Touring on two wheels

“I don’t know how to miss this,” said Jim Moyle, a veteran since 1982. “I don’t know how to not be here this week in June.”

The biking and social event has been a staple across Minnesota for 37 years. Jim Klobuchar “conducts” the event and chooses destinations across Minnesota each summer for a group to tour on bicycle. More than 120 people from across the state and country joined the trip this year. They call each other a “community on wheels” and many feel as if they are attending a family reunion each year when they again get together.

This year, the group set up a village of tents in Smokey Bear Park for two nights as they rested for a day midway through their journey.

The cyclists travel about 300 miles in the course of a week, more than 50 miles per day. They began in Blackduck on June 10. They spent nights in Deer River, Nashwauk and Cook before arriving in International Falls on Tuesday. They also spent Wednesday night camping in Smokey Bear Park. Thursday they were to stay in Bigfork before returning to Blackduck Friday.

“It has met all of my expectations,” said Dave Remillard of Garrison, N.D., as he set up a tent under the shade of a tree in the park. He and a friend from Omaha, Neb., rode from his home in North Dakota to Blackduck. They will return to Omaha on bike following the Klobuchar tour.

Remillard was one of many of the riders to come from states outside Minnesota. He said people from about 13 states were involved in the annual trek this year, including a group from California.

“It’s just like a summer camp for adults,” said the second-year veteran. “These are some of the neatest people you’ll ever meet.”

“These are genuine friendships,” said Klobuchar, noting that the people met and experiences gained on these tours become some of the fondest memories of the group members.

Many members agreed that the weather had been wonderful for riding during the first part of their trip. They arrived in International Falls with tail winds and clear skies on Tuesday, a great combination for an enjoyable journey.

“This is a wonderful way to experience wild nature,” Klobuchar said. “Biking introduces another element. You can appreciate it another way ... You can feel the stirring in the woods, hear the call of the birds from a bike that you can’t from a car.”

When compared with faster methods of transit, he said regarding biking, “You can fall in love with nature faster.” And when compared with hiking, he said, cycling allows the group to make more headway than would be possible on foot.

“Most of them really appreciate the outdoors,” Klobuchar said of the touring group.

Watson Fearing, of St. Paul, has been involved in the ride for more than 25 years. He agreed with Klobuchar that traveling on two wheels provides a different experience than traveling on four.

“Riding in a car, things go by in a blur,” he said. On bicycle, he said, “you can savor everything.”

Fearing said that the ride has become a bit more challenging as the years go by, but that it provides a good way for the riders to stay in shape.

Folks of all ages are welcome, but the average age of people on the tour, Klobuchar said, is well into their 50s. Some 70, 80-plus-year-old riders still participate each year, as many have done consistently each June for two or three decades.

Rhonda Plautz Linner has been participating in the ride for 26 years. She said she continues to make the trip each year because of the camaraderie with fellow riders, the ability to visit small towns across the state that she otherwise would not visit, and the exercise of bike riding.

“It’s an inexpensive way to travel,” adds Melanie Maturi of Chisholm. She said she has come with the group to International Falls during her 11 year history with the tour.

“There has been no open warfare, and no rebellion against the conductor ... that I’ve heard,” joked Klobuchar when asked how the trip had been progressing. “We’re really having a lot of fun.”

Klobuchar has in recent years had to give up riding all of the hundreds of miles due to medical concerns which could arise on an extended trip, but participates ceremonially, he said.

The group has been to International Falls several times in the past. Boat tours on Rainy Lake, Boise Inc. papermill tours and other activities were scheduled for the group’s only leisure day Wednesday. Visitors who brought passports were also welcomed to explore into Canada if they wanted an international trip.

Morning wakeup call is around 6 a.m., Klobuchar explained. After a morning ride, the group will stop for lunch and continue until they reach their destination in the afternoon. They typically make more than 50 miles each day.

Besides the exposure that having an additional 120 people in the community provides, it also directs dollars into area merchants who supply necessary food, drink, entertainment and lodging for those who choose to forego the camp. Klobuchar said a participant figured out the tour members have spent more than $11 million in rural Minnesota communities over the life of the event.

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.

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