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 Tour of Lakes 2008!

Join us for 3 days of bicycling and socializing in the Brainerd Lakes area June 6-8, 2008!
(Updated 5/22/08)

Mark your calendars for June 6-8, 2008 (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 area 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” A/B and B 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 by the lake and around the campfire with us as well at Good Ol’ Days Resort!  I hope you can join us! 

Scandinavian Folk Fest:

Also taking place that weekend (Fri & Sat) is the Nisswa Stamman fest, a celebration of Scandinavian and Scandinavian/American folk music---an event that folks in Nisswa say is 'not to be missed!'  If last year's festivities schedule is similar to this year's, there will be a concert on Friday evening, a dance on both Friday and Saturday evenings featuring various Nisswa-stamma musicians, live music outdoors on three stages, open dancing on the dance floor and musicians in costume wandering the grounds until 5 pm Saturday (we usually finish our ride by 3 pm or so, so there should be some time to enjoy the tail end of the festivities), local food and Scandinavian specialties, and a parade and all-day music on Saturday (might be a nice option for non-riding spouses or people who opt to do the shorter route on Saturday).  The majority of the festivities are happening in downtown Nisswa, about 1/2 mile from where we're staying.  Here is the link to last year's Stamman festival in case you want to check it out:  http://www.nisswastamman.org/stamma/.

Rides:

Friday, June 6: 

1:30 PM B 30-40 mi. & A/B 40-50 mi.  BABE’S BLUE BRAINERD LAKES.  Depart from the Paul Bunyan trailhead in Nisswa, just south of Nisswa by the Dairy Queen (NOT the parking lot by the Nisswa Chamber of Commerce building).  This is about 6 blocks south of Good Ol’ Days Resort.  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!  MANDATORY rest stop at the A&W for root beer floats.  Contact leader prior to ride if weather looks questionable.  Mary Derks (651-335-6505) maryderks@yahoo.com, Scott Larson (612-730-8371) and Rick & Bonnie Shoebottom (651-493-7248).  Today is TCBC “blue jersey” day, so wear your TCBC blue “banana” jersey or other blue jersey if you have one!

Saturday, June 7: 

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 Lakes 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! 

• Registration:  Pre-registration is required by MAY 1.  To register for the ride, 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 from the Crosslake Community Center (14126 Daggett Pine Road, Cross Lake, MN 56442).  Consider getting to the Community Center early 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 few groups based on pace as it’s a LOT OF FUN to be part of a 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!  If you don’t have one and are interested in getting one, please let me know as there are a few left over from last year. 
   
• Directions to the ride start from Good ‘Ol Days Resort:

• Go NORTH on Hwy 371 for approx 8 miles
• Turn RIGHT onto County Rd 16.  Go 12.7 miles
• Turn RIGHT onto County Rd 66.  Go 0.2 miles.
• Turn LEFT onto Daggett Pine Road.  Go 0.1 miles to the Community Center.

Sunday, June 8:

9:30 AM B 35-45 mi. & A/B 45-60 mi.  MORE “BABE’S BLUE BRAINERD LAKES”.  See June 6.  Wear your favorite jersey!

Lodging:

Good ‘Ol Days Resort:  Group lodging this year is at Good ‘Ol Days Resort (www.goodoldaysresort.com) in Nisswa.  The resort is in Nisswa, ½ mile from downtown and right off of the Paul Bunyan trail.  The resort has 2 and 3 bedroom cabins, along with lodges (motel-style rooms), all brand new as of last year.  All the units face the lake and there is a nice beach, group campfire area and spacious central gathering area and porch in case of rain, or as another place to gather.  Friday’s and Sunday’s rides will start about ½ mile from here, at the Paul Bunyan trailhead in Nisswa. 

In the lodge they have 24-hour fresh gourmet coffee (the resort owners (Bob & Cindy) get the beans from a place in Nisswa and grind them up daily), along with a free continental breakfast, which includes various hot and cold cereals and an assortment of fresh fruit, yogurt, bagels, English muffins, and pastries. 

The rates for our group are as follows (note that these differ slightly from those listed on the resort’s web-site): 

2 BR cabin  $250 for up to 5 people.

3 BR cabin:  $300 for up to 6 people.

Lodge (i.e. motel-style) rooms:  $125 for up to 2 people.

There is an additional charge if the number of people in a room exceeds the numbers above.  See web-site for add'l info.  Also, there is a $10/day visitor's fee for people who are interested in coming to the resort (for the potluck, etc.) but are not staying there.

• Directions to Good Ol’ Days Resort from Hwys 371 & 210 in Brainerd:
  • From Brainerd, go north on Hwy 371 to downtown Nisswa.
  • Turn right at the stop light and follow Main Street (Cullen Lake Drive), heading north for 1/2 mile.
  • Turn right on Poplar Avenue, then take an immediate left on Oak lane after crossing the Paul Bunyan Trail. (Oak Lane is their driveway). 
  • In case you get lost, their phone # is 1-800-227-4501.
• Check-in/out times: 

See Good Ol Days Resort web-site. 

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

Meals:

Coffee:  For those of you for whom coffee is one of the four main food groups, you’ll be pleased to know that Good Ol’ Days has fresh gourmet coffee available in their central gathering area 24/7. 

Breakfast:  If you’re staying at Good Ol’ Days, a continental breakfast is included with your lodging.  See “Lodging” above. 

Friday night dinner: Dan Miller has said he would, once again, provide a main dish for Friday night's meal.  Dan is quite the cook so you're sure to be in for a treat!  If you are planning on sharing in this meal, please bring something to fill in around it (i.e. salad, side dish, appetizer, etc.)  In addition, I'd like to ask everyone to please contribute $2 each to help defray Dan's cost.  I'll collect the money that evening. 

Potluck Dinner on Saturday, June 7: A potluck dinner is planned for Saturday evening, assuming you're still hungry after all the delicious food you'll eat on the ride.  Please bring something to grill and something to share. If you are not staying at Good ‘Ol Days Resort and plan to join us for the potluck and/or ensuing campfire (which we hope you will), note that there is a $10/person/night “visitor’s fee” payable to Good ‘Ol Days. 

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-K:  Bring a salad (i.e. potato, pasta, fruit, lettuce) or side dish
L-P:   Bring a desert
Q-Z:  Bring an appetizer

 

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. for the group, please contact me at maryderks@yahoo.com to see what’s still needed. Thanks! Also, could "You Know Who" please bring that parmesan salsa yet again this year???

As for the “something to grill” part of Saturday’s dinner, there is an excellent meat market in Little Falls (about 2/3rds of the way to 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

Carpooling/Parking:

Bob from Good Ol' Days resort tells me there are 28 parking spaces at the resort (2 spaces for each cottage & 1 space for each lodge room).  Please work it out amongst your cabin.  He asked that I encourage people to car pool as much as possible to allow room for everyone to park. 

What to Bring:

• TCBC jerseys, socks, etc.
• Camp chair for sitting around the campfire.
• Something to grill and a dish to share for Saturday’s potluck.
• Something to share for Friday night's meal
• 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 (http://www.biketcbc.org/docs/form%20Emergency%20contact.doc).  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. 

Photos from last year's ride:

To see photos from the past two years’ TOL weekends, go to http://imageevent.com/mderks/tol2006 and http://imageevent.com/mderks/tol2007.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Derks at: 
Home:  651-482-9605
Cell:  651-335-6505
e-mail:  maryderks@yahoo.com

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I hope to see you there, along with the 80+ TCBC members already signed up for the ride! 

Mary Derks

 

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