Editor’s note: David Freeze is cycling along the Mississippi River. This is part two of his adventure, riding from Dubuque, Iowa, up to the source in Minnesota. Contact him at david.freeze@ctc.net.

The day dawned cool and pleasant this morning at the Regency Inn in Anoka, Minnesota. I hoped to make significant progress while Ethan Horne was again riding with me. Ethan is from China Grove and we are longtime fiends. Ethan lives in Minneapolis, so he took the time to ride with me Saturday afternoon and part of Sunday morning before heading back home.

We checked out the town, interesting since the Rum River empties in the Mississippi near the town. They are building a 20-mile trail that includes both rivers and the town. Lots of historic buildings still remain in Anoka.

We road north on the Great River Road through Dayton, Otsego and into Monticello through a few hilly segments but some easier riding as well. Turkeys were abundant in the area. Ethan turned around at Monticello, which was incorporated in 1855, and headed back home. It was fun to have him along, especially with his own  outstanding list of endurance cycling accomplishments.

After some light rain, the sun came back out and so did a consistent headwind. I passed the edge of Clearwater and then rode into St. Cloud, a city of about 51,000. I had a dilemma, wanting to continue riding on to Little Falls about 35 more miles but the only listed regular motel was full. I decided to continue on to Sartell and AmericInn. I had tried to talk Ileen Geisel into a deal, but still stopped here for the evening. We had a very pleasant conversation about my rides and about her bike. This is the nicest motel so far on this ride. Sartell has one of the few sets of rapids on the Mississippi.

Tomorrow, I am hoping for at least Brainerd, Minnesota, where I will complete three bridge crossings. Those crossings will continue the rest of the way to Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi. At each crossing, I am seeing the smaller size of the river as I head north. There will also be less towns coming up too. Right now, I think it will be three more days to the source.

Following the Lake Itasca stop, I will ride east to Lake Superior and hope to ride into Canada briefly at Thunder Bay. I understand that the area is called the Northwoods and will have some interesting stops along Lake Superior, the biggest of the Great Lakes.

Thanks to David Post for sponsoring again this year.

See you back here tomorrow! I am sure it will be another interesting journey.