(Click on any image for a larger view)

Because it’s tendonitis, rest seems to be an essential part of my recovery.  It killed me, but I took all of Monday off.  I was in the town of Prairie Eden, which is all suburbs and huge malls.  No prairie, and certainly no Eden. My tibialis did not feel at all better by the end of the day; very depressing.

But the rest (along with ice, stretching, and massage) meant I woke today feeling noticeably better.  That encouraged me to continue my riding a short distance to Waconia MN. It’s a short 25 miles, and I did it with the effort I might put into walking.  The miracle of the bicycle is that that translates to a speed over 11 mph.

The first half of the ride was on parts of the amazing bike path network around Minneapolis.

Some of it winds through the woods.

But in other places paths just run through backyards. This path is simply the property line between numerous suburban houses.  It’s as natural as the road running in front.

The network is so complex, it was lucky I had my GPS to guide me through the maze.

I got to Waconia in a couple of hours.  It’s a cute town on Lake Waconia.  There are lots of shops and boutiques in the central older part of town. Here’s a coffee shop  went to, and an interesting building across from where I ate dinner.

I’m not sure if this is a national phenomenon, but here in the Midwest, it seems all the free continental breakfasts include a cook-yourself-waffles station.  The machine on the right dispenses batter, you pour it into the iron on the left, you pivot it 180 degrees, and a timer goes off to tell you when it’s done.  Works quite well actually.

Here’s a cause we can all get behind.