Got another late start today. Ended up being up till 4 this morning, on one thing or another, and had to make a ride into downtown to pick up my cell phone (which I had left at work.) I had been thinking of doing that last night as well, but I'll admit that driving into downtown Mpls at night right now doesn't appeal to me all that much. There was not a lot of traffic this afternoon, but I heard more than enough chatter on the radio last night to suggest that it was a trip I didn't need to make.

So, I hit the road about 3:30, or effectively 4:00 pm I'll see about doing something even earlier soon, but it won't be today. (obviously.)

I was curious what the roads were like to the south, which for me means either 52 heading towards Rochester, or 169 towards Mankato. Since I have taken highway 52 to a variety of locations for many years, I decided 169 would be interesting. I got past Chaska, and realized I was going to need to fill up. Should have done that before I got started today, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to go a ways first. I ended up filling up in Jordon, MN, and while I was there I picked up a sandwich at Burger King in the Holiday there. I realized I was not going to make the turn at first, so I took a right (you need to take a left to get to the gas station from southbound 169, and turned around to cross the highway. I noticed that there was a state park off that way some place, and stashed the info for later consideration.

After filling up, and picking up some food, I got back on the highway, and continued south. Saint Peter sounded like a reasonable destination. I could have probably gotten to Mankato, but without scheduling a full day to take a good look around, I didn't think it was a good idea. Before I got there though I saw a sign for a rest stop in the Le Sueur vicinity. Stopped there and ait my sandwich, and used the facilities. While I didn't order fries with my sanwich, apparently the people at BK were concerned enough about the fact that I had waited a fair amount of time that they threw them in for me. I ate about half the fries. Being diabetic, I decided I really didn't need all that much in the way of starches right then.

One of the reasons I stopped there was that as I was riding, I was being hit pretty hard by cross winds. It's a bit disconcerting to be taking a broad right hand sweeping turn and the bike is leaning to the left to compensate for the wind. It really doesn't feel right. Also the buffeting felt a bit like someone beating up on me.

As I was leaving the rest stop, I decided to go ahead down to St Peter, and once I got into town I could turn around.

In case you are thinking 'I've heard of that city, what from?' it was hit by a tornado in 1998 which destroyed nearly half the town, and ended up killing one child. It is also the final resting place of William B. Dodd who built 'Dodd Road' from Mendota Minnesota, (just south of St. Paul) and St. Peter. The road is unusuall in the sense that it was privately funded at a time when most roads were being built with public funds. (I will have to remember to try that road one of these days, though it does not follow the same route that it originally did.)

It was well after 5 by the time I got to St. Peter, so after riding around a rather small part of the city, I got back on the highway and went home. I have to do something about this permit thing I suppose.

Remembering the State park I had seen the sign for as I was approaching Jordan, I decided that I was making good enough time to take a bit of a detour to have a look see. The state park was not quite as close to the highway as I was expecting, but still within reason. I stopped at the entry house, and did a quick review of the situation. They have two types of passes for the park, (well actually close to 10, but only two of which caught my eye as being potentially useful to me.) The first was a day pass for $5. the second was a motorcycle anual pass of $20. Not really being prepared for either, I picked up a map of the state parks in MN, and read a bit of the history behind this state park.

The Minnesota State Park Lawrence Division is sited on the original plat, and surrounding area of the community of Lawrence MN. Lawrence was lain out as a city on the Minnesota River. The founder built a home at what would have become the center of town, and it turns out that ultimately no one moved in. It is now part of the Minnesota River State Park.

I finished my Diet Mt. Dew, and pulled the liner out of my biking jacket, then got back on the road, and ultimately got back home.

A couple of riding notes as well. As I say, I felt pretty beat up before I got to the point where I turned around. The weather is to the point where I will need to look at getting a different jacket soon. The one I"me ridng with now is designed for hot weather, and suits that variety of riding just fine. I have a few minor complaints about it, things like the sleeve gathers not being very impressive, but over all it's not too bad. I've worn a textile jacket in the past, though I blew the sleeve zipper out on that, and I think it's really only good for a costume at this point. (which it very well may become.) I haven't quite decided what jacket I will be buying, but I'll have to make that decision this next week or so, before the weather starts cooling off much more.

Part of the buffeting is also due to the fact that this bike doesn't really have a wind screen. At one level it does. there is a small windscreen in front of the instrument panel, however this is not designed to protect the rider who is sitting upright on the bike. I note that riding leaned over the tank gave me a much smoother riding experience, however I'll also admit that I wouldn't want to do this for very long rides. That's mostly because holding my head in a position that makes visibility of the road possible at that point is very likely to end up giving me a pain in the neck.

Well, I suspect that I will feel pretty beat up tomorrrow, though I may sleep well tonight. We'll see.

Next blog over on my home blog at http://www.beresourceful.net/~rusty/blog

Have a great day...