day 229 : a recap of our 4-day, 200-mile bike ride!

BIKES!

you know i love bikes! i love talking about them, riding them, talking about riding them, ect! 

i have posted a few times about the awesome nice ride bikes we have in the cities! 

last month, they opened a new bike rental program up in bemidji, mn! the bikes are a bit lighter {30 pounds}, bright orange {the ones in the cities are green!} and built more like a touring bike, rather than a comfort cruiser. 

blake & i joined some of the staff, along with other bike lovers for a 200-mile bike ride, riding the bikes from big lake {a northern twin cities suburb} to bemidji!

we left our apartment super early thursday morning {it was down pouring & storming!} ; since we don't have a car, we took a car2go & parked downtown. we hopped on the north star train {its a train that heads back and forth from the suburbs into mpls} & ended up at the big lake station.

once there, we got to know everyone {there were 20 of us total}, got fitted for the bikes & learned more about our route.

day 1, we rode about 35 miles & after about 90 minutes, the rain stopped and the sun came out. our first night was spent in st. cloud & the hotel was beautiful! we got into town about 90 min ahead of schedule, so we stopped for coffee, headed to the river, checked out some flower gardens & finally came back, showered & got ready for dinner! 

day 2, was the longest single-day ride i have ever done {and on a 30-pound, 3-speed bike, thankyouverymuch!} we finished the day with 76 miles! our second night, we slept in baxter.

day 3, we picked up the paul bunyan trail & rode the entire 63 miles on trail! the first two days, we were on roads & highways, so we all worked pretty hard at staying together in a pack. since we were on the trail, we were able to all go our own speeds ; it was a great way of chatting with the other riders! we ended the day in walker & then took a van to nevis & stayed in cabins.

day 4, after an awesome breakfast in walker from their local coop {seriously, so good!}, we hopped back on the trail for an easy 30 mile ride! once we got into bemidji, a group of about 100 local bikers met us outside of town! we all took a 2-mile ride into town & ended our ride at the paul bunyan statue, right next to the lake! we had the opportunity to hear the mayor, the director of nice ride & the head of blue cross // blue shield {they are a major sponsor of NR} all speak & welcome the bikes into the city.

after photos, we all went for food, handed our bikes over, hopped on the bus for the long ride home! 

we got back, grabbed a car2go & came home!

we were so lucky to have a massive amount of snacks always at the ready from the awesome crew at nice ride & all of our lodging & meals were covered by our registration fee. 

i had such a great time! in the four years that blake & i have lived in minneapolis, its been so amazing to watch our community really embrace bike culture!

if you are interested in following the ride or checking out photos from our co-riders, you can search the #bike2bemidji hashtag on twitter & instagram!