Jim Klobuchar’s bicycle tour to set up camp at Smokey Bear Park June 14-15
Jim Klobuchar will make International Falls the northern apex of his annual bicycle ride, this year entitled “Riding to the Border.”
This is the 37th year Klobuchar will, along with a group of cyclists, pedal several hundred miles through Minnesota.
Each year he picks a different route. This year, he and about 130 riders will trek round trip from Blackduck, overnighting in Deer River, Nashwauk, Cook, International Falls and Bigfork. The cyclists will travel about 300 miles in the course of a week, about 50 miles per day. The group will spend two nights in the Falls, camping at Smokey Bear Park June 14-15. The trip will last from June 10-17.
“It’s good exposure, I’m glad Klobuchar is bringing them here,” said Pete Schultz, director of the local Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Schultz has been working with Klobuchar to recommend several activities for the group to do while spending two days in town. Included in their possible activities are a Rainy Lake tour boat trip, museum visits, a concert in Smokey Bear Park on June 15 and Boise paper mill tours. The visitors will also be free to travel into Fort Frances during their stay.
Klobuchar said this is about the fourth time he has included Borderland in his annual bike trip.
The tour will be a boost to local businesses which are impacted by tourism, Schultz noted. He said he hopes some of the bikers in the “Jaunt with Jim” will enjoy the area and return in the future. Visitors will likely patronize local businesses and attractions during this trip, some will forego a tent in the park in favor of a hotel bed, and all will need meals and other essentials.
“We’ll probably leave a fair amount of money in the community,” Klobuchar said of the economic benefits to the area. He said one of the riders, who is an accountant, estimated that the cyclists have spent about $11 million to 12 million in rural Minnesota over the course of the 37 years.
On his website, Klobuchar details the towns the group will pass through on their journey. Regarding International Falls he writes, “One day’s ride from there we’re at the Canadian border and two nights in International Falls on the American side of the Rainy River. We’ll camp in the (park) from where you’re free to explore this fascinating lumber town as well as Fort Frances in Ontario across the bridge.
“On your free day you’re also invited to an excursion on the waters of Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park. It’s a rewarding cruise that gives you an appreciation of the breadth and diversity of the country we’re traveling through and introduces you to an island where they once found gold in — of all places — northern Minnesota.”
Klobuchar is a native of Ely and said he is very familiar with northern Minnesota and specifically International Falls. He said the ride has taken them through most of Minnesota over the years, but he has a fondness for the Borderland.
“International Falls and the north country are one of the favorites,” he said.
Klobuchar told The Journal that as a child he played basketball against the Falls on the stage at Backus Community Center, then the local high school. The cyclists plan to share a meal made in the new kitchen at Backus while in town.
“We have a lot of reasons to like International Falls,” he said.
Many of the group members have become a “community on wheels,” Klobuchar said. Some have been riding together each summer for more than 25 years. This is an annual reunion of friends, he said, although new faces are welcome.
“A lot of friendships have grown in the ride over the years,” he said.
And beyond the fellow cyclists, many in the group have returned to some of the same towns throughout Minnesota and are treated like returning friends when they come again, he said.
He said they enjoy traveling in areas where there are bike trails; and the cyclists are interested in the advancement of safe bicycling routes throughout Minnesota. Many of the areas they travel are not through major cities, but rather along infrequently traveled roads and scenic wilderness bike paths.
Klobuchar is the father of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. He runs Jim Klobuchar’s Adventures travel club and leads group trips around the world in addition to the annual Minnesota bike tours. He was a journalist for 45 years, and is known for writing a popular long-running column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He has also authored multiple books.
For more information on Klobuchar and the bike tour, visit www.jimklobuchar.com.
