Saturday Rides Starting from Starbucks in Rosemount, MN
Saturday’s ride will follow our Revenna Trail route counterclockwise. This 53-mile route doesn’t have a typical food stop, so bring something to eat. We’ll continue to start our rides at 08:00 until the temps or lack of morning light force us to start later. The weather during the ride should be good, with partly cloudy skies, temps from 52 to 62, and light SE winds.
Read MoreAs I said during last week’s ride, it’s been a while since we’ve had a west wind for our ride, but that’s going to change Saturday. So, this week, we’ll head west to Shakopee following the route clockwise. This route is a little longer than most (61 miles), but there are a couple of shortcut options for anyone who needs a shorter ride. It’s too early for fall colors, but we’ll have a great weather with partly cloudy skies, temps from 54 to 60 degrees, and west winds from 4 to 7 mph.
Read MoreSaturday’s ride will start in Rosemount at 08:00 and follow our counterclockwise Northfield route. This route is quite flat, with less than 1000 feet of elevation over its 55-mile length. We’ll stop at Brick Oven Bakery for a snack and conversation. During the ride, we should have temps from 64 to 74 degrees, partly-cloudy skies, and light south winds at 2 to 6 mph.
Read MoreSaturday, we will ride from Rosemount to Edina via the Minnesota Valley State Trail clockwise, with a stop at Hyland Lake Park Reserve at the half-way point, before we get to Edina. The weather for our ride should be cool, with temps from 57 to 63 degrees, with mostly cloudy skies and light NNW winds from 3 to 6 mph.
Read MoreJoin us Monday while we celebrate Labor Day with a ride to Red Wing clockwise, starting from Starbucks in Rosemount at 08:00. This ride should take five to six hours and it will stop in Prescott, Red Wing, and maybe Vermillion. Unfortunately, my parents won’t be able to provide fresh cookies and water this time.
Read MoreSaturday’s ride will be to St. Paul Summit Avenue following the route clockwise. It has been several months since we’ve been to St. Paul, so this will be a change of pace. The weather won’t be an issue this weekend either. During the ride, it will be 60 to 67 degrees with sunny skies and NNE winds from 7 to 10 mph.
Read MoreIt’s time for a donut run to Cannon Falls this week. There will be a little more wind than we have had for a while, so you’ll need to work together on the way there, and on the way back. Keep the group together until you get back to Coates. Remember to keep right of the fog line on the county roads, especially on CR 46, where the traffic is fast and furious.
Read MoreSaturday’s ride from Starbucks will start at 08:00, as usual, and the route will be Revenna Trail counterclockwise. It should be cool with mostly cloudy skies. The wind is expected to be light from the NE again, so you’ll have a cross headwind for most of the first half of the ride, which means you’ll want to do a counterclockwise rotation to share the work. Remember, that it’s fastest for everyone if you keep a steady pace that everyone can do without getting dropped. As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.
Read MoreSaturday, we will return to Grey Cloud Island, but in the opposite direction from last Sunday. This 60-mile loop has little traffic on good roads and trails, but no bakery stop so bring enough food and drinks. I’ve made a small change to the route to remove parts of St Croix Trail and 110th Street, both of which don’t have a shoulder and may have some traffic. The weather should be very good with partly cloudy skies, temps from 67 to 73 degrees, and winds from the north at 9 mph.
Read MoreUpdate Sunday 06:02: Let's ride today leaving Starbucks at 9:00. We'll do our Grey Cloud Island loop clockwise.
Update Saturday 06:42: No ride today. There’s a line of rain coming that should be here in Bloomington around 08:00 and more behind that. We are on the southern edge of the rain, but it looks like it will reach as far south as Northfield. If it looks like we can ride Sunday without getting wet, I’ll update this post about the same time Sunday.
Saturday is looking mostly dry in the morning, and the afternoon and Sunday look worse, so we'll see what evolves. We may have a very rare rain-out weekend. For now, let's plan to ride at 08:00 Saturday. If it's raining lightly, and looking to clear quickly, we may be able to postpone the start an hour and get a ride in before the afternoon showers start. Throughout the morning, the wind should shift from the south to west and then from north, so I think our shorter Bloomington route clockwise may be a good one for Saturday. There are several options for us to shorten or lengthen the route, depending on the weather.
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