This is a 100-mile, one day ride that starts in Albert Lea, Minnesota and goes around Freeborn County (it’s in the name).
I have ridden it three times—twice in the late 90s and once in 2012. The first two times I rode with two friends, one of whom had lived in Albert Lea as a youth (as I had for a short time) and whose mother still lived there. Both years we stayed overnight at her house and she made us dinner. The meal consisted of enough food to constitute a Thanksgiving dinner and may have been a bit too much, as we would arrive late after our drive from the Twin Cities (St. Paul and the other one—I have a soft spot for St. Paul having worked there for 32 years) and had to start the ride at 8:00 a.m. the next day. But I’ve never been one to pass up a great meal so I’d go ahead and eat too much.
The ride is a pleasant 100-miler around the county and was a nice ride all three times. My only complaint, on the first two years, at the first rest stop at the 20-mile mark, they only had one porta-potty, which was way too few to handle all the riders. I don’t remember if they had remedied the problem by 2012 or not, but there are plenty of corn fields along the way if necessary (go at least three rows in).
The ride is put on in the early-to mid-spring so make sure you bring warm clothing for the morning portion.
