Today I started my ride southbound towards Des Moines. Lakeville seems like one of the last suburbs of the twin cities. I went from there southbound including via Faribault and Medford to Owatonna. This meant rural roads instead of bike paths.

I was along the Interstate 35 corridor. There seemed to be some spill-over traffic due to construction on the interstate. Also some slight rolling hills. So this felt less like Illinois/Indiana with their flat terrain and grid streets. Also saw some lakes (not enough to get anywhere close to 10,000). It was a good ride and stayed in the low 80s.

Starting out, I did have a section of bicycle trail along the interstate.

Soon enough I was on rural roads that looked like this.

My RideWithGPS route had a short section of gravel road. It started out easy enough until it seemed to end at a house with a large barking dog.

I got past the dog, lifted my bike over a low barrier and then was on the other side of this fence. I was able to get around the gate. However it made me wonder how the route selection logic decided on this as an OK route. If I had been coming the other direction, the locked gate and “no trespassing” signs would have dissuaded me but coming the back way I was committed unless I wanted to go back and detour.

Minnesota has built more roundabouts than other places I’ve cycled so far. I found it an interesting juxtaposition to have rural elements (e.g. corn, fields) with this roundabout as well as a half mile notice. This underscores how today’s ride was sort of rural but not really remote rural.

I crossed over I-35. You can see traffic backed up from construction.

Faribault – a mix of patriotism and pest control.

Bicycled through Faribault.

There were several large solar installations south of town. I stopped for lunch in Medford and then had a few miles left until Owatonna. Overall, a straightforward and not difficult ride.

I am ~160 miles north of Ames Iowa. In four days, Ames will be a stopover point for RAGBRAI, a large (10,000+ cyclist) ride across Iowa. I am thinking of joining the ride for a day as they ride from Ames to Des Moines. It will be a busy ride, but also interesting to see the event. Here is an article that describes it…