Fire Up With Biking

Today I started my first official bike ride of the season. I live in North Dakota so by season I mean there is no longer snow on the ground and we can begin to enjoy the sunny outdoors more. Biking is a great way to keep me motivated toward my fitness goals. I started getting into biking last summer volunteering through a program with my work. I work at a residential treatment center for adolescents 12-17. The program is developed to help the kids set and achieve goals, build self-confidence, and be healthy. I rode bike with the kids throughout the summer and our reward at the end was a camping/biking trip.

The group started training with 8 miles a day and we worked our way up to over 20 miles a day! Each member of the group completed over 400 miles of training total. We rode on the greenway witch is a path along the river filled with people working on their own fitness. I had a lot of excitement but some days were challenging. Having a big group and being a role model for the kids kept me accountable to keep going. It is so impactful to have layers of accountability and this was a perfect system for my accountability. Not to mention if the kids could do it I better too.

We rode on the Paul Bunyan Trail in Minnesota for our trip. It was so awesome to bike and then stop to camp, swim, play volleyball, and sit around the fire. We stayed at several different sights. If you are not into camping the area offers resorts and hotels. But why not go all out and stake down a tent! We became pros setting up and taking down camp by the end of the trip!

I highly recommend checking out this trail if you ever stumble over to MN. The terrain ranges from hilly and scenic to flat and open. At some points we were the only ones on the long stretches and other times when we were close to the towns we were surrounded by people getting fit just like us. Watch out for the hilly parts! Training in flat ND we had a crash or two--yikes! Not to worry, everyone was okay. It was a blast working my butt off to get to the top of the hill and having the gradification of making it without putting my feet down followed by a smooth coast down the hill with the wind cooling me down. Note: Don't forget the breaks!
Its trail spans 112 paved miles long full of beautiful scenery, friendly healthy people, adventure, and wild life. Just watch out for the bugs. They are constructing an addition to expand the trial to 120 miles long the summer of 2012.

Feel welcome to hike, jog, and rollerblade on the trail as well. If you are not traveling with a bike don't worry. Rental bicycles are available at many of the 15 connecting towns. I recommend stopping by Nisswa—it is a great little town with fun shops and lots of happy people. I love the idea of having so many small towns to rest at or explore. Folks, don't forget your swimsuit and camera. The trial parallels many Northern Minnesota lakes. A great part about this community is that they offer many trail events throughout the year. There is something to curb every adventure.

The trail ends/starts at Bemidji, where we camped at the State Park. It has very clean showers and changing rooms—the best on our trip. It had a large lake shore, playground, and sand volleyball court. The park also contains trails throughout. Furthermore, Bemidji offers a trail circling the circumference of the lake distancing about 16 miles long. Also, stop by the visitor center right off the trail and take a photo shoot with the giant Paul and Babe the Blue Ox. Lots of fun for the kids!

Over 650,000 people a year have visited the Paul Bunyan Trail. Talk about a movement to becoming healthy and getting outdoors. You got to check it out for yourself. Lots of fun and smiles for the whole family!