoba. Hell, Western Ontario and Manitoba are just to the north of me. Very wild out here.
I had figured that the doughnut and pbj breakfast I had at the motel this morning would get me through the day. Lately it’s kind of been that if I eat in the morning then I can ride the day. OR, ride with no breakfast and then get something about 3-4 hrs in. Well, today with the temp getting hotter as the day wore on, I had to stop for the ice cold coke and candy bar. By 4:15 hrs in I had gone through a bottle and was really starting to dream of a coke. And despite a sign saying “Grand Rapids 19 miles” I still had to take a break and quench my thirst. That and my butt was just raw, so a break off of the saddle was much needed. While I was in this big petrol/grocery place I was in line and a trucker asked me if I had been chased by a bear? No I told him. “How about a moose,” he questioned again. “Nope,” I replied. Asked him why. “Been any cyclists chased by bear and moose,” I asked him. He said no, but that he’s had to toot his horn at both of them. Thought it was kind of funny.
Took the last 19 miles into Grand Rapids like I was on fire what with the sugar boost I got, and then it was time to hunt for a place to camp or lodge. There are several campgrounds out here and the one quoted me 20 bucks and it was about 2 miles outside of town. So I told her I’d go further into town and check out the efficiency scene situation, and if that was a no-go I’d at least be able to go to a grocery store for or maybe even a Subway for food. Got into the east end of town and saw this little motel. Stopped and found that it was 15 bucks more than camping. DONE. This efficiency thing on this trip is just incredible. I mean it’s like: put up a tent, load all the gear into the tent and then roll over to the shower room and then ride into town for dinner. OR spend ten or fiften bucks more and have a bloody room with a refrig, shower, microwave and bed. No brainer for me. Better yet…..Subway 200 yards down the street.
Real nice little mom and pop place I’m at. Went to Subway and tried to vary my diet a bit by ordering the brand now Pulled Pork footlong and the Seafood footlong. Gone in 15 minutes. By this time the temp had gotten up to a solid 85 degrees. I mean it was bloody well hot out there, so I was glad to have finished by 2 PM. Gameplan if this heat is here for a bit is to start early and end early. By 3 PM the heat just got amazing. Ended up getting a sixer of this great microbrew at a store across from the Subway that’s called Moose Drool Brown Ale, brewed in Missoula, Montana. Then just pulled up a chair outside my room and sipped on an ice cold brown ale and toasted in the sun for a few. Great way to end the day – subs and brews!
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