June 29 - Pepin, WI to Hastings, MN (52 mi.)

As indicated in my update from yesterday, I brought my current cycling trip to a close after today's ride. I ran into to two cyclists this morning that started earlier today from Minneapolis on their way to St. Louis along the MRT. They are from Minneapolis and said getting through the city with all the trail/road closures was difficult for them and they know the trail system. It would have been very difficult for me to do tomorrow not knowing the trail system. Besides, three weeks on the road is enough for now.

It was sunny and clear this morning when I left Pepin in contrast to the last few days when it has been overcast much of the day. That was nice. I rode a few blocks to Lake Pepin and took a photo.

Lake Pepin, WI - beautiful place

I continued north on WI-35 to Maiden Rock and took a photo. There was a historical marker that described the tale of an Indian maiden who was found at the bottom of the cliff because she could not marry her true love.

Maiden Rock

After some pretty good climbs during the morning I arrived at Prescott, WI which is the northern end of the Wisconsin Great River Road/MRT. Wisconsin was fantastic and I would not hesitate to ride this route again.

Prescott, WI

With only about 7 miles left to Hastings, MN, I called Susi to find out where she was so I would not how fast I should ride the remaining miles. It looked like I could take my time and we would arrive at the designated pickup spot about the same time, 12:45 PM. I crossed the St. Croix River on US10 and entered Minnesota.

Entering Minnesota - my 6th state (IA, NE, MO, IL, WI, MN)

The MRT route appears to be marked much better in Minnesota than in either Illinois or Wisconsin.

MRT route sign in Minnesota

I rode the remaining 7 miles to the south end of Hastings along US10 and US61. Both of these roads had very heavy traffic but a decent shoulder. US61 took me over the Mississippi River for the last time on a nice relatively new bridge. Susi pulled into the designated pickup point about 30 seconds after I did - pretty good timing.

We arrived back in Altoona around 6:00 PM and it is great to be home!! Three weeks and 1,200 miles was a nice little trip. Next up is RAGBRAI with my brother Brad in three weeks; another 7 days and 425 miles.