Post a Comment On: A Nod to Nothing

Two Harbors to Proctor.  The End.  It was a nice short ride, but a LOT of hills rolling through Duluth and then up Skyline to Proctor.  You could catch a bus to Enger Park/Enger Tower, but I think anyone who did that was still in for a surprise around the climb on the second half of the ride. It was in no way inconsiderable.  I think a few people traveled to the end and then pedaled to Enger and back, but I couldn't quite figure out how that was less hill, unless they were meeting a car at Enger.  Probably that.There was one point, way over in this photo, where we were at the top of a hill in Duluth, and then they routed us down two blocks to avoid construction.  A nice little detour, but the resulting dip to get back up the hill was probably the toughest climb of the day.  It looked like someone had scooped a chunk out of the terrain with an ice cream scoop on my altimeter tracking.  I remember thinking if there was another 100' to go, I might have had to walk. [Image]
Ben, shortly before we got to Enger Tower and before we realized how much climb there was left.[Image]
The view of the Duluth Aerial Bridge from the tower.[Image]
Me on the ride. On the way to the end, someone going the other direction [MS rider] said "Hi, Scott".  Surprised the heck out of me.  I think someone was stalking me.  But you're with everyone for five days, so you do pick up a few names here and there, and you pick up a lot of the personalities sharing beer and music and pedal time.
Great ride and a fun route, even if it was challenging on day one and day five.  Thanks to Ben for riding with me and Forlorn Fenders.  It was great to have a friend along to swap stories and catch up on old and new times.[Image]