Minnesota — Ad-van-tures

Bike touring is one the most exciting ways to travel. Propelling yourself with your own muscles is extremely liberating. You can travel farther than you can backpacking, but you also get a more intimate, slower experience than on a road trip in a car. Unfortunately, bike touring comes with it’s own unique problems and dangers, particularly if you will be riding on high-speed roads with narrow shoulders. Here are some steps you can take to stay safe while bike touring.

Day 5&6- Lake Superior Circle Tour: Grand Marais to Thunder Bay

Day 5 and 6 of our Lake Superior Bike Tour took us from Grand Marais to Grand Portage. We climbed Mt. Josephine, biked up Highway 61 and crossed the Canadian Border on our bikes. We headed into the Thunder Bay, Ontario, the biggest city on the Lake Superior Circle Tour. Read about our bike route into Thunder Bay and our recommendations for bike shops, lodging, and the best Canadian food you’ll find on the Lake Superior Bike Tour.

Day 4- Lake Superior Bike Tour: Silver Bay to Grand Marais

Our bike route on Day 4 of our Lake Superior Circle Tour took us from Silver Bay to just north of Grand Marais, MN. Cycling the North Shore is one of the best bike routes, taking you along the rocky shores of the worlds largest freshwater lake. While biking north on Highway 61 and the Gitchi Gami State Trail, you’ll pass Palisade Head, Tettegouche State Park, Cross River Falls, Temperance River State Park, the Kadunce River, and the deep boreal forests of Minnesota. Plus a weird mini golf-goat combo place.

Bike Touring, Free Camping, Lake Superior, Minnesota, Roadside Attractions, State Parks, TravelKaylee ThornleyApril 5, 2020Abandoned Places, Aero Tech Designs, Art, Beaches, Beer, Bike Clothing, Bike Routes, Bike Safety, Bike Touring, Biking, Biltong, Bridges, Camp Food, Camping Gear, Coffee, Cooking, Cycling Gear, Flat Tires, Food, Forest Service Land, Free Camping, Frugal Travel, Geology, Gitchi-Gami State Trail, Great Lakes, Highway 61, Kalahari Biltong, Lake Superior, Lake Superior Ale Trail, Lake Superior Circle Tour, Minnesota, National Forests, North Shore, North Star Bicycle Route, Outdoor Tech, Panniers, Pebble Beaches, Photography, Public Land, Rain, Rain Gear, Roadside Attractions, Silver Bay, Stashers, State Parks, Stealth Camping, Tents, Trails, Travel, Waterfalls, Palisade Head, Tettegouche State Park, Cross River Falls, Temperance River, Hidden Falls, Tofte, Lutsen, Grand Marais, Kadunce River, Superior National Forest, Flute Reed River, High-Visibility GearComment

Day 3- Lake Superior Bike Tour: Duluth to Silver Bay

In many ways, Minnesota’s North Shore is a destination for recreational and hard core cyclists alike. Read more about our Lake Superior Bike Tour route from Duluth to Silver Bay on Highway 61 and the Gitchi-Gami State Trail, including fun stops like Two Harbors, Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel, Gooseberry Falls, Black Beach, and more.

Bike Touring, Cities, Free Camping, Lake Superior, Minnesota, Roadside Attractions, State Parks, TravelKaylee ThornleyMarch 22, 2020Aero Tech Designs, Beaches, Beaver Bay, Beer, Bike Clothing, Bike Routes, Bike Safety, Bike Shops, Bike Touring, Biking, Black Beach Park, Bridges, Brighton Beach, Camping Gear, Cities, Coffee, Couch Surfing, Cycling Gear, Duluth, Dynamo Hub, Free Camping, Frugal Travel, Geology, Gitchi-Gami State Trail, Gooseberry Falls, Great Lakes, Highway 61, History, Lake Superior, Lake Superior Ale Trail, Lake Superior Circle Tour, Lakewalk, Lighthouses, Minnesota, North Shore, North Star Bicycle Route, Outdoor Tech, Pebble Beaches, Public Land, Rain, Roadside Attractions, Silver Bay, Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel, Split Rock Lighthouse, State Parks, Stealth Camping, Taconite, Tents, Trails, Travel, Travel Apps, Tunnels, Two Harbors, Warmshowers, WaterfallsComment

Day 2- Lake Superior Bike Tour: Brule River to Duluth

Here’s our bike route from Brule River to Duluth on the Lake Superior Circle Tour, including navigating Superior, Wisconsin on bike and crossing the bridge into Duluth, Minnesota as a cyclist. We felt accomplished on Day 2 of our Lake Superior bike tour, entering a new state and checking off a few of the breweries on the Lake Superior Ale Trail. And we built a new dynamo bike wheel! Plus read about our first ever Warmshowers stay…

How to Charge Your Devices While Bike Touring

There are a lot of creative ways that bicycle travelers have devised for keeping their devices charged while touring. This summer when we biked around Lake Superior, we opted for a dynamo hub to generate power while we were riding. From the dynamo hub, we charged portable power banks from Outdoor Tech so that we could charge our phones, camera, or Garmin watches at night when we weren’t riding.

Meet Violet B.

In January, we bought a Sprinter to build into a camper van. Picking and buying a van was a tricky process but eventually we landed on this blue beauty from the land of ten thousand lakes!