Triumphrat

lindsayt · 09-14-2009, 10:56 PM

So some friends of mine who are mostly parents started a Tuesday Night Ride many years ago in response to the reality that parents never have free riding time on the weekends. We've ridden every week that it's not snowing for several years now, on short city rides with some coffee or beer at the end. We're all city people so it's low key and nice.

Well, five years ago we got to talking about how nice it would be to take a short weekend ride after the kids are back in school; Duluth, about 180 miles away, was the chosen target for the first Duluth Run, a there-and-back overnight ride with seven riders. In the intervening years the rides have gotten longer, with Two Harbors the next year, Grand Marais the next and Madeline Island last year. It's always the first weekend after Labor Day, and this year we decided to be a bit more ambitious - the Canadian border town of Fort Frances, Ontario, just across from International Falls. We scheduled four days to do it, and like all prior Duluth Runs, this year's Border Run took us to Duluth for the final night. At 811 miles, it wasn't the longest trip I've taken, but it was really nice. The following posts will provide a somewhat detailed description of the roads we took and what we did. I highly recommend the route for others looking for a fun, relaxing extended-weekend trip from the Cities.

lindsayt · 09-14-2009, 11:20 PM

We left Dinkytown, Minneapolis on Friday morning after a tasty breakfast at Al's (highly recommended). We took University up through NE Mpls until we could catch E River Road in Coon Rapids, a slow, stoplight-riddled affair. E River Road was better but still slow, and we were glad in Anoka to leave the city behind for MN-47, a two-lane that's not twisty but that's quite scenic and not totally straight.

47 carried us up around Lake Mille Lacs right along the shore, with lots of gentle rolls and very little traffic, due to the proximity of US-169, the main thoroughfare. We were almost sorry to reach Aitkin, as from there north 169 is the only option. We had lunch in Aitkin at a nice but forgettable sandwich place (with good soup)and, ahead of schedule, headed up towards Grand Rapids.

169 north of Aitkin was much less crowded than we expected and a pleasant 2-lane itself that far north; the result was that we found ourselves in Grand Rapids hours ahead of schedule and not ready to stop. We agreed as a group that we should just head up to International Falls a day early, but sadly ou motel reservations were non-refundable so we stayed in GR for the night.

With hours to kill until evening, we took a nice ride around the town and some country highways around it and found a nice roundabout near the Forest History Center. The Center looked interesting, but was closing as we arrived so we headed back to the motel.

We had some drinks at the Eagles club, a nasty dive full of worn-out people, but at least the beer was cheap - $6.50 for a pitcher! We had a forgettable dinner at the Ground Round - believe it or not, the best food within walking distance - and headed back to the motel.

The motel had a pool so we went down there for a while. While all eight of us - 7 25-45 yo guys and a 30 yo woman - were sitting in the hot tub, 7 or 8 bikini-clad teenage girls came and sat down too. It got awkward when we learned they were in town for a volleyball tourney, but then we found out it was junior college (hence, 18+) and the crisis was averted. It turns out they were from International Falls themselves, and we got some advice on where to ride and where to eat when we got there. It was quite helpful and easy on the eyes.

lindsayt · 09-14-2009, 11:52 PM

Armed with advice about our destination from locals, we headed off for International Falls after a surprisingly-adequate continental breakfast at the motel in Grand Rapids. Once through town, we commenced to ride one of the best roads I've been on, MN-38 north of GR. For about fifty miles it twists and turns, rises and falls, surprises and delights as just when you start thinking it can't get better you crest a hill to see the twisting ribbon dive between some trees and out of sight as it slithers its way north toward Canada.

All good things must come to an end, and eventually it ends at MN-1 west, which in turn dumps you onto MN-6 without fanfare. 6 is a fine road but seems a dull thing after 38. In turn it left us on US-71, the closest thing to a major thoroughfare west of Int'l Falls, and we came into International Falls about lunch time.

Though we probably would have gotten food in the town if left to our own, we had an ace in the hole. Following the bikini-clad advice we received earlier, we took MN-11 east out of Int'l Falls along Rainy Lake and experienced a truly remarkable road en route to our recommended lunch spot. For abou ten miles MN-11 leapt and bounded from island to island, following the curvy, hilly contours of each until we reached the "MN-11 Ends" sign, next to a place called the Sha Sha Resort. There we ate lunch on a huge almost Polynesia-like setting of decks, umbrellas, lakes and islands, with Canada in the background and tasty lunch front and center.

After lunch we rode back into town and, bidding safe travels to our sole rider not entering Canada, crossed over to Fort Frances. None of us had been to Fort Frances; we didn't know what to expect. We'd picked it because it's the closest Canadian town to Minneapolis, and my earlier travel this summer to Thunder Bay led me to assume Fort Frances had to be better.

We all know what happens when you assume.

We all crossed the border without incident, but my encounter gave me a sense of what the town must be like:

Guard: where in Canada are you going?
Me: we're staying here in Fort Frances.
Guard: what's the purpose of your visit?
Me: fun.
<extended silence>
Guard: why are you coming to Fort Frances?
Me: we wanted to ride to Canada and this looked good.
<silence>
Guard: well, alright. Where are you staying?
Me: the Super 8.
Guard: okay, go on through.

We quickly discovered the reason for his incredulity: there's NOTHING in Fort Frances. Even the Canadian souvenir shop is across the border, in International Falls. I think before 9/11 this was a single town with an open border, and almost everything was in IF. Now, the locals can still move fairly easily but FF is much more isolated. It's not that it's BAD per se, it's just a paper-mill town with nothing in it.

Except a Tim Hortons, of course, a must for any Canada trip. We dropped off our stuff at the Super 8 (a very nice Super 8 I might add) and got some coffee and doughnuts before our ride, a welcome bit of Canadiana.

After donuts we got on Kings Highway (11, not to be confused with MN-11 across the border) and rode east as this Canadian island-hopper basically did the same thing as its American counterpart, skipping us across the Canadian side of Rainy Lake. Unlike MN-11 though, Highway 11 goes on to Thunder Bay and eventually Sudbury and Ottawa, so we rode maybe 30 miles and turned around. It was pretty - much like 17 north of Lake Superior around Marathon - but too straight for the expectations we'd gained earlier that day, and it was good to get back.

Dinner was either Pizza Hut or KFC so we had some Labatts Blue and pizza, some more doughnuts, a swim (alas, no junior college volleyball this time) and called it a night.

lindsayt · 09-15-2009, 12:22 AM

Sunday morning brought more motel waffles and, thankfully, more Tim Hortons. We had no issue crossing the border, and after a quick stop at the aforementioned souvenir shop, we were heading out of International Falls. We gave a wave to Rainy Lake Community College as we went by, and we were out onto US-53, a desolate and fast two-lane.

Our plan had been to ride 53 all the way from IF to Duluth, but the car traffic was nasty and aggressive, and we knew the fun roads were just ~60 miles out of our way around Ely, so when 53 crossed MN-1 we turned east and headed to Ely.

MN-1 is the antithesis of US-53, and we rode it for nearly a hundred miles, with Ely in the middle. We met few oncoming cars and even fewer in our direction of travel. Heading to Ely the road was somewhat direct, but south of Ely it became magnificent - dozens of sharp turns as the road contorts itself to meet the contours of the forest.

These roads are the reason I learned to ride on two wheels. Thin, miserable pieces of asphalt, they have no shoulders and barely enough room for two trucks to pass each other. They jog through the forest, jumping this was and that like a rabbit trying to evade detection. The experience overwhelms the senses: the tall, narrow pines and birches of the northwoods create a mottled patchwork of light and shadow, the smell of pine is thick and sweet, the sound of the bikes only momentarily cuts through the chatter of insects, birds, and animals that fills the forests. The road hardly knows where it will take you, and each hairpin brings you into a section of forest that had no idea of your presence just seconds before.

To return to the story, we took a long lunch break in Ely, as we ate a great meal at the Chocolate Moose, a favorite of canoers coming out of the Boundary Waters, with good reason. Our food was all excellent, and we did some shopping too.

The best part of MN-1, as I described, is between Ely and county-2 to the south, and we rode it as fast as we could. It's my goal to ride all of that stretch without touching the brakes, and I almost made it this time - one light depression entering a hairpin pair of s-curves was all this time.

We took 2 south, and it's a dull but pleasant road. We got to racing each other a bit, tucking to maximize acceleration. It was fun, and in due time we found ourselves in Two Harbors. We took 61 south along the scenic byway, a must in the Duluth area, though frankly I'm personally getting tired of it. The fog was thick off the Lake and so we couldn't even see the water; at times we could barely see each other, even though it was early afternoon.

We finally arrived in Duluth, dumped our bags, and took a break. I'd been concerned about my rear tire's wear so I took the opportunity to change it before dinner. It wasn' that bad, but who wants to ride home on a bald tire?

We jumped on the interstate for the first and only time the whole trip, and we headed over the High Bridge to Superior, WI for dinner and beer since MN doesn't allow liquor sales on Sunday. The fog was so thick over the harbor that it was impossible to tell we were even on a bridge; and soon we were in Superior. We went to the Hammond, an old-style steakhouse right by the bridge, and all but two got prime rib. It's a tradition for us to eat at the Hammond, and it didn't disappoint. We stopped at the liquor store to lay-in for later and headed back across the Bong Bridge back to Duluth.

We ran up to Skyline Parkway and ran most of it in the dark, a worthwhile thing to do in Duluth. We stopped at one of the Parkway's many "makeout points" and disturbed the kids while we looked at the harbor. When we got back to the motel, we'd done 245 fun miles that day.

lindsayt · 09-15-2009, 12:36 AM

The last day of a trip is the longest despite mileage numbers, but the best cure for that is an excellent breakfast. With that in mind, we rode in to Canal Park to get breakfast at Hell's Kitchen in Duluth, the sole outpost of the restaurant of the same name in DT Minneapolis. It's one of my favorite places on earth, and we all ate well - I had Mahnomin Porridge, bison sausage, and black beans and eggs, personally.

We intended to head back through Wisconsin instead of Minnesota because we're all tired of the MN route. The fastest way to that route is via the High Bridge, but a last-minute choice to stop at Aerostich (it's worth seeing) put us at the southwest corner of Duluth, 15 miles from the High Bridge. Rather than backtracking we decided to take MN-39, a cool double-decker bridger that carries cars underneath and trains overhead.

Unfortunately, the bridge is closed for repair (we're now skittish in MN about unrepaired bridges) and so we decided to take the MN route back. We took MN-23 almost to Sandstone, then took MN-123 as a diversion the rest of the way. 123 is a cruel washboardb of a road, and although it's more scenic than 23, it could also cause your wife to miscarry., so I don't recommend it.

From sandstone south we just follow the old highway 61, made up various "county 61" roads, as well as county 30, MN-361, and finally, from Pine City south, US-61. We stopped at Tobies in Hinckley for lunch; my lunch was pie and coffee since I was still stuffed from breakfast, but it was good.

The last day ended up the shortest, at roughly 165 miles, and we were back home before 4.

lindsayt · 09-15-2009, 12:49 AM

We rode 811 miles in four days. The most incredible part? My Bonneville was sitting in the garage the whole time. This was a scooter trip. We all were riding 150cc scooters - six Stellas (LML Stars, which are unlicensed Vespa PXes), one Bajaj Chetak, and a Genuine Blur. Except for the Blur, these are all manual-shift scooters, rated at 8 hp with a top cruise speed of ~55 mph. We ran them at wide-open throttle for 800 miles straight. We've done this every year for the past five, and my Stella now has 13,000 miles (compared to my bonnie's 17,000).

So, a few things:

Don't assume that dude on the scooter is some ***** lightweight. He may just have ridden more miles than you.

If eight people with a *combined* displacement of 1200cc can cross international borders on the weekend, Bonneville owners really don't have to worry about freeway riding.

Touring can be done on *any* bike; some make it easier than others, but at the end of the day, touring is a state of mind, a way of looking at the map and the road, one that, when confronted with the choice to ride or to stay put, chooses to ride. I honestly love touring on the Stella just as much as on my Booneville. That's not to be equivocal - I love touring and I *want* a real touring bike such as a BMW R1200RT - but there's something exhilerating and primal about just doing what you want with the bike you have.

propforward · 09-15-2009, 01:53 PM

Those are some great roads, looks like just a fine time all round. You can tour on anything. Anyone who says otherwise is just plain wrong. It's all about what makes it fun for you at any given time.

High time I got back up North and played around again.

EDIT: Good descriptions, but pics would be good! I like pics. Don't you have a live action cam on that scoot?

FURTHER EDIT:

Quote:

Bonneville owners really don't have to worry about freeway riding.

true - but then we knew that, you and I. Among others.

MORE EDIT:

Quote:

Guard: what's the purpose of your visit?
Me: fun.

Border guards do not understand fun. Trust me.

FINAL EDIT: Where's my bloody honey crueller?

propforward · 09-15-2009, 03:12 PM

Quote:

a last-minute choice to stop at Aerostich (it's worth seeing) put us....

That reminds me, I really need to get a Mr Happy puppet.

hypervista · 09-15-2009, 03:37 PM

Nice write-up lindsayt. I'm a big Bob Dylan fan and have always wanted to see Duluth (his childhood home). Did you see any plaques or museums there about him?

lindsayt · 09-15-2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hypervista

Nice write-up lindsayt. I'm a big Bob Dylan fan and have always wanted to see Duluth (his childhood home). Did you see any plaques or museums there about him?

I think he actually grew up in Hibbing, which is a nothing little town north of Duluth on the old Highway 61 route (hence "Highway 61 revisited"). I'm not aware of any Dylan stuff in Duluth; Dylan of course really *hated* Hibbing growing up, and definitely plays down any connection to Minnesota so we don't see too much of him here. Prince and David Pirner (of Soul Asylum) both own property in Minneapolis and come back a lot, but Dylan's something of a wayward son I think.

I have to admit whenever I'm riding on Highway 61 (which is a lot), especially up on the Range (which is less often but still frequent) I always have "God said to Abraham kill me a son..." playing in my head.