Northern Tier Day #28 Frontenac State Park, MN to Stillwater, MN
Northern Tier Day #28
June 17, 2019
Frontenac State Park, MN to Stillwater, MN 68 Miles
Ride Time 5:41
Tour Total 2246 Miles
I slept great last night in my tent in a secluded spot in Frontenac State Park. It was getting chilly when I went to bed, and there were fireflies and mosquitoes out.
The park was located on a large bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. From where I was camping I couldn’t see the river. I was surrounded by grass, scrub, and trees. It was a cart-in camping site. Motorists park their vehicles and obtain large wheelbarrow-like carts to tote their gear to their campsites. The sites were nice and well separated. It was very quiet, and I could barely hear Highway 61, although I did hear a freight train.
The birds started chirping early. It was definitely a little warmer out today. I noticed a chipmunk as I was packing up. Rain was in the forecast for the afternoon. I departed in my long-sleeve jersey, my sweater, my cycling shorts and no leg-warmers. I had a nice view of the river valley on my downhill out of the park. I chuckled on the steep downhill. Yesterday's arrival was cruel! I made it out of the park before the ranger’s office opened.
Four weeks ago I was in Bar Harbor, Maine. It seems so long ago and so far away.
I had to make a phone call at 8am, 9 o’clock New York time, and I was watching my phone service bars. Right at 8, on the dot, my service dropped and I had to backtrack a mile down the road so I could make the call.
I cut up into the hills and away from the river on County Highway 2 and then I took a right on County Road 5 to return back down to the river. Unlike Highway 61, I had the road pretty much to myself. A light blue pick up truck passed me and didn’t give me 3 feet clearance. It startled me and pissed me off. There was no shoulder.
Highway 58 coming into Red Wing was divided with four lanes. I had a nice wide shoulder with a rumble strip a good margin to my left. Red Wing has population of 16,459. I stopped at a Kwik Trip and ordered an egg sandwich on a croissant, a Starbucks Frappuccino with almond milk, and an orange juice.
I met a friendly guy named Tony who promised me the roads would be a lot less hilly on the Wisconsin side. He mentioned that he did a lot of canoe trips with his kids and had paddled down the Mississippi from Saint Cloud to Red Wing. He recognized my Brooks saddle and envied my trip. He couldn’t believe my girlfriend let me take these trips.
They were building a new bridge adjacent to the old one over the river from Red Wing. There was construction equipment everywhere, and the main ramp was closed. Crossing a big bridge alongside motorized traffic is tricky enough, and the construction gauntlet is never fun. Because it was part of the route I stopped and took a picture at the Wisconsin sign. It was my tour’s second excursion into this state.
On the upper Mississippi there are several different channels, which mean multiple sets of crossings. I actually had to cross two bridges, a big one and a smaller one. There had also been two separate bridge spans in La Crosse. The Bluffs on the Wisconsin side were as spectacular as those in Minnesota. I had been admiring them from across the river but it was fantastic to see them up close.
I’d been watching the weather and the rain forecast had been pushed back until later in the afternoon. I would definitely be able to get to a destination by that time. Because I had gone further than expected yesterday, I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going today.
I crossed the double set of railroad tracks on the Wisconsin side. The river was now to my left.
The main highway in Wisconsin was State Route 35. It had 2 lanes of traffic, and I had a 4 foot shoulder. I noticed several large red dump trucks hauling gravel.
The Wisconsin side ended up being just as hilly as Minnesota. I would get hot pedaling up the hills, and sweated profusely. The gnats could keep up with me at 4.6 miles an hour.
The back-and-forth Mississippi River and state border crossings reminded me of the TransAm last year and the numerous back-and-forths on the Continental Divide. I knew that I'd be riding to the Mississippi headwaters and wondered where my final crossing would be.
I encountered 3 eastbound touring cyclists, Tom, Mark, and Jim. They were all from Minneapolis. Tom was going all the way to Newfoundland, and the others just to Milwaukee. We talked politics, Duck Dynasty, and climate change. Tom was just as radical as me. He claimed to be a transportation refugee and was going to assert this status when he moved to Finland. I asked them if they had seen the other westbound cyclist I had heard about in Lake City, and they hadn’t. They asked if I had had any close calls and I told them about the light blue pick-up truck. They had a close call with a white pick-up truck. They checked out my bike and said that Surly’s were built in Bloomington Minnesota. They mentioned a nice trail between Saint Cloud and Bemidji, which I’d be getting to in a few days. While we were there talking a group of cyclists on E-bikes passed us.
A little ways down the road, I encountered a sign with a truck on a triangle. The downhill was short-lived, and then I had another uphill. When I overheat on these uphills I pull up my sweater and jersey to expose my stomach to cool myself down. Then on the downhills, when I need the warm clothing, I pull my layers back down. Sometimes my goggles fog up when I sweat.
I was passed by numerous cyclists out for a day ride on the other side of the road. I met a friendly farmer who was getting his mail. With a thick accent he told me that I sure was getting my exercise for the day. At the bottom of the hill I rejoined the train tracks and the river.
State Highway 35 in Wisconsin is also known as the Great River Road. I entered the town of Prescott, which proclaims itself to be the gateway to the Great River Road. There was a large sign posting all of the winnings of the Prescott dance team, which was a welcome switch from all the high school baseball team banners I’d been seeing. Kudos Prescott dance team! There was a bike lane in Prescott where I saw more cyclists.
Prescott was a nice little town with cafés, art galleries, and bars. I stopped at the Holiday station and got myself a black forest ham and cheese sandwich, a banana, and a Gatorade. I sat near the window and could see the vertical lift bridge to Minnesota, across the street.
Soon, I crossed over the St. Croix River and was back in Minnesota. The Minnesota welcome sign was less impressive than my first crossing from Iowa. It was a cheap metal sign in bad condition. At Prescott, the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin shifts from the Mississippi to the St. Croix. The Mississippi River was now to my left and the St. Croix River to my right. I quickly got on County Highway 21 also known as the St. Croix Trail.
The sun came out around noon. I stopped in front of the Carpenter St. Croix Valley nature Center to remove my sweater and put on my sunglasses. I remember the St. Croix River from when I lived in Minneapolis. I used to come to the bluffs with friends and jump into the river. Apparently the cliff jumping is now prohibited.
I made it to the top of a ridge without even leaving my large front chain ring, and then the downhill began. For some reason my front brake cable has loosened and is not as responsive.
Incredible! I saw a pair of geese guide their goslings across the road in single file. The parents were at each end. It was very orderly and quick. My Crazy Guy reptile expert identified yesterday’s road kill as a female snapping turtle. They don't have a large plastron (shell on the belly).
I was tempted to stop and put on my short sleeve jersey, but I‘d also have to put on sunscreen and I’d get eaten alive by gnats. It would be a big ordeal so I didn’t bother. There were lots of ups and downs today.
I entered Afton, population 2,888. This was where the three eastbound cyclists from Minneapolis had camped last night. Afton was a nice little town. It had cafés, bars, bed-and-breakfasts, and a bike shop.
On the Stage Coach Trail I ran into a high school-aged kid riding a nice bike and wearing a swell jersey. He asked me how long I had been out for. I told him that what I was doing was the ultimate adventure!
Before Stillwater I was up on another ridge passing fields full of grass and weeds, and groves of trees. I crossed over I-94. The corn here is 2 feet off the ground. Outside of Stillwater I could see the giant smokestack from the Oak Park Power Station. I also passed the maximum security Minnesota Correctional Facility at Stillwater. The high walls and sentry towers resembled a fort. I passed the slick new cable-stayed bridge on State Trunk Highway 36 over the St. Croix River.
Coming down into Stillwater, I carefully braked my way down the steepest hill I’d ever been down on a loaded bike. It was terrifying and I was afraid my brakes would give out. My front brake was already loose. If I had been going eastbound, I would have had to walk this one. I’m really surprised this hill was on the route. It wasn’t safe.
I was flagged down by a guy named Jerry, whose daughter rode from Boston to Bellingham WA, and whose son started cycling in Steamboat Springs CO and is currently in Columbia, South America. He gave me his card and offered me a place to stay. I, however, was hatching another plan for the evening with my friend Sam, from St. Cloud.
I went to the Freight House and ordered myself a Lift Bridge Brewery Mango Blonde. I was sitting besides the lift bridge for which the brewery was named. My route would take me across this very bridge back into Wisconsin. I noticed that the lift bridge was stuck in the up position and that it was being reconstructed. Crap! I was going to have to go back up the humongous hill and then take busy State Trunk Highway 36 over the new cable-stayed bridge. Ugh.
I was only 30 minutes by car to the Twin Cities. I decided to get a cheap hotel in Stillwater for the night, and Sam and his girlfriend Scarlet would come get me and take me to a Twins game.
I rode uphill to the hotel where I dried out my tent, did laundry, and showered. Sam and Scarlet picked me up and took me first to the expansive Surly Brewery for a few beers. Then we went to downtown Minneapolis to Butcher & The Boar for Fulton Standards, shots of Jim Beam Black, and bratwurst. We drove by the house where I used to live, and we walked by First Avenue, the club where I used to see Prince perform.
The Twins lost against the Red Sox but we still had fun. Later, we got thrown out of Liquor Lyle’s because Scarlet took off her Twins cap in a disrespectful manner. We ended the evening at the CC Club, an old haunt of mine, before I Übered back to Stillwater.
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