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.

Bemidji was a nice place, with what seems much more than the 15,000 population it has. Another beautiful and clean Minnesota city! The choices for motels are very limited and higher priced than I expected. From the calls I just made, the Lake Superior area is going to be even worse. But I want to see these sights and I may never be here again.

The ride today was 75 total miles from Bemidji back to Grand Rapids. I had ridden all but 20 miles of it on the day that I had to divert to Lake George. There were three convenience stores near Cass Lake and then 45 miles of trees and road, with little to see. At 11 a.m., I had to join a Zoom call and the best thing of the day happened. Having pushed for every mile I could get ahead of the meeting, just at the last minute I found the giant fish again. And from there, with the fish as the background, I gave my presentation. I talked with the fish owner ahead of doing it, and she loved the idea.

My last two Mississippi River sightings happened this afternoon. It has been a beautiful ride over two years. There is still a matter of 30 miles to be completed near New Orleans.

A moderate headwind was tough at times, and it is still blowing as I write this. Hopefully the wind dies down overnight as fog is predicted for tomorrow early. I am in the Forest Lake Motel in Grand Rapids with the lake right out of my window. The motel is an older one but very well done and reasonable.

Tomorrow begins the uncertainty. I have a motel for tomorrow night in Duluth, and one for two nights later about midway up Lake Superior. I understand that this is vacation time, and therefore the prices and availability will drive the next few days. But the spectacular north shore is worth seeing.

I did have another F’real milkshake tonight, this time the strawberry shortcake flavor. My ride tomorrow will again be mostly on U.S. 2, same as today. Join me back here tomorrow. Thanks for following this adventure, with some spectacular scenery ahead!