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Brainerd Lakes Biking Weekend

Join us for 3 days of bicycling and socializing in the Brainerd Lakes area June 1-3, 2007!

 

Many of last year’s TCBC Tour of Lakes riders.

Mark your calendars for June 1-3, 2007 (Fri-Sun) for a weekend of biking in the beautiful Brainerd Lakes area!  If you’ve never biked in this area before, you are going to love it!  The roads are low-traffic and very scenic, passing by many lakes and forests.  The Paul Bunyan trail is also nearby.  We’ll do rides all three days.  The rides on Friday & Sunday will be regular “TCBC” rides and the ride on Saturday will be a TCBC Outreach Ride---the Tour of Lakes ride, my all-time favorite 1-day ride!  Plan to not only bike with the group, but eat, socialize, and relax around a campfire with us as well at Shing Wako Resort!  Hope to see you there!!!

Rides:

Friday, June 1: 

1:30 PM B 30-40 mi. & A/B 40-50 mi.  BABE’S BLUE BRAINERD LAKES.  Depart from Shing Wako Resort in Merrifield (24713 Cty Rd 3, Merrifield, MN).  Join us for a ride in the beautiful Brainerd Lakes area with scenic panoramas as big as Paul Bunyan himself as we ride past glistening blue lakes, through dense forests and on the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway and Trail!  Now THAT’S no tall tale!  Contact leader prior to ride if weather looks questionable.  Mary Derks (651-335-6505, mderks@comcast.net), Scott Larson (612-730-8371) and Deb Matchinsky (612-374-2158).  Today is TCBC “blue jersey” day, so wear your TCBC blue “banana” jersey or other blue jersey if you have one!

Directions to Shing Wako Resort from Hwy 371 in Brainerd:

• From Hwy 371 in Brainerd, go EAST on Hwy 210 E                3.3 miles             
• Turn LEFT (north) onto MN 25                                              8.4 miles           
• Turn RIGHT onto Cty Rd 3                                                     2.8 miles
• Turn LEFT into Shing Wako Resort

Saturday, June 2: 

TOUR OF LAKES OUTREACH RIDE.  35 or 70 miles.  Join in the FUN on Tour of Lakes (TOL), an event ride sponsored by the Paul Bunyan Cyclists in the Brainerd area.  Be part of the train of TCBC jerseys as we make our way from one delicious rest stop to the next via the scenic low-traffic roads of the area.  The tour is known for its varied and plentiful rest stops (think ‘rolling buffet’), with past tours featuring such treats as blueberry pancakes, breakfast sausages, fresh fruit, beef & chicken tacos, hot turkey sandwiches, corn on the cob, cheesecake, root beer floats...you get the idea!!!  You DEFINITELY will not be in "calorie deficit" mode after this ride! 

Breakfast rest stop on last year’s TOL ride.               One of the many rest stops!                          TCBC Paceline                              

• Registration:  Pre-registration is required by MAY 1.  To register, go to www.paulbunyancyclists.com and click on ‘Tour of Lakes’.  TOL does NOT accept registrations postmarked after that date and consequently, no "day of ride” registration is available.  Cost is $22 and includes ride support, rest stops, and a t-shirt.  You must be registered for the ride and attend the ride briefing in order to get mileage credit. 
   
• Ride start time/departure location:  Ride departs at 7:30 am from the Garrison Community Center (27174 Central Street, Garrison, MN 56450).  You may want to plan to get to the Community Center by 7:00 am to allow time for parking, check-in, picking up your t-shirt & taking it to back to your car, etc. To the extent practicable, we will ride together in a couple of groups based on pace as it’s a LOT OF FUN to be part of the train of TCBC cyclists, all in our club jerseys, rolling down the road!  Speaking of TCBC jerseys, be sure to wear yours (the most recent one) if you have one!  Don’t have one and are interested in getting one?  Contact me (contact info at the bottom of this page) as we have a few left over from last year and may have your size! 
   
• Directions to the ride start from Shing Wako Resort:

• Turn right out of the parking lot onto Cty Rd 3             2.8 miles
• Turn LEFT onto Cty C / MN 25, follow 25.                     8.6 miles
• Turn left on MN 25                                                      1.2 miles
• Turn LEFT onto Hwy 210 E                                        18.0 miles
• Slight RIGHT onto Madison St.                                     0.1 miles
• Turn RIGHT onto Central St.                                        0.2 miles
• Turn into the school. 

Sunday, June 3:

9:30 AM B 35-45 mi. & A/B 45-55 mi.  MORE “BABE’S BLUE BRAINERD LAKES”.  See June 1.  Wear your favorite jersey!

Lodging:

Shing Wako Resort:  Cabins and condos are available at Shing Wako Resort (www.shingwako.com), just north of Brainerd in Merrifield, MN.  This is where the Friday and Sunday rides will start from.   

• Directions to Shing Wako Resort from Hwy 371 in Brainerd:
• From Hwy 371, go east onto Hwy 210 E                                             3.3 miles             
• Turn LEFT (north) onto MN 25                                                            8.4 miles           
• Turn RIGHT onto Cty Rd 3                                                                   2.2 miles
• Turn LEFT into Shing Wako Resort

For directions from your starting point, click here:  www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=24713%20County%20Road%203&city=Merrifield&state=MN&zipcode=56465%2d4496&country=US&geodiff=1.

• Address & Phone Number of Resort:

  24713 Cty Rd 3
  Merrifield, MN 56465
  Phone:  866-765-3226

• Other Lodging Options:  For other lodging options, go to www.brainerd.com.

Meals:

A potluck dinner is planned for Saturday evening, assuming you're still hungry after all the delicious food you'll eat on the ride. All other meals are on your own. As for the potluck, please bring something to grill and something to share. If you are not staying at Shing Wako Resort and plan to join us for the potluck and/or ensuing campfire ( which we hope you will), the resort owner has asked that you pay the $5 “visitor’s fee”.

Wondering what to bring to the potluck? In an effort to ensure we don’t end up with 100 pans of brownies, please bring something based on the following:

• If your last name starts with:

A-E:  Bring a desert

F-L:  Bring an appetizer

M-Z:  Bring a salad (i.e. potato, pasta, fruit, lettuce, etc.) or side dish

If there is something you’d really like to bring, please bring that instead as we’d hate to miss out on your specialty!! Also, if you’d prefer to bring condiments, paper plates, charcoal, stuff for s’mores, etc., please contact Mary Derks to see what’s still needed. Thanks! Also, could "You Know Who" please bring that parmesan salsa again?

As for the “something to grill” part of Saturday’s dinner, there is an excellent meat market in Little Falls (halfway between the Twin Cities and Brainerd).  It’s called Thielen Meats and is on the northwest corner of Hwy 10 and County Rd 27 behind the Holiday gas station.  Here’s some additional info.  Check ‘em out!

300 NE 13 St
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone 320.632.2821
Fax 320.632.0503
Hours 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (M-Th); 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (F); 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Sat); 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Sun)

Retail meat market and specialty items
over 40 varieties home smoked sausages
delicious home smoked bacon
specialty cheese
specialty coffees and candies

Paper plates and cutlery will be provided, as will condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish, salt & pepper).  Drinks are on your own.

As for Friday night, Dan Miller has, once again, graciously volunteered to bring a big pan of pasta and Hugh Gitlin has offered to bring knishes (pronounced kuh-nish), wihch are seasoned mashed potatoes wrapped in a puff pastry.  Thanks, guys!  If you're planning on being around Friday night for dinner and would like to join in, feel free to to bring something to fill in around these things if you'd like.

Photos from last year's ride:

             

To see more photos from last year’s Tour of Lakes weekend, go to http://imageevent.com/mderks/tol2006. 

What to Bring:

• TCBC jersey for Saturday
• Blue TCBC banana jersey (or other blue jersey) for Friday.
• Camp chair for sitting around the campfire.
• Towels (kitchen & bath) if you’re staying at Shing Wako.
• Something to grill and a dish to share for Saturday’s potluck.
• Refreshments!
• Food for other weekend meals.
• Emergency Contact Form (see below)
• Your BIKE!

Emergency Contact Form:

"If you bring it, you won't need it."  Hopefully that's the case with the Emergency Contact Forms.  If you would, please fill this out so we have contact info for you in case something should happen.  Please fill out 2 copies---carry one with you on your bike and put the other in a sealed envelope and I'll collect them on Friday and return them (unopened) on Sunday.  I will also have blank copies in case you forget yours. 

Questions?

Please contact Mary Derks

Looking forward to seeing you there!!!

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