Biking to Mississippi Headwaters and Fall Leaves

[joeychitwood]

Mrs. Chitwood and I loaded up the bikes and drove an hour to Itasca State Park in Minnesota to ride the beautiful paved trails and visit the headwaters of the Mississippi River as they leave Lake Itasca. We also climbed a 100 foot fire tower and got a great wide view of the fall leaves. It's my favorite time of year.

[TheVTCGuy]

Wow…. Stunning, just stunning.

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

Wow…. Stunning, just stunning.

Paul said it best!! Absolutely gorgeous Joey!!


Sent from my Apple privacy invasion product

[sickened1]

Perfect for biking through the woods!

[superdog]

Wow. Beautiful.

Love the car too. Beastly.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by superdog

Wow. Beautiful.

Love the car too. Beastly.

It's a Subaru Outback Wilderness. I am pretty pleased with it. Great in snow and off road. High ground clearance and 260 HP four cylinder turbo engine. Three traction settings. For this part of the country, it's practical.

[rootbeer7]

Wow! Just beautiful. I can actually smell that fresh air

[Blansky]

WOW. As someone who rides their bikes on the 22 mile beach bike path every week( https://westsidelosangeles.com/best-...os-angeles.php) I've often think about the "through the woods" experience that people in other places get to enjoy.

I've read about the miles long redone rail lines turned into bike paths that some states have created.

And in the fall would be an incredible time to ride them.

[colpol]

Looks great

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Blansky

WOW. As someone who rides their bikes on the 22 mile beach bike path every week( https://westsidelosangeles.com/best-...os-angeles.php) I've often think about the "through the woods" experience that people in other places get to enjoy.

I've read about the miles long redone rail lines turned into bike paths that some states have created.

And in the fall would be an incredible time to ride them.

We are lucky here to have over a hundred miles of paved and singletrack trails through the woods nearby. The Itasca trails are some of the best.

Those beach paths look pretty awesome to me!

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

We are lucky here to have over a hundred miles of paved and singletrack trails through the woods nearby. The Itasca trails are some of the best.

Those beach paths look pretty awesome to me!

Yeah, a little less "wild" than yours.

We often do the Huntington Beach to Newport Beach one as well. A couple of bars right on the bike path can make this a bit wild at times. https://southerncaliforniabeaches.or...OCBikePath.php

[Blansky]

When people come to LA or Santa Barbara and ask what can I do, where can I go???? I always tell them to rent a bike in Redondo, or Santa Monica or Marina del Rey or Santa Barbara etc and do the bike paths.

It's a whole different world away from the traffic, hotels, and commercial stuff.

[brandrea]

Incredibly beautiful Joey.

I agree with you, the Fall is the best time of year

[joeychitwood]

I’ve noticed this fall that over 90% of the bikes on the trails are e-bikes. They are often ridden by people who haven’t been on a bike in 40 years, and e-bike crashes and injuries are becoming very common here. I have three friends who have required surgery after crashing an e-bike being ridden at speeds far beyond the skill of the novice rider.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I’ve noticed this fall that over 90% of the bikes on the trails are e-bikes. They are often ridden by people who haven’t been on a bike in 40 years, and e-bike crashes and injuries are becoming very common here. I have three friends who have required surgery after crashing an e-bike being ridden at speeds far beyond the skill of the novice rider.

A lot of people rent or have them here on the paths as well, and most go too fast. We ride our mountain bikes on the bike paths and our ebikes near where we live on very hilly streets.

[Rebel]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing.