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Usually, Stef writes most of the fitness content, but this was such a find, I just have to speak up.  We were recently in Houston, Minnesota for the weekend.  Stef was hosting and attending a wedding shower.  I was welcome to stay, but you know… ick.  So I headed out on my bike.

I needed a ride that would last for several hours.  This would not only allow me to miss all the clucking at the shower, but would also ensure that I was able to skip out on all the preparation and decorating (which I’m sure I would have done wrong), AND miss the cleanup as well (I’m brilliant like that).  Someone suggested I check out the Root River Trail, and I’m SO GLAD they did.

Plenty of this on the Root River Trail.

The Trail

The Root River Trail – if you’re not familiar with it, is a paved trail system that meanders along the Root River in southeastern Minnesota.  I was able to get in a ride of 87 car free miles that afternoon, and it was the best workout I had that week.

It was in the 90’s, with 100% humidity that day, but the trail was mostly shaded like you see here.  That made it pretty tolerable.  I started in the town of Houston, and went all the way to the other end of the trail, in Fountain, Minnesota.  Basically, I rode the trail from East to West and back again.  If you’re going to ride it, I recommend riding in the same direction, because you start out going up-river, which is also slightly up hill.  That way, when you return and you’re getting tired, you’re going slightly downhill.

I lost count at 20, so trust me, there are lots of bridges on the trail.

But don’t think that the ride is a climb.  It isn’t.  I only managed to pick up about 1000 feet of climbing in 43 miles.  That’s really not much.

The Towns

And don’t think you have to blast through the entire thing either.  The trail is dotted with small towns along the way.  They show up about every 8-10 miles.  Like this one:

Just over that bridge is Lanesboro… I didn’t dally.

What you see there is Lanesboro.  It’s one of those towns that has a bunch of stuff that I don’t understand why people like it.  Like shops that smell like old lady soap and they sell coffee and metal signs with kitschy sayings painted on them.  And shops that sell sandwiches with cutesy names that make it clear there’s no bacon on them.  And…  Well, basically… shops.  Stef tells me it’s quaint and cute and that there’s a theater there.  So if you’re into that sort of thing, you might like it.  Me – I kept riding.

Now, when you get near to the towns, you’ll find a lot more people on the trail.  Walkers.  Joggers.  People staring at their cell phones and not paying attention.  People on weird rental bikes that looked like a wheelchair tricycle.  All that kind of thing.  You will need to slow down near the towns for safety’s sake, so don’t count on hammering your TT pace through the towns.

The Camping

Here’s the other thing about this trail that made sure I mentioned it here on The Fit RV.  I counted no fewer than NINE RV parks along or very close to this trail.  So if you’re RVing in the area, you’re probably staying near it.  This means NO EXCUSES for not getting a workout in.  Here are the RV parks and campgrounds I recall (or could Google) near the trail.

• Cushon’s Peak Campground  (Houston)
• Northend Campground (Rushford)
• Trailside campground (Rushford)
• Peterson RV Park  (Peterson)
• Eagle Cliff Campground (Whalan)
• Highway 250 Campground (Lanesboro)
• Sylvan Park Campground (Lanesboro)
• Riverview Campground (Lanesboro)
• Old Barn Resort (Preston)

The Bugs

I do not recommend this trail for people who are highly allergic to insect stings and bites.  Not unless you buy your Epi-pens at Costco.  I was stung at least three times on this trail.  The first time, a wasp/hornet/yellowjacket/whatever flew into my helmet while I was riding along at about 20 mph.  It started stinging me, and I started clawing, scratching and frantically mashing my helmet on my head until I could stop.  So in addition to a sting, I cut up the top of my head.  I couldn’t see it, so I started snapping pictures of the top of my head so I could see what was up.  (Warning – bloody head picture follows.)

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The horror! The horror!

This is actually the second time I’ve had something fly into my helmet and start stinging me.  BOTH TIMES I wound up chewing up my head trying to get it out.  It seems like I should be learning by now, but I haven’t come up with a good way to practice the skill…

And then I was stung twice more when I stopped in Rushford by a park bench, a trash can, and a sign that said “Trail info – take one.”  Either wasps had randomly built a nest in the trail info stand, or it was someone’s weird idea of a booby trap.  Either way, it sucked, and I got stung twice.

All the stinging was traumatic enough that I felt I deserved a milk shake at my turn around in Fountain.  So here’s that.

(this milkshake not endorsed by Stef)

I burned about 2300 calories that day (total, not net, because if you add in that milk shake, I probably gained a couple hundred…).  You certainly don’t have to do that much in order to enjoy the trail.  With the exception of the insect attacks, the entire day worked out wonderfully:  I arrived back to find the bridal shower had ended, the ladies were gone, the cleanup was done, and there was leftover food and cake.  Perfect!

If you’re RVing in southeastern Minnesota, I highly recommend you check out the Root River Trail.  It’s probably right outside your campground.