July 3, 2025
We made it after all
Stage Eight: Hastings to Minneapolis
Every journey involves change. This ride certainly has. Today, we started in the small city of Hastings and ended in the extended megalopolis of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
We rode through lots of changes. The path started out at the riverfront behind our hotel. We passed a tugboat pushing a barge upriver, and then we turned inland past patches of suburbia before reaching farmland once more. These were small fields that soon gave way to woodlands and parks.
We traded riverfront views for overlooks of Spring Lake, which is actually fed by the Mississippi, as well as open prairie. Supposedly, bison live in these parts, but all we saw were signs warning about how to behave if you see bison. (Be polite!)
The landscape around the Mississippi River Greenway then transitioned to highways, industrial sites and commercial roadways. The weeds and wildflowers were still green. One of the historic markers told the tale of the Dakota woman for whom Maiden Rock, 60 miles south, is named.
There was more riding on a levee 15 to 20-feet above the river with St. Paul skyscrapers in the distance and a high, narrow bridge crossing into Minneapolis.
At the falls of Minnehaha, we stopped for a grapefruit radler and shade ( It was 90 degrees) before pedaling down city streets to Perennial Cycles where we left our bikes for shipping home.
Yes, we’ve changed plans. Fargo, four days more of riding, seemed too … far. The 90-degree heat and long rides needed to get there on time are too much for us. We will celebrate the Fourth at a baseball game here in Minneapolis and then drive to Mount Rushmore over the weekend, before we fly home.
I think we’ve learned a lot over the past week-plus, but I’m not sure what it is just yet. A drive across South Dakota’s Badlands should help.
And because this is all about change, we have a tanka, not a haiku.
Maiden jumps off rock
River jumps levee and both
Defy man’s intent
To tame by holding back tide
Spirit defines all choices
—Michelle
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https://www.seriouseats.com/black-raspberry-vs-blackberry-8669779
3 weeks ago
Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 411 miles (661 km)
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2 weeks ago