This is basically the same ride as my Fish Lake NW Expanded ride, but the ride start will be at the Elm Creek Park Chalet, rather than Fish Lake Park. This will be a B/C paced ride and I will lead from the front, stopping at stoplights and so forth to re-group as necessary. I like to keep my rides together in a group as much as possible, but self-sufficient riders are more than welcome to go off on their own and ride their own pace. As a leader, I can help with most simple bike-related repairs, like flat tires or dropped chains. If anything more complicated happens, we'll have to figure something out on the fly.
Starting from the Elm Creek Park Chalet (12400 James Deane Parkway, Maple Grove, MN 55369) parking lot (look for my Black Honda CRV), we'll head south on bike trails through and out of the park, heading south toward Bass Lake Road. There, we'll head west on bike trails that parallel the road, eventually moving into the road past Brockton Ln (101). We'll continue west, following County Rd 10 through Corcoran and out into the countryside. When we get to County Rd 19, we'll turn north and follow the bike trail along the road as far as 109th Ave N, where we'll turn west again and follow the bike trail along the road into the town of Hanover, where we'll make a rest stop at the Tom Thumb convenience store (about mile 20). From there, we'll head north on backroads along the Crow River to St. Michael. We'll head north through St. Michael on Main St to Frankfort Parkway, where we'll turn and head east.
When we hit Naber Ave/Territorial Rd, we'll head south as far as 141st Ave N, where we'll head east again, into the city of Rogers. Once we get past Highway 101, we'll make our second stop, at a Walgreen's (around mile 31). From there, we'll continue east on 141st Ave, which becomes North Diamond Lake Rd, eventually connecting to Dayton River Rd. We'll head east on Dayton River Rd to Pineview Lane and turn south. After a nice little hill climb on Pineview, we'll re-enter Elm Creek Park and then follow bike trails back to the ride start at the chalet. The route is a mixture of roads--some with nice wide shoulders, others with little to no shoulder--and bike trails, with some nice rolling hills and a couple of significant climbs. Other than our two planned rest stops, there are other places where we can make a stop if necessary.
Bring some snacks and water with you. Both rest stops will have water/other liquids and food available. There is an opportunity here for qualified ride leaders to pick up a co-lead credit--just let me know at the ride start if interested. It at all in doubt about the weather, feel free to give me a call. Cell at ride: (612) 581-9915.