And the adventure begins again

Drove over 600 miles to Flagstaff, AZ. The elevation here is 6900 ft. We are surrounded by forests. It sort of reminds me of Lake Tahoe without the lake. The weather is a lot cooler than I expected. The 70's sure beats 108 in Needles.
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Location:Flagstaff, AZ

Day 3 -- San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge & Sausalito

We caught a train from San Jose to San Francisco.  Once we arrived in SF, we rode past the many ferry buildings along the embarcadero Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, the Marina to the bridge.














Once back in the City we saw that the new bike lanes were being painted green. So neat.

Day 2 - Mountain View, Palo Alto to Stanford University

We rode the train to Mountain View.

Once in Mountain View we rode on a bike trail.



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And the adventure begins

Today is Day 1 of our five year reunion. Five years ago 32 women rode their bicycles across the US from San Diego to St Augustine. A journey of over 3,000 miles in eight weeks.

We drove to Pacific Grove and rode our bikes along the coast and along the 17 mile drive and back.

Location:San Jose, CA

It's Good to be Home

Sometimes it takes a vacation to appreciate being home and friends. I missed my bed, my TV, my coffee pot, my sewing machine, my washer and dryer, my kitty cat (not in any particular order). On the other hand it was sure nice to get up every morning, hop on my bike and ride a new ride each day. It was nice not having to fix breakfast, lunch or dinner, not having to make my bed, go grocery shopping or cook!

There are small things that I took for granted but appreciate now like our bike lanes and smooth rodes.


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The other thing that I am so thankful for is our bike shops. We have some of the best bike shops in this country. I visited many bike shops on my trip and nothing could compare. So, please, please support our shops. They support us and give us the best service. Online stores are for those who don't have the luxury of being able to walk in a bike shop and find what they want.

Homeward Bound

Hopped on a charter bus early this morning for a 5 hour ride to the airport at St. Paul-Minneapolis. I sat with Mary, one of my new friends from Ohio. She shared her photos from the time we left New Orleans to Lake Itasca. As I looked at the photos I couldn't help thinking about the great journey that we just finished. It really is a once in a life time opportunity. I feel blessed that I was able to complete it and the memories will stay with me forever.

Saturday, June 9, 2012
Pine River to Itasca State Park, MN -- 88 miles
Leaving Pine River we hopped back on the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail and rode past the town of Backus to Hackensack.




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We are in Paul Bunyan country...this is Mrs. Paul Bunyan. Hackensack is where Paul Bunyan junior was born.




Another 20+ miles and we come to the town of Akeley where there is Paul Bunyan museum. I wish I had time to visit it but I have to move on because I have miles to go to reach the headwaters of the Mississippi.




The last town was Lake George, then Itasca State Park. After entering at the North Entrance we stopped shortly at the Mississippi Headwater Visitor's Center. Then it was a short walk to the headwaters where we were greeted by Shauna's Dad and family with champagne!












It is true what I have heard before making this trip...one can cross the Mississippi River on stepping stones.












Then it was a short bike trail ride to the Douglas Lodge where we had our final big banquet.




I finally got my walleye for dinner! I was so worried that I might not get a chance to taste some before leaving Minnesota. It was very good! The view from the lodge overlooking Lake Itasca was a fitting end to a incredible journey.

Little Falls to Pine River -- 65 miles

Another great day of riding past pasture land and corn fields. A nice tail wind helped get us to the first 35 miles at which point we rode into Brainerd. Then we entered the Paul Bunyan Trail which is a fabulous bike trail. My wish would be that everyone has a chance to ride it once.




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For 30 miles it was so nice to have a trail all to ourselves and not worry about trucks, cars, farm equipment/tractors, not worry about stop signs, light signals, making right turns, left turns, street signs, dodging road kill, holes, bumps and/or miscellaneous objects.
Towns we rode thru were Merrifield, Nisswa, Pequot Lakes before arriving in Pine River.