It is not very often that you see a large group of cyclists swing through Hastings as part of a lengthy road trip, but this year’s Tour of Minnesota (TOM) did just that. The tour started on June 15 in Cannon Falls and the group had the option to ride between 245-310 miles over the eight-day trip. Each day ended with time for riders to hang out with each other, utilize the available traveling bike mechanics and explore the local town before camping at designated stops.
The trip started in Cannon Falls and took the riders to Red Wing on the first day where they spent time exploring Red Wing before returning to Cannon Falls for their first overnight. This leg of the trip had options for 20-45 miles of biking.
Day two took the riders to Northfield and Faribault before heading to their designated stop in New Prague. This leg was 45-65 miles of biking.
On day three, the riders had the scenic view to Belle Plaine and Norwood Young America enroute to Waconia where they would spend an extra day for rest and celebration. They celebrated their 50th anniversary of the guided tours. The total trip there was either 31 or 51 miles depending on the route taken.
After resting on day four, the group made a turn to head through Minneapolis and St. Paul to Stillwater. This was the longest leg of the trip, 67 miles, but it also allowed time for a ride near many great landmarks in the Twin Cities enroute to historic Stillwater.
From Stillwater, the group rode through a small part of Wisconsin before going through Afton, Woodbury and Cottage Grove enroute to Hastings for the day six overnight stay at Hastings Middle School. The group travelled 57 miles on this leg.
The final day was the 27-mile trek back to Cannon Falls from Hastings. They travelled through Welch to hit the Cannon Valley Trail for the last ten miles of the trip to Cannon Falls.
The bike tour was started in 1974 by Jim Klobuchar, the well-known columnist for the Star Tribune. Klobuchar had three goals when he started this ride; visit out of the way small towns and vistas, enjoy the heritage and culture of those towns and bring economic development to the local businesses. You can learn more of the history and how to register for next year’s ride at www.tourofminnesota.com