Riding the Root

When the three of us arrived in Lanesboro MN yesterday, we had only one real concern.  The sun was out and the temperatures pleasant enough, so I wondered just how long our newest member of the Hess Sisters Biking Community might last on the Root River Trail, which, for those of us who have been on it before, we know it goes on for a looooong time.  After a brief look around town, 

for Beanie Boos (?), a scoop of ice cream and a malt for a good luck send-off , it was time to unload the wheels and get to it.

We were pleasantly reminded very quickly that the beautiful Root River Trail, at least for the four miles leading back east toward Whalen (where we held out the temptation of world famous pies for  certain sweet-tooths), is virtually all flat, wide, smooth asphalt....with the wind.  The breeze off the

river might churn up some or the cloud cover above get a bit heavy and our newest biker might have to take a pit stop or seven to re-adjust a helmet, take off a sweat shirt (put a sweatshirt back on), or just need one more round of chocolate covered pomegranate berries (evidence of treat-bribery

on every corner of the mouth above), but before we knew it, we made it to Whalen four miles down  

the trail. Now, for every overly ambitious parent biker that has ever lived, though, we all have had to calculate at what point do we turn back on these open-ended trail trips?  Energy is high, the wind has been our own private booster pack pushing us forward like helpful guiding hands, and so the kids, of course, want to "keep going."  We know there's 4-5 miles going back the other way, but how do you squash the allure of seeing the next stage of scenery out of town and into the rural countryside...

We slogged on, biking soldiers, until small hills began to come on us a little too frequently and those four miles started to set in on untrained legs that became supposedly numb, the neck is sore..."I just wish were back to Lanesboro, now...this is horriblest ever!"  So we circled back to Whalen and rested at the park to regroup.

Which didn't take long.  There might have been one more handful of chocolate berries and some vague talk of revisiting a store in town where they sold 'Paradise Cup Coasters' (?!).  Sometimes, whatever it takes.  And sure enough, on our way back, old ally the wind became bad old friend most of the way back.  Farms passed a little slower; the river to our left looked a little more menacing flowing against our direction, but soon we began to see some familiar sights at the edge of Lanesboro and talk turned to late lunch and those 4 hard miles were soon forgotten as the little pink ice cream 

shop sat comfortably in the short distance behind.  "Carly, guess how many miles you biked today?" She held up four fingers.  "Try 8 1/2 or 9."  "Wow, that was the bestest day of my life."