Sometimes simpler is better. Last night, I was wondering how to get into the trail network, and which ones to get me in to Bloomington. Jack lives in the northwest corner of Bloomington. When he and I were talking on the phone, it dawned on me, while looking at the blown up map of the greater Minneapolis area, that my motel was a bit north and west of Minneapolis. Jack's apartment is a bit south and west of Minneapolis. So if I just went due south, on streets, I would come out near him, and would bypass Minneapolis altogether.
Going into Mapquest, the obvious route was also the busiest and riskiest route. When I filtered Mapquest for a bicycle route, it looked pretty safe and simple. I printed out a copy of the directions.
After 8 hours of sleep, I arose at 5:30 AM, and got ready for the day, leaving the motel at 7:30 AM. One advantage to riding early on a Saturday morning, is that traffic will tend to be lighter than normal.
My strategy was to study the next several streets, their turns and distances, then pull over to study the next three streets once I did the first three. This worked great! For a while.
Whether it was road closures and detours, or just my ineptness, I finally decided I was off the route. Reaching back for the route print-out, I discovered it was no longer there. Oops. Jack said "If all else fails, just head south. When you get to I-494, cross over it and head west." So that is exactly what I did. Sort of.
At one point I was riding around a park, only to find another road closure, with no detour. Since I am not a car, I rodecided onto a paved path through the park to the other side of it. With the morning sun to my back, I knew I needed to turn left, to head south again. The next street looked like a likely candidate. Lo and behold, I recognized the name! It was a street I was supposed to eventually be on. I was excited until the road curved and winded, seemingly with no purpose. Yet when it finally came to a tee, I recognized the cross street. And right in front of me was I-494. Within 10 minutes I was at Jack's complex.
If you have been following this journal, you will know that I do not believe that finding myself back on the route was an accident or coincidence. I had ridden 2 miles after getting lost, and finding the route was Providential.
Poor Jack. He has a nice one bedroom apartment, but it doesn't look so nice with all my stuff here. Karen had sent, in advance, a box of summer clothing. Then I will ship back home a box of winter clothing, including my sleeping bag. I am trying to figure out if I can pare down from four panniers to two of them. Hmm, can I get rid of the tent and air mattress? My stuff is scattered all over poor Jack's living room. But not for long.
I will be leaving the day after the 4th of July. In the morning, I was asked to give a talk to anyone living here who is interested in this trip. If no one shows up, then I will leave early.
My itinerary has me heading south for 6 days, then turning east again. Watch out Indy, here I come!
