The Lords and Ladies of the Riding Realm took to saddle (mostly Brooks leather) and made a weekend of a ride around Lake Pepin. Once again, it was quite an event as Raleighs, Dunelts, Phillips’, Rudges, Robin Hoods and their riders left Red Wing promptly at 9-ish. Even a 1938 Saxon tandem made the journey.
The Lake Pepin Three-Speed Tour is the creation of two lovers of old English three-speed bicycles, Noel Robinson and Jon Sharratt. Those two, along with members of the All British Cycling Club and numerous other hangers-on, take a whimsical tour around the lake, recreating cycle touring as it was before the days of carbon fiber, cycle computers, clipless pedals and lycra (the only banned substance on this ride). Cafés, bakeries, ice cream parlors and scenic overlooks are not just rest stops or places to catch one’s breath, they become events. Food and drink are consumed, yes, but acquaintances and friendships are made and renewed, vintage bicycles are examined and praised, and the lovely views along the Lake are inhaled.
Over the leisurely course of two days the tour makes its way from Red Wing, south through Wisconsin and back from Wabasha, Minnesota, to Red Wing. Riders take a relatively easy ride through the little Wisconsin towns of Bay City, Maiden Rock, Stockholm, Pepin, and Nelson. From Nelson the Tour heads back to Minnesota, across the Mississippi to Wabasha. There the riders are hosted for dinner by the Eagles Nest Coffee Shop and spend the night in various Wabasha accommodations. Sunday, day two, is for heading north along the Lake through Reads Landing to Lake City, Old Frontenac, and on into Red Wing. The only major stops on Sunday are in Lake City, where this year riders were encouraged to break out their compact camping stoves to brew tea at a park on the lakeshore, and finally at the Staghead in Red Wing for a much-anticipated beer.
This Tour and this attitude about riding are an antidote to society’s current fascination with extreme sports. First crossings, record-breaking rides, tours with 10,000 feet of climbing, lactate threshold training and the like, all have their place, but the Lake Pepin Three-Speed Tour is a gentle reminder that not everything on a bicycle has to be taken with such seriousness, unless one talks about the delicious English trifle at the Smiling Pelican in Maiden Rock, or dinner at the Eagles Nest. “Convivial” is perhaps the word that best describes the Tour – fond of feasting and merrymaking. No one is in a hurry to get anywhere; the day is made for cycling, conversation, enjoying the scenery and nibbling on the delectables to be found en route.
The truth is, however, that anyone can enjoy such a ride anytime. It just takes an adjustment in attitude. Happening upon a good bakery can simply provide icing on the cake, so to speak.
