Let’s count ’em, shall we? Minnesota, the Land of 10000 Lakes! Supposedly somebody really did count the lakes in Minnesota; and there are, indeed, ten grand of them. But that’s beside the point.

If you want big cycling adventures in the North Star State, you can begin in northern Minnesota. From Lake Itasca, you can follow the Mississippi all the way to its mouth in extreme southeastern Louisiana.

I’m fortunate to have a segment of the MRT close at hand. The “levee bike path”, as cyclists around here call it, is wonderful. It’s paved; and that macadam is in much better condition than many a local street. There are a few crossings for vehicular access to small industries on the riverbank; and except for patrol vehicles, motor traffic up there is verboten. The drawback is that, once the sun is well up, there’s no shade. You’re also fully exposed to the wind.

Are your ambitions more modest? There’s nothing wrong with that. How about this Timberline tour? Nine days, 421 miles, with daily distances of 50-74 miles. I’d need to train up even for that! I’ve no doubt I can ride 50 miles in one day; but to do that and more every day for over a week would be a bit much at this point.

Luckily Minnesota is fairly flat. If there were hills to climb day after day, I’d be knocked out before the first day was over.

If I did do the Timberline tour, I hope I would remember about the 10000 lakes, and remind my cycling companions: “Let’s count ’em!”