Great Lakes - Tour de Pepin!! Woo Hoo!!!

This is really one of the most beautiful areas in the state. The ride is a great time and a great way to get some miles in. Like mentioned in the info below, it isnt a race and if ya want to hammer its up to you, but the chance to ride with a group of all diff kinds of people (most all bike geeks and Freds of all diff ages) and enjoy the area is too much to miss. If'n ya want any more info feel free to pm me!

Dante

2008 - 20th Annual Tour de Pepin Bicycle Ride

Join Bill and Paul for this year's ride around Lake Pepin, a tradition since 1989. Lake Pepin is often compared to coastal California and was one of Charles Kuralt's favorite scenic drives. Kuralt enjoyed the view from his motor home, but this year's tour riders will experience the journey at a more leisurely pace. Only moderately hilly, the route showcases some of the most beautiful vantage points of Lake Pepin, formed by the confluence of the Chippewa River and the Mississippi.

We will meet in Red Wing to begin the clockwise circuit of Lake Pepin, touring through tiny villages like Maiden Rock, Stockholm, Pepin and crossing the Mississippi at Wabasha, where we will continue on the Minnesota side back to Red Wing. For those wanting a shorter ride, there will be cars and racks left at Wabasha, cutting the distance in half.

Keep in mind that this is a “tour” and not a race.The ride is intended to be a leisurely affair, with numerous stops for food and drink along the way. One of the highlights is Stockholm, a writer’s and artist’s community. Along the lake, there are several wayside rests with historical markers. A lunch break is planned for the Pickle Factory or Harbor View in Pepin, or some other equally unique cafe.

When is it? Is there a link to the site?

Wow... Sorry about by horrid proof reading skills, I dont know how I managed to clip that out!

"Saturday August 2, 2008 (For those joining us in Red Wing, we will meet at about 9:00 AM at the Amtrak train station behind the St James Hotel). "

Wow, I love Lake Pepin! I just started triking with a recumbent 3 wheeler and probably won't be in shape yet this year. How many miles around is it anyway?

I've also seen Pepin compared to the Rhine.

The full route is in the mid 80's. But there is a halfway point bailout that they talk about in the post. There are several 'bent riders there, Bill rides one (in his 60s) this is a no drop ride, you should think about it. There will be everything from nice road bikes to old beat up mtbs and even older rusty two seaters.

Clark, would you please post a link!!

No actual link, just email and word of mouth! Here is the entire email, I x'ed out the contacts so no one gets spamed, but if you would like Bill or Pauls email or phone just pm me!

> This is the 20th consecutive year of our Tour de Pepin bicycle tour, so let's make it the best attended event so far! Plan to meet at the Lane Bryant clothing store in the Marketplace shopping district (near the Target north store) at 7 AM on Saturday, Aug 2, 2008. As usual, Sunday will be the day if severe weather is a threat on Saturday. See the attached file for more details.
>
> 2008 - 20th Annual Tour de Pepin Bicycle Ride
>
> Join Bill and Paul for this year's ride around Lake Pepin, a tradition since 1989. Lake Pepin is often compared to coastal California and was one of Charles Kuralt's favorite scenic drives. Kuralt enjoyed the view from his motor home, but this year's tour riders will experience the journey at a more leisurely pace. Only moderately hilly, the route showcases some of the most beautiful vantage points of Lake Pepin, formed by the confluence of the Chippewa River and the Mississippi.
>
> We will meet in the parking lot of Lane Bryant clothing store in the Marketplace shopping area (Target, etc.), on the north side of 37th St (across from IBM), directly opposite the Applebee's restaurant in Rochester at 7:00 AM on Saturday August 2, 2008 (For those joining us in Red Wing, we will meet at about 9:00 AM at the Amtrak train station behind the St James Hotel). From there we will car pool to Red Wing to begin the clockwise circuit of Lake Pepin, touring through tiny villages like Maiden Rock, Stockholm, Pepin and crossing the Mississippi at Wabasha, where we will continue on the Minnesota side back to Red Wing. For those wanting a shorter ride, there will be cars and racks left at Wabasha, cutting the distance in half.
>
> Keep in mind that this is a “tour” and not a race.The ride is intended to be a leisurely affair, with numerous stops for food and drink along the way. One of the highlights is Stockholm, a writer’s and artist’s community. Along the lake, there are several wayside rests with historical markers. A lunch break is planned for the Pickle Factory or Harbor View in Pepin, or some other equally unique cafe.
>
> Call Bill at xxxxxxxx (xxxxxx.net) or Paul at xxxxxxxxx (xxxxxx@aol.com) for further details and to arrange car pools and provide for bike racks.
>
>
> Feel free to invite your bicycle riding friends as well.
>
> Bill and Paul

Hope this helps!!

comin up soon!!

Sooo... just show up at 7am and roll away? Is this a similar route to the organized ride in June. I wasn't able to make that one and I'd like to do this one.

73 miles is what I had on my computer at ride's end...I just did that ride a few weeks ago and loved it. fairly flat hilly, but there is a big one just outside red wing on the WI side.

I'll see if I can drum up some riders for this weekend.

just an FYI, there isn't much for parking behind the st james hotel- might want to get there a little early to secure parking and get to where the ride starts.

How was the ride? Weather was more pleasant than a few days ago. So post the ride report, we all gotta know.

Really nice ride. I've never rode the loop around Lake Pepin before and always wanted to. My computer noted 70 miles around the lake. We had good weather for the most part, little bit hot towards mid afternoon. From what I could gather I was the only one who heard about the ride from bikeforums.net. We had about a dozen riders. I think I took the ride a little too serious. I was in full kit and had my road bike, but everyone else was taking it easy. If I go next time, I think I'll tone it down a little and take in more of the area.