Don’t Leave Home Without It

The trailhead in Cannon Falls.

The Cannon Valley Trail (CVT) is a “rails to trails” bike path near Cannon Falls, Minnesota. It is a favorite of mine, but we had not ridden it yet this season. One lovely, sunny afternoon, after errands and such, we decided to go for a bike ride. I was excited to go and ride on the CVT with my new electric bike.

The Cannon Valley Trail.

We loaded the bikes on the bike carrier, grabbed our helmets, filled our water bottles and off we drove…15 miles to Cannon Falls, to the trailhead.  When we were about three-quarters of the way to Cannon Falls I realized I forgot my bike battery! That’s an important piece of an electric bike. And, although you can ride the bike without the battery, the bike itself is extra heavy so it would have been difficult. Besides I was looking forward to trying my new bike on the trail. 

Me and my bike, with the battery. The trail from Cannon Falls to Red Wing is 20 miles. We ride half way to Welsh, 10 miles, and turn around which makes it a 20 mile ride.

So we turned around and went home to get the battery then headed back. Once on the trail it felt good to be there.

Clear blue sky, great trail.

It’s a bit of a sanctuary…the asphalt trail goes through some fields but mostly trees, and is very green with spring wild flowers blooming this time of year.

Spring Rocket Flower.

Sunshine dapples through the trees, and on one side the Cannon River flows for a good portion making for a beautiful trail.  

The Cannon River runs along the Cannon Valley Trail.

It was a wonderful ride and hopefully I have learned a lesson…do not leave home without my bike battery!