Seg# 29: Blue Ox trail to USA-Canadian Border

Segment #29: Blue Ox Trail, Bemidji-International Falls, MN-Canada 9/17-18/13

Start	Bemidji, MN	47.46492,-94.85204	NS miles 79.6
End	Int’Falls MN-Canada	48.60778,-93.40148	Trl lgth 107 Ride 120 miles

Ride 12:56hr

AVS 9.2

MXS 19.2 mph

DST 28.5

Temp 66

Kcal 9797

This was the toughest ride so far in my quest to traverse the breath of the USA yet it could have been much worse. Having Chris as my trail riding companion and chauffer was a Godsend. It’s a long drive (550 miles) from Runnels, Iowa to the United States-Canadian border at International Falls, Minnesota.  The Blue Ox trail is the only bike path where a trail goes all the way to northern border of our country. Chris had to work until 7 p.m. in the hemodialysis unit in Des Moines' Mercy Hospital. We got on the road later than planned and didn’t get to St. Cloud, MN until midnight. I hate driving at night so Chris was the designated driver after 8 o'clock. After a good sleep, we drove to Bemidji, MN and located the Paul Bunyan Trail. It was nice to start the ride on the Paul Bunyan Trail since it is a hard surface. Cloudy weather and a southeast wind, sort of, at our backs made for an easy start.  After riding five miles north, the Paul Bunyan ended and the Blue Ox Trail began.

It is night and day between these two trails. For the twelve hours I was on the Blue Ox trail, I never saw another vehicle, biker or hiker. I was surprised no All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s) could be found. Maybe there is more activity on the weekend?

This is the first sign on the Blue Ox Trail after
starting the ride north on the Paul Bunyan Trail

Loose rock over compact trail
equals a slow, jolting ride.

At first the Blue Ox Trail was similar to limestone trails found in many states around the country, but after a while the packed gravel gave way to patches of soft loose sand and 3-4 inch loose rocks.

I bet the loose sand was the result of ATV’s on the trail. This is the only rail trail I have ridden that allows ATV’s, but I have been on other trails, that like the Blue Ox, allows snowmobiles and horses. If at all possible, I will avoid ATV accessible trails in the future. I don’t think snowmobiles make for a damaged trail, in fact they likely pack the snow and thereby help compact the gravel. Thank goodness four wheelers didn’t abuse the trail as much as I thought they might.

I was running out of daylight so Chris snatched us a motel room in Northome, MN. The hunting/fishing motel was six miles from where I stopped.  Being too pooped to pop, Chris came back and hauled my buns up to the motel where I crashed and burned.  The next morning Chris slept-in and I rode back to the spot where he picked me up the night before. We drove back to Northome and ate at Mandy’s. Some of these small town cafes have the best breakfast money can buy. Mandy did not disappoint. Before my breakfast had time to settle (I ate too much!), I was back on the Blue Ox Trail, jolting along at six to seven miles per hour. It took me until after lunch to make it to Big Falls and meet Chris for a Philly Steak sandwich and onion rings. Wow did that taste good. The Big Falls Municipal Liquor Store likely caused a bar and grill across the street to close down. A town the size Big Falls can’t be expected to have two similar joints a hundred feet from each other. This place had all the décor of an “up north” bar and grill. There were mountings of Elk, Deer and Moose adorning the walls.

Chris scopes out the Elk heads while waiting
for lunch. The hunters at the bar said these
animals would weigh up to 1000 lbs.

Chris rode with me out of Big Falls until the trail stopped and diverted back to highway 71. He then rode back to the car. Because the bar maid at the Liquor Store said she had just driven her four wheeler through two feet of water over the trail in several spots half way between Little Fork and Big Falls, I chose to not try to get back to the trail. The ride continued to International Falls on the shoulder of highway 71. Given there was only a car or truck every 2-3 minutes, and the shoulder was four feet of smooth asphalt, I could make pretty good time. Despite an improved riding speed averaging ten miles per hour, I was worried I would not get to the border before it would turn dark. So again, six miles short of the target, Chris picked me up and we drove to International Falls, got on our bikes and rode to the border check point.

Chris wails over my taking this picture and the
harassment he was getting from the Canadian
Border cops. Our bikes are out the window.



Chris with his permit to go back to the USA.
Only to get raked over the coals a second time.

This is where the trip gets dicey. The bridge between the USA and Canada is owned by a private company, Boise I think. Truckers and workers use the bridge. The only person at the booth before passing onto the bridge is a toll taker. There isn’t a toll for bicycles so when Chris asked about going forward, the attendant waved him on. I was following him, so I got the same wave to go on. We rode a few blocks crossing the bridge, seeing a white painted line and then the “Welcome to Canada” sign. We rode our bikes up to the gate and out came a border guard. “You guys need to go inside”. All we wanted to do was take our pictures by the Canada sign and go back to the USA. No, that wasn’t possible, we were already in Canada and the Canadian border agents needed us to step inside. Since we had not stopped on the US side and Chris left his driver’s license in the car, we or more appropriately, HE, was in big trouble. The agents didn’t harass me maybe because I was too old to be an effective terrorist and I had my driver’s license. Chris could not leave to get his license in the car but they contemplated letting me back to the car for his license.  After some more brow beating, the Canadian agents printed off a document for Chris to take back to the US agents.  So we shot a picture and headed back to the US only to be brow beaten even more intently by US agents.After repeated questioning about what were we doing? Why were we crossing the border without sufficient documentation?  Why we didn’t have passports, the US agents told me to go get Chris’s drivers license. I jumped on my bike shot out of there. As I approached the car that was parked at the International Falls Welcome Center, the same Welcome Center that the lady said there was no problem with crossing into Canada, I heard Chris yell behind me. “We don’t need my license.” “I wasn’t in any of their systems”. They must have deduced that we were not Al-Qaeda and we could go our merry way back to the US of A. More than 40 years ago, Connie and I, with Chris and Geoff aboard, went through the border without a hitch---my how times have changed! In our debriefing session at the car, we decided similar misunderstood border guidelines are breached frequently, especially with bicyclists. There were no clear signs as to what to do. The toll taker waved us on through. There was not stop or any other signs indicating the need to stop on the American side and we were in Canada quicker than a fruit fly darting around on my computer screen. As part of the trip planning, I had called the International Falls Welcome Center to confirm that a driver’s license was all we needed. Yet at the border they told us we should have had passports---go figure.

Where are the signs saying stop here? Just a
the only sign we saw was one pointing
 to Canada (black and white sign in center)

It was after six p.m. and I still had to finish my ride by biking six miles back to where Chris picked me up. I put on all my lights and headed south. It took me only a half hour to complete the six miles.  By midnight we were in St. Cloud again.

When I looked out in the morning the parking lot was wet and in the distance there were dense black clouds. We were only on the road twenty minutes or so and the clouds unloaded. Hail (some stones were 1 ½ inches) with wind gusts over fifty miles per hour. I could not see beyond the hood of the car so I pulled into the front of residential area. The hail was being slowed by a huge tree which prevented dents in the car. But as the water rose around the car and leaves and limbs were coming off the trees.  I had to get out from under the trees for fear of a major cruncher falling on the car. The streets were flooded but I just followed the local traffic trough the instant lakes. It was testy for about forty minutes and then the storm moved on. Chris took over driving and back to Iowa we went with great weather all the way to Chris’ house. But while we were unloading the care another black horizon was developing. I took off and drove 80 mph to get and stay ahead of the storm. There was considerable wind damage west of downtown Des Moines but Chris’ place was spare and my NASCAR driving got me back to Coralville without damage.

Chris and I shouldering up to Paul Bunyan. Going north
to Canada from Bemidji is Babe's Blue Ox Trail.
Paul's trail goes over one hundred miles south to Brainerd

The Blue Ox Trail was a challenge but we knocked down over a hundred mile a section of my border to border riding goal. Glad to have that behind me. Without Chris I would not have made it. We didn’t get thrown in jail, never got cold and wet and the wind was at our back. I doubt if this trail will ever be rideable for any bicycle other than a mountain bike.