We parked next to Mount Kato, which is the local snowboarding/skiing/mountain biking hill and tried out the The Red Jacket Trail that runs from Mankato to Rapidan. First, we rode into Mankato and then turned around and went for a bit in the other direction. The ride was great--lots of trees. We went over the Le Sueur River too.
Only one problem--we didn't bike over the river in the fashion I'd have liked. Instead, we crossed it by biking alongside a regular old road. Booooooring.
The way we should have crossed it was on a giant 80 foot bridge. Unfortunately, it's going through some repair work.
An entire chunk is currently missing. Personally, I think I could have made the jump. ;) EXTREME!!!
My favorite part of the ride--the lemonade. There were all these makeshift lemonade stands thrown together by wee wandering peddlers. It was Lemonade Day, doncha know? All along the trail kids had set up booths at strategic points to lure unsuspecting cyclists in for 50 cent lemonade and chocolate chip cookies.
They didn't stop at just drinks and sweets either--they also sold items like homemade bracelets. Shrewd marketers, I tell you. They set up persuasive little billboards along the way that said things like, "Thirsty, yet?" and "You're almost to Crazy Cat Lemonade!" I really liked the Crazy Cat kids because they even drew a crazy cat on their billboards. Jonathan and I only had a dollar on us, otherwise I think we'd have been completely taken in by those gypsies.
