"Wheel Em In" Weekend Fun

I love to ride bike and have really come to appreciate that the best bike rides happen when surrounded by friends; that's when "moments" are made.  I belong to a casual bike riding group in Rochester called "Outspokin'".  Last year I decided to try and bring the success of that group home to Little Falls by starting a similar group with Little Falls friends.  The group was named "Wheel Em In" and we had a number of group rides.  Things went well enough that by the fall we decided to do a weekend of riding down around Lanesboro and stayed in Rochester.  Some members of the Outspokin' Group joined us as well. It was such a fun weekend that planning for a similar adventure this year started soon after.

Members of Outspokin' and Wheel Em In ride together on the
Root River Trail by Lanesboro.

The eventual plan was to bike in Minneapolis, a new adventure for most, and camp at Baker Campground in Maple Plain on September 22-24.  The weather forecast of rain had us considering cancelling right up to the day before.  But the forecast eventually changed enough that we decided to move forward, despite the fact that near record heat was now being forecast as well.  The planning time that I put into this adventure may have had an impact on the decision to proceed as well.  😉

Kneelands and Pikals were in tent campers.

Sitzmans and Melissa were in tents for the weekend.
We were very impressed with Baker Campground!

It was early evening on Friday by the time everyone got set up at the campground so we decided to have a late supper at McGarry's Pub in Maple Plain.  The food was so good that by Saturday afternoon we would decide that we would go back again that night.  The Shepard Pie comes highly recommended!!  The other dishes were pretty good too.

Melissa, Helen, Wayne, Kurt, Lori, me, and Mary escaping the heat
and enjoying some wonderful Irish food and beverages.

The bike ride on Saturday started at Minnehaha Falls, took us along Minnehaha Parkway to Lakes Harriet and Calhoun, then returned to our starting point via the Midtown Greenway.  Believe it or not, there is some beautiful bike riding to be done in the Twin Cities!

Our planned route.  We shortened it slightly because of the heat.

Lake Harriet.  Who would believe
that it would be warm enough for swimming in late September??

We stopped at the bandshell by Lake Harriet for some lunch and to get refreshed by the cool breeze coming off the lake. Then finished the rest of the ride.  The heat started affecting us on the second half of the ride but everyone made it back safely.  And everyone would go back and ride that route again!  😃

Wayne and I also got a nap in!

Mary and I after the ride at Minnehaha Falls.

Back at McGarry's Pub for supper, beverages, and socializing.  Somehow we got on to a discussion of meditation.  Which led to a discussion of meditation posses.  Which resulted in the picture below.

Finishing meditation and ready to dispense
my type of wisdom.  😈

The evening ended with the group gathering around the campfire.  Fortunately a weather front had come through earlier, cooling things down without dropping any rain.

Fire!

Sunday morning we gathered to attend Sunday Mass. Ever notice how couples tend to dress alike, usually without intending to?  We had three couples do it at the same time!

We had to get a picture of this - Pikal's are in the blue shirts, Mary and I managed to
wear peach colored shirts, Kneelands in blue shirts and blue jeans.

A beautiful Sunday afternoon on the shores of Lake Independence.

It almost didn't happen but we ended up having a great weekend!  Baker Campground was excellent, everyone enjoyed the adventure of biking in Minneapolis, and best of all, the time spent with friends was precious.  More "moments" to cherish!