4 days of riding in Otter Tail County, MN

M & I headed south for a bit of r'n'r - riding and relaxation. On Tuesday (Aug 16) M found a b&b called Xanadu Island run by Bubba and Margie! (I kept waiting for Olivia to show up and starting singing!) Their resort also had 3 cabins for rent, so we booked cabin #3 for 4 nights, packed up some food and the bikes and headed for the colonies.

M's brother, MH, had recommended Otter Tail County as a great place to ride, and that Fergus Falls, MN was a kind of central hub. The web-searching we did revealed mostly trails - paved and off-road -  which seems to be the preferred way of using a bicycle in these parts of Minnesota. Once we got there we picked up what maps we could, and decided to explore a bit.

Day 1 (Aug 17)

Although we road a good part of the Central Lakes Trail (a well-paved trail on an old rail bed) on this day, and it was in fact our longest day of riding, it was the least interesting and rewarding. This is not to say that it wasn't a good day, but the other three days were significantly better.

  

You ride past a few nice towns.

We stopped in Ashby at Ruby's for lunch ...

... where I had this fine mushroom and swiss burger. Americans know something about burgers!

So, I rode from Battle Lake (where the b&b is) to Fergus Falls, and then we rode the Central Lakes Trail from there to Melby and back - 110 ks total for me, 83 ks for M.

Day 2 (Aug 18)

We decided to see what the real roads would bring us, and Bubba and Margie suggested we head over to Phelps, to see the Phelps Mill, an old flour mill that's been preserved and is open to the public. So we mapped out a route that included it. We drove to Glendalough State Park and road from there.

The roads went up and around and down, like this one.

While riding around Otter Tail Lake there was the obligatory flat to be fixed.

Phelps Mill (in Phelps, MN - where else?).

More Phelps Mill

By the end of the day we'd ridden a 73 k loop, which was a bit longer than expected, but the roads were excellent.

Day 3 (Aug 19)

We thought this might be a bit of down day - a bit cool - so we decided to drive the car around and check out Inspiration Peak, a place we hoped to ride to the next day. Well we got there, and this is what it looked like:

The hike up the trail was not so much a hike as a  steep walk. 

Since we had our bikes along, we decided to ride a short loop the guy at the bike shop in Fergus Falls recommended. Another great ride (37 ks). One of the roads looked like this:

Day 4 (Aug 20)

Having taken a bit of a break, and explored the territory with the car we, with confidence, drove to the small town of Vining (pop. 211 - Today was their Watermelon Day - free watermelon, a parade, and LOTS of really large Minnesotans lumbering about.) and set out to ride, and then enjoy the free watermelon (sorry, no pics of this extravaganza). This 65 k ride began and "middled" very well, but ended superbly as we met Sue from Minneapolis along the way - the first road rider we'd met actually riding on these fantastic roads - and she (being the 50ish in great shape mother of three that she was) recommended a lovely little 20 k in and out between two lakes. It was a great way to end our time out there, along with the free watermelon!

A good climb.

A fine descent.

One of the many Lutheran churches you get to ride past out here.

So it was a fantastic 4 days of riding quiet, hilly, winding roads, past lakes and resorts and fields and through woods and small towns. I highly recommend it, if you like to ride road, and you're tired of flat and windy.