Bike Camping Weekend

Saturday the bike was loaded up and pointed north, north-east toward Minnesota. Our destination was Split Rock Creek State Park near Ihlen, MN.

The winds were strong out of the south. About fifteen (15) miles into the ride we met up with Mark (from Brandon) at Dinosaur corner. We made good time and arrived at the park with ease.

Once at the park Mark became possessed. He was on a mission to find suitable firewood from gathered branches in piles nearby. After much effort a roaring fire was managed.

The next morning we packed up camp. In the process I noticed I had a flat. Repairing the flat I noticed a sizeable wire embedded. It appeared to be a wire from a steel belted vehicle tire. Once the tire was fixed we were off and into the head wind.

The ride was a slow grinder. The mostly southerly winds only picked up as the day went by. We departed the park at nine (9) AM and arrived home at three (3) PM. There were stops along the way but our roll time for the forty-three (43) mile jaunt was just over four hours.

The Weather Channel revealed the winds were thirty miles per hour (30 MPH) with gust to thirty eight miles per hour (38 MPH). The good part of grinding many hours in windy conditions is I slept very well.

Split Rock Creek is a nice little state park. I’d visit there again. There are not many campsites so it’s quite quiet. Once we get past Labor Day is when bike camping will really kick in for me. The weather is cooler and the crowds are gone. I hope to bike camp deep into fall this year.

Ride On.