It's Never The Same Trip Twice

Time freed up from 4pm Sunday night until 8:30am Monday morning for my neighbor and I to do a quick overnight bike camping trip. We loaded our gear and cobbled together a menu including fresh tortillas, some butcher bacon and lettuce for dinner. Sans tomatoes we lacked the "T" in our BLT trilogy, but decided a run to the store would take too much of our short time. We agreed that we'd find something on the way.

(My 2009 Long Haul Trucker )

Nothing too far; just to Afton State Park and back; 34 longish miles with a couple of challenging climbs each way. I remember looking down between pants on one hill and seeing 3.4 miles/hour forward progress. What's my biking stall speed?

(Neighbor's 1984 Trek 520 loaded without sleeping gear. Notice his homemade frame bag)

Upon arrival we set camp and went for a swim in the St. Croix River which forms the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. While lazing in the water watching a hot air balloon travel by, maybe it was the red tomato shape of it, I started thinking about the function of tomatoes in the BLT. I concluded that they offer sweetness and acidic brightness. Eureka! Wild black berries growing along the path became our tomato substitute. They were brilliant.
We spent the evening eating our BLB wraps around the fire. Fireflies, passing satellites and a few shooting stars made the night memorable as well.


We were up at 5:30am enjoying the mist lift over the St. Croix Valley as we readied for our return ride. The panoramic picture shows my neighbor checking into his flight just before we left camp. The berries, the lights in the sky, the mist and the trip were wonderful. I anticipate the unexpected joys of our next trip to the same location.