Northern MN: Day 5

On the Mesabi Trail*…

(*Editor’s note: see Wikipedia info below, for inquiring minds!)

Paved trail, no motorized vehicles.
Not flat!
Several 8% grade climbs today.
Legs more tired than end of last days' rides.

Trip designed for Bob and me to do trip together.
I'm / we're having a good time with that.

Sometimes, in my life,
I see bike reports:
Solo trip taken by solo rider,
Hundreds of miles.

My fantasy mind thinks
"I want to do that.”
Blaze my very own long trails,
Be totally self-reliant.

I mull it over...

One of things I say when I talk,
One of my "five keys" is
Connect with others who are doing what you are doing.

There is support,
There is synergy.
I am experiencing that on this trip.
I value the sharing.

A funny story:
Years ago, when family was young,
Bob was away for week at Library conference.

Young Rob said that he missed Dad at breakfast,
"Why?" I asked, "You don't say anything to each other. What do you miss?"

Thought-filled pause from Rob…
"We chew together,” he replied.

Forty years later, I identify.
Quiet, word-free miles,
Pedaled together,
Are connection.

Sending love to each of you,
Lin

Editor's addition:
Mesabi Wikipedia Info—
for those who want to know!

*The Mesabi Trail is a 132-mile paved bicycle trail running from Grand Rapids, to Ely, Minnesota. As of 2016, the trail is still under construction with approximately 25 miles of trail complete. The trail goes through the many small towns along it. Much of the trail runs along abandoned railroad grade used in conjunction with mining.

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The Mesabi Iron Range is an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore, and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief iron ore mining district in the United States. The district is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in Itasca and Saint Louis counties. It was extensively worked in the earlier part of the 20th century. Extraction operations declined throughout the mid-1970s but rebounded in 2005. China's growing demand for iron, along with the falling value of the U.S. dollar versus other world currencies, have made taconite production profitable again, and some mines that had closed have been reopened, while current mines have been expanded.

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The Great River Mesabi Trail Ride

Since 2005, the Mesabi Trail has hosted a long bike ride every year in mid-August. Each stop (usually at a town or at intervals between towns) has fruit, water, granola, and other snacks. In Buhl, there is ice cream. The refreshments are free, as is the food at the ending destination, but there is a fee to ride in this event. To accommodate riders of different abilities, the ride includes multiple official starting points; while the full route may be 50 to 70 miles, intermediate starting places along the route may be as close as 8 or 10 miles from the end.

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