Day 32: Minneapolis to Redwing, Minn.

Today saw us back on the road after our rest days in Minneapolis. We got a bit of a later start since Niamh was sticking around to catch an afternoon flight. Thankfully, the temperatures were mild, and we only had about 65 miles to our destination in Red Wing.

From our hotel, we rolled down to the river, turned right, and more or less followed an outstanding series of trails all the way through Minneapolis and St. Paul. It was a true testament to the amazing bike infrastructure we saw throughout Minneapolis, and definitely the quietest departure from any of the cities we’ve seen so far on this trip. We rolled through St. Paul, and then gradually shifted away from the river as we started some ascending into the bluffs. A road closure pushed us onto a brief stretch of gravel, before we crossed the river again and entered our 6th U.S. state of the trip, Wisconsin. We only rode about 20 miles in Wisconsin, with some very steep climbing, before crossing back over the river into Red Wing, where we are spending tonight. It seems as though that was our only stretch in Wisconsin, but in just a few days, we’ll be entering Iowa, and beginning our crawl along the “I” states.

Red Wing, we learned, is the town where the shoes are from, and unfortunately we missed a chance to check out the Red Wing shoe museum, but did enjoy an excellent dinner and a good walk by the river. We are finding our biking routines again, and excited to continue south for the next few days.

By the numbers:
Miles traveled: 65
Total climbing: 2562 ft.
End time: 5:20pm
Low point: 526 ft.
Average pace: 12.2 mph
Ed’s average heart rate: 104 bpm
Twin cities traveled through: 2?
States traveled in: 2

 View on the river in Red Wing.

 On the path leading into St. Paul.

 Back in the fields north of Prescott.

Leaving this morning at our hotel in Minneapolis (Niamh behind the camera).

After we crossed into Wisconsin.