Note: This is a modified version from previous years as the I-94 bridge is out for the season (3x a day shuttle service for bicyclists won't work for us).
This 75 mile (125Km), moderately hilly cruise along both sides of the St. Croix River is a great leg loosener with good roads and scenery. The route starts at the Stillwater High School parking lot, just across from the Speedway at 5804 Neal Ave N, Stillwater, MN 55082.
Starting in Stillwater, the route heads north over some mild rollers and good pavement through Scandia then across the St. Croix River to the first checkpoint in Osceola, Wisconsin at mile 34. From Osceola the route gets more serious with fairly continuous rollers and dips into small valleys on very quiet country roads as it works south to the next checkpoint. You will pass numerous small streams, remote farmhouses and several forests. Roads are generally very good, but there are some bumpy parts. Due to the detour, we lenghtened the middle stretch. As the detour now goes through Somerset, you'll also have a refuel option there at the local Kwik Trip at mile 58. It takes you another 5 miles to get to the traditional lunch break at the Bass Lake Cheese Factory (mile 63 instead of mile 58 from prior years).
A full bar, sandwich deli and a wide selection of cheeses are available along with an outdoor patio dining area (patio wasn't open yet for the pre-ride on 4/11/). We will be missing the nice downhill on Trout Brook Road as this would get you to the I-94 bridge. Instead, we'll loop you back to the old Stillwater Lift Bridge. Some nice climbing out of Stillwater (not on Myrtle, but close) will get you back the finish.
After the pre-ride I made some last minute changes to avoid a rough gravel section. I am confident that we'll be avoding the gravel altogether, but it means there are 5 untested miles on the course. Hopefully no surprises there.
Electronic Ride Waiver
We have worked with RUSA on an electronic ride waiver that we are now rolling out for all of our rides. This will replace our paper waivers at the start. We will still bring some as a backup. You can click here to go to the MN Randonneurs SmartWaiver page. Please fill out the form there with all the requested information. Once you click submit, an email with a download link of the electronic waiver will be sent to you, to the Minnesota RBA (Norman Ehrentreich), and to the RUSA insurance account. After that, you will be sent back to a landing page on the mnrando.org site that you can close.
This route is NOT Western Minnesota flat prairie, but it is also not the major hills encountered in the real driftless area of Wisconsin. There are a few grind it out, shorter hills, but nothing too serious. This is a really pleasant route and a great way to get the season underway.
Special thanks to Gary Bakke for creating and running this ride for several years.
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Reid Nimz | |
| Norman Ehrentreich | |
| Rob Welsh | |
| Michael Mullery | |
| Craig Woodley | |
| Jonas Nygard | |
| John Murphy | |
| Gus Koutsouvas | |
| Dylan Belverud | |
| Timothy Donahoe | |
| Rob Mosimann | |
| Shelby Miller | |
| Chad Hoyt | |
| Phil Higley | |
| Sam Carroll | |
| Liesa Miller |