Day 57 - Hoyt Lakes, MN to Beaver Bay, MN - Two Far 2020 - NTF (Not Two Far)

July 26, 2020

Day 57 - Hoyt Lakes, MN to Beaver Bay, MN

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It was a good long day. Almost the entire route was through the Superior National Forest. There were no towns and only one little store on the whole route.

We were blessed with a tailwind again today. There was a gradual uphill grade for the first 40 miles and then a wonderful downhill the last 16.

Entering the Superior National Forest. I didn't get a picture of the "Leaving Superior National Forest" sign because we were speeding downhill at 25+ mph when we passed it.

Nice road almost devoid of traffic today.

We stopped at (no, we climbed up to!) the Skibo Overlook. It had a pretty significant grade the required our "4 on the floor" gear to reach the top. The view was definitely worth it.

There was a cool compass inlay on the observation platform.

I had to wait while Kerry read EVERY detail on the display board.

View from Skibo Overlook. If you zoom in enough, you can see the water tower in Hoyt Lakes (it's the white dot in the center of the photo).

View looking towards the north west. (Hoyt Lakes water tower is on the far right)

As I said, there was only one store on the route. It is Brimson's Sportman's Corner. The owner, Thor, was out mowing when we rolled in, but came right up and invited us in. He had Diet Coke and snacks which made us very happy. He came out and sat and talked with us while we rested under his umbrella. When we left, we felt as if we'd been visiting a friend, not stopping at a store.

It was great meeting Thor, sole owner and operator of Brimson Sportsman's Corner.

The store and outdoor seating area - it felt luxurious to us today!

The rest of the day, we just rode. We did stop for a short rest on a railroad overpass. Kerry was delighted to see a train coming in the distance.

It turned out to be a very short train. It didn't take long for Kerry to count the cars!

We had a great downhill run the final 16 miles. Right before we reached Beaver Bay, we got our first glimpse of Lake Superior - and I took an inadvertent selfie!

Kerry here... The 16 mile ride down to the lake was a blast. We had one 7.25 mile section where we averaged 20.38 MPH with a max speed of 34.65. We (I) shouldn't have done it, but we just held on and let 'er rip.

A picture of me taking a picture. This was our first view of Lake Superior for the day.

We had a hassle with the bike when we arrived at the motel. I spoke with the owner three days ago and she said we could put the bike in their shed, no problem at all. They don't allow bikes in the rooms. When we got here to check in, the girl at the desk knew nothing about that and was adamant that the bike had to stay outside. After telling her I had spoken with the owner, she still refused to do anything to help. Only after I got on the phone to call another motel did she finally get the owner on the phone, confirm what I had already told her and send someone to get a key to the shed. I'm sure all of you who've done credit card touring have had similar, or worse, experiences, but it is really annoying. It all worked out and we're settled in for the night and looking forward to our ride along Lake Superior tomorrow.

Kerry here...

Besides making Jeanna wait while I read the sign board, she also had to wait while I shot a photo of each panel (sorry that some of the verbiage got cut-off. It was very bright & I couldn't see the viewfinder clearly).

The Smith's have a big disagreement about this. Jeanna says our readers will find the following BORING. I say differently. Election time is coming up, and as they say, "Every Vote Counts", so let's hear yours. :-)

Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 1,700 miles (2,736 km)

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Kathleen JonesI vote yes for the interpretive panels. As long as I can read them. I always want to know more about the history and the people of the areas I/you/we bike tourers pass through. Sorry, Jeanna.
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3 years ago

John PescatoreI'm on Team Jeanna for this one! A little bit of roadside info signs goes a lot way for me. As a life long east-coaster, viewpoints or info signs about big holes in the ground are at the bottom of my personal list...
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3 years ago

Bill ShaneyfeltBoth are correct! Some (like my wife) pass info. signs without slowing down. Others (like me) like to take the time to soak up info.

"Different strokes for different folks"

"Variety is the spice of life"

Etc...
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3 years ago

Rich McKayI rarely read the signs... unless it's something that I'm personally interested in. I was more interested in the photos on these signs than what information was actually there.
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3 years ago

Alain AbbateIf the information you found displayed on top of a difficult climb is not available on-line, then it was probably worth the effort to struggle to the top of the viewpoint and read the panels. This information was rarer and more valuable than something you can just find on Wikipedia.

On the other hand, now that you have posted it in your blog, it can no longer be considered rare and valuable information. Any couch potato can now read about it with minimal effort.
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3 years ago

Mike ObermeyerI just find it interesting, maybe because I'm a land surveyor.
Loved the compass.
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3 years ago

Lou HarminLou likes to know what you read but would probably not stop to read.
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3 years ago

Dave CardarellaI read the storyboards, Marilyn does not. I do not post photos of them, but often use some of the text in my journals.
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3 years ago