I spent the entire day riding on a paved, rails-to-trails recreational trail today...and I had a tailwind for most of the day. It was wonderful! The temperature was also considerably cooler, topping out only in the high 50s. With a fairly stiff breeze out of the north, it felt very fall-like. I wore leggings, full-fingered gloves, arm warmers, and my windbreaker all day.

I'm comfortable riding roads. But it does take a lot of mental focus. If there's a good shoulder, it's less mentally taxing. But most of the time, the shoulders aren't that great. They're either too narrow, or the rumble strip placement makes riding a bike there impractical, or they're never swept and are therefore littered with junk, or some combination of all three issues. So when I get a day like today when I don't have to be focused on staying off the rumble strips and avoiding junk every riding moment, it's downright relaxing.

I also met up with Peter again today. As you may recall, I met Peter in Kindred, ND, a couple days ago. After we split up that day, he found a shortcut that got him into Minnesota quicker than planned. Meanwhile, I rode north from Kindred to Fargo and crossed the border into Moorhead before turning back south toward Minneapolis, which was somewhat longer. Well this morning, I saw a flashing red light a half mile or so ahead of me. Just before I caught up to him, I knew it was Peter. We then proceeded to ride along together for about 10 miles or so. We chatted and Peter took a video clip. It was fun to ride with somebody else for a change.

Peter and I taking a break in Alexandria.

Today's ride by the numbers:

• I rode 81.81 miles today from Ashby to Holdingford.
• It was the fifth consecutive day of 80+ miles.
• I have ridden 1922.9 miles on this adventure, which is definitely over the halfway mark.
• It was my 26th day of riding and I've taken three rest days so far.

Ready for some more pictures?

Let's start with a stereotypical Minnesota thing. The rec path I was riding on was "No Motor Vehicles...Except Snowmobiles."

I saw some more swans today. It looks like a pen ("mom"), a cob ("dad"), and three cygnets.

 

In some of the towns along the trail, there were bike repair stations and really cool bike lock-ups. I've been very impressed with the Central Lakes State and Lake Wobegon Trails. The trails aren't perfect, but they sure beat the roads.

 

In one town I rode through—I think it was Sauk Centre or Melrose—I saw this small home just off the trail that had quite the collection of bird houses. I noticed the bird houses on each fence post first and then I saw the "apartment building" of bird houses.

Not too much later, I saw this collection of Americana at self-proclaimed Memoryville.

 

Just before reaching Albany, the trail went under this huge wooden train trestle.

My final destination for today was the town of Holdingford where I found a few things of interest:

The trail went through a covered bridge. It wasn't a historic covered bridge, but it was still neat.

The Holdingford Mill was still very much active.

Adjacent to the Holdingford Mill was this piece of art. I couldn't get it all in one picture (or I didn't try very hard), so you'll have to look at the halves.