pond surrounded by trees
Yesterday, I noted that I was getting out later each day. The
trend continues. Yesterday, I departed at 9:45 AM. Today, I departed at
10:17 AM. Today should be a short day, but with headwinds who knows.
Despite the late departure, the Fosston Heritage Center Museum was closed.
The terrain and vegetation around here look a lot like home in Michigan.
There are rolling hills, trees and, as Minnesota is known for, 10,000 lakes.
I don't see corn, but the existence of trees is what makes it look like
Michigan.
The weather forecast today called for southeast winds, so relying
on the level of inaccuracy displayed in previous forecasts, I shouldn't
have much wind on my ride to the southeast, right? Wrong! For once the weather
forecast was correct--it blew in my face all day.
I stopped in Bagley (only 18 miles from Fosston) for lunch. Slim pickings.
I ended up with a hamburger in an imitation fast food joint. For the first
20 miles the road was great.
Initially, I had great paved shoulders about 14' wide, but a
couple of miles east of Bagley, my good shoulders dried up to none at all.
There were some scary moments. After trying to hold a line along the right
edge of the 4 lane divided highway and experiencing close calls with a couple
of jerks who felt they had to stay in the right lane even though I was there--and
came too close to clipping me, I decided to take more of the lane. I actually
rode right down the middle of the right lane for a considerable distance.
The police vehicle that passed me, passed wide and didn't seem to object
to my appropriation of the whole lane.
There were some pretty streams, lakes and ponds along the road.
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I passed a turnoff toward Itasca State Park, the place where the Mississippi River originates--21 miles to the south. At this point I was faced with a new burden in route planning brought about by the e-mail I was receiving:
From: @. . NYU.EDU
Subject: Good Luck!
I've been enjoying your trip vicariously from a 14th floor apartment in Greenwich Village (New York). Tonight you have me in front of my Rand McNally trying to figure out exactly where in hell you are. Best of luck in the future and hope you have a safe trip home (and to Florida). Watch out for the buffalo heads.
I wondered whether I owed it to my audience to deviate so they would see important sites they'd never otherwise see, like the origin of the Mississippi River. I concluded that this was my bicycle trip, that I'd stick to the best route for my needs, and hope that my choice was to their liking, but if it wasn't, so be it.
Twenty-one miles is too far to detour. I decided to stick to the shoulderless US-2 and move along to Bemidji, where I could get my Trek Radar computer harness replaced.
Outside of Bemidji, I came upon a difficult intersection. Near
Bemidji, US-2 became an expressway. Folks heading south on US-2 were directed
to the right lane, folks heading into Bemidji were directed to the center
lane and folks heading north, were directed to the left lane. I was on the
right shoulder. Traffic was very fast and relatively heavy. I stayed on
the right shoulder until I reached the fork between right and center. Then
I waited for traffic to clear and crossed the 2 right lanes over to the
beginning of the shoulder for the center lane. I think that is the safest
way to handle the situation.
At Bemidji, I stopped at a service station and asked directions
to the bike store. Then I rode about 3 miles on Paul Bunyan drive, the main
drag, to get there, crossing the Mississippi River (which here is only about
the size of the Red Cedar River in Williamston, Michigan).
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The Home Place, a Trek dealer, did indeed have a Trek Radar wiring
harness which they gave me (under warranty) to install myself. I was a bit
surprised that they left it to me to install the replacement wiring. I could
have easily ruined it being an amateur. I'd rather they did it.
An hour and a half later, I completed the installation and it
worked fine. Hopefully my Radar problems are over.
On the recommendation of the bike store folks, I then checked into the Edgewater
Motel ($39--old but clean and comfortable):
and walked to dinner at Tutto Bene, an upscale Italian Ristorante
in downtown Bemidji. Bemidji is a real nice resort town reminiscent of Traverse
City, Michigan. The claim to fame here is Paul Bunyan and his companion
Babe the Blue Ox. This display was created in 1937.
Adjacent to the Paul Bunyan statue is an excellent tourist information
center. They directed me up the street to Tutto Bene. Bemidji has a very
nice downtown area.
Tutto Bene was just what I was looking for. In case you haven't
noticed from earlier uploads, I consume a lot of calories as I ride and
love good pasta. With my bread, I was dished up a colorful separation of
olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I ordered a chicken pasta dish. It was excellent,
as was the mixed fruit tart for dessert.
 Italian bread, olive oil and Balsamic vinegar |
 chicken pasta |
I knew I was really in civilization when I perused the wine list
and actually ordered a glass.
74 miles.
 Minnesota |
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© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997
