MINNEAPOLIS, MN
DAY 32 JUNE 28 25.2 MILES
Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle. I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it where I like. Freddy Mercury
The sun was shining brightly when I opened the drapery at 6:30 AM and that was a good indication of the way the day would unfold. For breakfast, the hotel offered blueberry pancakes with crushed strawberries and whipped cream topping. Throw in a banana and two glasses of orange juice and I was completely ready for the ride into Minneapolis. One advantage of all this riding is that you can eat anything you like and not gain any weight. But I have not lost any, either.
Continuing on the good road with super-wide shoulders, the Saturday morning traffic was considerably lighter than that of Friday afternoon. The wind on my back was at least as strong or possibly even more so as I pedaled northward toward St. Paul. It may simply have been my enthusiasm of anticipating two days off and the arrival of my wife Sherry for the long weekend but the pedals seemed lighter and the miles easier. The 25 miles to Minneapolis were covered with relative ease and I arrived at the point to meet Sherry two hours early. Do you think I wasn't excited?
The iPhone can do nearly everything you ask of it. SIRI can answer any question and the Google map function will guide you anywhere by car, bicycle or foot. Of course, I chose bicycle and the tiny box with a voice directed me effortlessly to my destination over a maze of bikeways, crossovers and streets. It could not have been accomplished in the old days without becoming lost at least once or twice.
Minneapolis has the most extensive grid of bike paths and bikeways of any city I have seen. If you had the Mississippi River meandering through your city, you would have to construct a path beside it but they have taken it many steps further. There seem to be bike paths and bikeways on nearly a quarter of all their streets. They certainly have raised the bar for all other cities despite harsh winters where cycling is not practical for several months of the year.
We now have covered over 2,100 miles and we are halfway to Seattle. It has not been easy but we have made it to this point. The Rockies may be stacked against us but I am confident that we can complete the next half.
Tip: On rides of more than an hour, you must replace electrolytes in your system to prevent cramping and other problems. Fill your water bottle with ice cubes and top it off with Gatorade, Powerade or other sports drink of your choice to preclude electrolyte imbalance.
