Location Distance Average MPH Maximum MPH Long Prairie MN 8.1 11.1 23.3 I had had such wondering conversations with the folks in Long Prairie MN that I knew I had to stay there even if I wasn't riding into town on my bike. The church had gathered together a dozen people to celebrate my fundraiser and have a potluck supper. They insisted I stay there and breakfast with them the next morning, and several of them pressed bills into my hands as a last-minute donation to Habitat for Humanity. When I counted them up later to make sure the money was earmarked correctly, it was over $200.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First I had to take Jay back to Red Wing. On the way, we stopped to look over the path up the Mount of Doom. I took some photos which weren't nearly as frightening as the reality of it had been several days early, but unfortunately the one photo I really wanted didn't turn out. It was a single signpost with three signs on it, reading from top to bottom, they are:
- Narrow Road
- Dangerous Hill
- Bike Route
That just sort of sums it all up, doesn't it?
The route from Osceola to Princeton would have been topographically wonderful, although my Mapquest-derived map would have placed me on gravel for a stretch and I would have had to re-route.
I biked a short distance around Long Prairie before the potluck, and even that was hot & miserable. The highlight of the evening was meeting Blanche, considered to be the area's best fisher at age 86.
