The other day we went for a bike ride on one of my favorite bike trails. The trail follows an abandoned Chicago Great Western Railway corridor for 20 miles between Cannon Falls and Red Wing, Minnesota. It’s a beautiful tree-canopied trail and on this particularly fine morning with the sun was shining through the trees on the beautiful purple rockets and yellow wild flowers…it was stunning and the temperature was just right for cycling. This trail is a sanctuary for me. I get on my bike, ready to roll, and a sense of peace starts to wash over me. The trail has a slight downward grade which makes the first half of the ride easier.
As we travel along the Cannon River on the paved trail we go through woods and fields, and open spaces with views of the river, cliffs, and a cave. It runs by a rifle range too, which is an odd thing. Another odd, but fun, point is a space someone created along the trail…they installed a Little Free Library and a bench for anyone who wants to stop and read awhile if so inspired. So whimsical and fun.
We often see wild life on the trail: lots of birds including my favorite, the cardinal, squirrels, bunnies, deer and snakes.
We usually stop at the 10-mile mark rest stop and turn around. It’s a slight upward grade back to town and I need to work a little harder and am tired by the end of the ride. However the reward is seeing the falls and it was flowing strong after the recent rains.
As we were getting off the trail many people were just starting their ride on this beautiful afternoon. We headed to the local Dairy Inn for an ice cream cone and it tasted delicious.