The Munger Mission: Another Excuse for Bikers to Get Out and Explore the Munger Trail

“Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym.”—Bill Nye

One of the items in Duluth's 2035 planning for the future of the city is making more bike lanes so that it's easier and safer for bikers to get around town. Tuesday, while I was in town doing errand, I saw that there has been a lot of reconfiguration taking place on Superior Street. Bike lanes are being added and newly painted lines for parking cars more efficiently have been added. 

All about the city there are hiking and biking trails. On any given day you can see biking and hiking along the Lakewalk, with extensive trails all the the up the waterfront. On the Western end of town these bike trails stretch South to the cities of Carlton, Moose Lake and even Hinckley. That portion is called The Munger Trail. 

THE MUNGER MISSION
This year, Joelene Steffens of Carlton Bike Rental & Repair has created special event to encourage people to experience the rewards of biking Minnesota's Willard Munger Bike Trail. It's been dubbed The Munger Mission.

The concept is fairly straightforward. Purchase a starter kit, which has maps, mission instructions and goals. Your primary objective will be to take photos of yourself with your bike in front of the three bike shop locations in Moose Lake, Carlton and Hinckley and share them on one of your social media platforms or website. Upon completion you'll receive a Munger Mission Accomplished T-shirt and become eligible for bigger prizes.

EdNote: Although the business is a bike rental shop, you do not have to rent a bike from CBR&R to participate in the mission.

Photo by Chris Henry on Unsplash

On May 18 the Duluth News Tribune featured a story titled "Munger Mission" aims to get riders out on the trail. The story by Jamey Malcomb begins, "Bicycle shop owner hopes to encourage people from around the state to use the Munger Trail and patronize the businesses along its route."

If you live anywhere between Hinckley and Duluth it is easy-peasy to get to one of the three CBR&R locations as a starting point. The Carlton location was initiated in 2011 with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included the late Congressman Oberstar. Congressman Oberstar was a noteworthy supporter and advocate for trails and biking.

I've not personally biked the trail from Carlton south, but I can tell you from experience that the trail running along Jay Cooke State Park is beautiful any time of year, spring, summer, fall and winter. Biking in winter is somewhat hazardous however. The Munger Mission began June 1. You can start any time and have until the end of September to completer your tasks.

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You can sign up online or, if you prefer, at one of their stores. Addresses for the store locations can be found on the CBR&R home page at carltonbikerental.com.

Throwback Thursday: The Slow City Movement

"Slow down, you're moving too fast..."
~Simon & Garfunkel, Feelin' Groovy 

In February our friend Mario from Italy sent me a link to a blog entry about the Slow City movement. I finally slowed down enough to look into it. And it's pretty interesting.

Actually, the Slow City movement is an attempt to get whole cities to participate in the Slow Movement. You may be familiar with some of the siblings in this family of attitudes: Slow Travel, Slow Food, Slow Books, Slow Living. 

 
Personally there is a lot of attraction to these attitudes. I know that when Susie and I travel, we like Slow Travel. Art galleries, museums, nice restaurants all take time, and that's what a vacation is in our book. My brother and his wife take the reverse course, Power Vacation where they seem dedicated to taking in as many experiences as possible. "While we're here we might as well cram in the Bahrumba Cliff Hike and do the Bungees over on the next peak." More power to 'em.

I like reading, but slow reading is certainly the best way to savor a page of quality prose. It's like fine wine versus Ripple. People drinking Ripple aren't doing it for the flavor, it's about how fast you can get slammed. The same with reading. It should not be about how many books you can read in a year so you can win a contest. Reading for pleasure includes pauses to roll images and ideas around in the mind, to chew and digest... and like a cow chewing its cud, resume chewing.

According to the Slow City Manifesto, no city larger than 50,000 can be part of this movement. Minneapolis is out. Philadelphia is out. Even our little corner of the world, Duluth, is out. This doesn't mean we can't individually pursue Slow Living.
 
The trademark or emblem of the movement is an orange snail with a crown made of modern buildings. That could be interesting. (I once wrote an article that began with the opening line, "Which is slower, a snail, a glacier, or a piece of legislation through congress?")
 
Life at a snail's pace might be a good thing, though right now I'm kinda busy and don't have a lot of time to think about it. 

For sure when we slow down we experience our surroundings more. The marshlands, the trees, the fields and outcroppings of rock in our rural areas make a far greater impact when you walk through them than when you fly past them on the highway. Last Sunday for Mother's Day we went to Carlton Bike Rental and took a lazy ride up the trail to Jay Cooke State Park. There are 63 miles of bike trail starting from this location, and I've been told they will be connecting yet more trail to it from the headwaters of the Mississippi, so it's easy to see why they're staking a claim that Minnesota Starts Here.

In the meantime, enjoy your day. Don't forget to take a moment now and then to stop and smell the roses.

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THIS BLOG ENTRY was posted on this date 11 years ago. Today, Carlton Bike Rental, cited above, now has three locations: Carlton, Moose Lake & Hinckley. This year they are hosting an event to help get bikers out on longer stretches of the Munger Bike Trail. The event is called the Munger Mission. Visit CarltonBikeRental.com for more information about the Mission and the incentives to hit the trail. 

Special Note: May is National Bike Month. 

Bicycle Shortages Plague Nation During Pandemic

In May the NYTimes had a features story titled Thinking of Buying a Bike? Get Ready for a Very Long Wait.

May 18, 2020 - The United States is facing a shortage of bicycles as anxiety over public transportation and a desire to exercise has sent the demand surging.

In June, an Associated Press story said that people have been buying up bicycles like toilet paper, leaving stores cleaned out. Part of this is due to fitness freaks locked out of gyms, but also due to people wanting to commute and do social distancing. It's the biggest spike in bike sales since the 1970s oil crisis.

Painting by Adam Swanson

MPR had a July story that was headlined, "Sales boom, factory shutdowns leave bikes in short supply amid pandemic."

The story by Emily Bright included an anecdote about a woman in Plymouth, MN "who hadn’t owned a bike in years. But when the pandemic closed gyms and so many other parts of daily life, she started looking for a way to get outside and exercise with her two sons who still live at home."

If this describes you in any way, Carlton Bike Rental, located right on the Munger Bike Trail, still has bikes for rent and a repair shop if your dealing with an issue on one of the bikes you own.

ARE THE TRAILS ARE CALLING YOUR NAME?
Visit Carlton Bike Rental & Repair

I especially like their slogan: 

"Minnesota Starts Here."

https://carltonbikerental.com/