Jeff Hernes

2001 Team Norske Picture

2001 felt like an off-year for Team Norske in many respects: corporate funding was virtually non-existent except for the generous matching from AAL, several new and current team members opted not to ride, funding from individuals was down, and weather and injuries doomed part of the ride. But, nine of us participated anyway: three adults, six kids, and seven bicycles.

The departure from the Anoka County fairgrounds was routine as the staff of volunteers was on top of registration, loading bikes onto the semi trailers, and keeping the buses going. We made good time getting to Duluth, and missed the rain that had just passed through the area. Tents were set up and then all but John headed off on foot to McDonalds for supper. Upon returning, Melissa and I crawled into our tent and read until dark.

Saturday morning we woke up to clear skies and a great view of Lake Superior. We'd scoped out the location of our bikes the evening before, so had no problem finding them and getting going. Melissa and I were riding our new tandem, and having only put 60 miles on it the week before, I wasn't sure how it'd go in the traditional pack. With a very loose peloton consisting of John, Melissa and me, Wes, and Adam, we took the lead for Team Norske. The first ten miles was spent working through other bike traffic, made a little more challenging once we hit the Willard Munger trail. John was ahead of us and the two boys somewhere behind when we hit the first rest stop at Carlton.

Melissa and I had a couple of things to eat and took off. We were about ready to leave the next rest stop when Wes and Adam arrived, followed shortly by John. He'd flatted before Carlton, rode the bike in, and was waiting in line for a repair when we pulled in. The three of us rode together the rest of the day, enjoying a leisurely lunch at Moose Lake, the halfway point. We played leapfrog with Wes and Adam until the last stop as they were taking less time at rest stops than we were. We last saw them at the Finlayson stop just before Hinckley.

Meanwhile, backtracking a few hours, Katie and Wally were on a recumbent tandem and Warren and Rachel were on solo 'bents. Rachel pulled a muscle before Carlton, and at the second stop was told by a doctor that it would be best if she and Warren sagged the rest of the way. Katie and Wally rode most of the way, sagging the last stretch. We were putting up tents when they arrived, interestingly enough before Adam arrived. Warren gave him a call via cell phone and found out that he was still halfway between Finlayson and Hinckley. He'd run out of water and "hit the wall" as it was heating up out on the trail. Warren suggested flagging down another cyclist and begging for water, which he did, enabling him to make it the rest of the way under his own power.

That evening around the supper table, a fellow rolled in straight off the trail. He didn't look like he should have been out all day until we found out that he'd been the sweeper on the trail. With access to the trail somewhat limited for motor vehicles, a cyclist is designated as the sweeper to bring up the rear. He'd done it in past years, so when he rolled into the first stop at Carlton, someone assumed he was doing it again this year. He wasn't! A volunteer then located the radio the sweeper was supposed to be wearing, indicating that there wasn't a sweeper, so he took the position. He had to wait an hour and a half before he could continue going.

His news of the day was that a mid-40s fellow collapsed from an apparent heart attack just a couple of miles from the start. The fellow had had a history of heart problems, so the cold, starting up hill, and adrenaline did him in. He didn't make it. The sweeper's first task was to help out a lady who he found out had only ridden ten miles on a bike once before. She thought this ride sounded like fun, so borrowed a friend's bike for the weekend. The sweeper adjusted the bike so it was actually rideable, and after a bit of slow riding with her, convinced her to sag a couple of rest stops. Another unfortunate story involved a fellow rear-ending another cyclist at an intersection and breaking his collarbone. Overall, he'd had a long day on the trail, and was happy to be in Hinckley.

The evening was spent reading, taking a walk, and crashing at sunset.

During the night, storms moved in, dumping a couple of inches of rain on camp. At 6am, Warren and I made a decision to bail out of the day's ride, as we couldn't find out if the rain was going to end or last all day. Rachel's leg wasn't going to allow her to ride, which meant that she and Warren would be sagging all day. Our tandem didn't have fenders, and I couldn't see having Melissa get sprayed for 85 miles if the rain did continue. All in all, it was a tough decision.

My wife Linda picked up Warren and took him back to Anoka, where he got the van and trailer. When he arrived in Hinckley, he noticed another captain on a tandem without a stoker, looking forlornly at a map. Warren asked if he needed help, and he did. His daughter, the stoker, had injured her tailbone on a bump the day before. He'd called his wife to pick them up at the first rest stop this morning. But because of the rain, he'd called and left a message to pick them up at Hinckley. Just to be safe, he biked to a corner to catch her, only to watch her drive on without even seeing him. He didn't know what to do.

We loaded everyone up in the van, and took off down the route, checking at each rest stop. The first was closed and the second on its way to being closed. We gave up at Cambridge, the halfway point, had lunch, and then just took them home. His wife and son were there, having driven to the end of the route, working their way back, only to give up in Cambridge and head home. And that's what we did from his house. :-)

I hate to mention that the sun came out around 7 that morning. We could have biked. John did go the whole route, so at least one member of the team made the trip. Next year!

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