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Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour, May 20-21, 2006 Slideshows and Report by Chris Kostman  From the 3SpeedTour.com website: "The Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour is based on cycle touring in pre-war England. It was a Gentlemanly time; few people owned a car and recreation based on automobiles was extremely limited. To get away for the weekend they would pack a few things, mount up and head to the country. Most every farmstead had refreshments or a room to rent, every little village had a family-run restaurant; just look for the “Cyclist Teas” or “CTC Recommended” sign. "English cycle touring in the 1930s was punctuated with many stops for food, water, tea and sometimes a pint at the local brewpub. Scenic overlooks were an invitation to nap in the grass and were seldom missed. For weekend tourists, traveling light was the order of the day and most people simply carried a change of clothes and rain gear. Fast forward 80 years or so and it still makes sense. "The route of the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour begins in Red Wing Minnesota and heads around Lake Pepin clockwise with an overnight in Wabasha. The total is 85 miles (actually, 75 miles - CK) for those who are foolish enough to keep track." From a roadside historic marker along the route which nails it on the head: "City dwellers need go no farther than this if they seek romantic solitude," wrote panorama artist Henry Lewis in 1848. "One can not imagine a more lovely expanse of water than Lake Pepin in quiet, clear weather." I want to offer a giant "bravo" to Jon and Noel and everyone else involved in the organizing of this stupendous weekend. The 3-Speed Tour is a real pleasure and a true treasure and Lake Pepin is easily one of the nicest, most charming, and most hospitable areas in which I've ever cycled! Thanks as well for the great company, conversation, and support of all the other riders. My brother Keith, his wife Poosa, and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves out there. If you want any of the images for personal use, feel free to "grab" what you want directly from my slideshows. (Just right click with your cursor on the photo you want and a dialog box will appear which will allow you to save it to your hard drive. On a Mac, just hold down the mouse button while the cursor is over the picture.) If you want a print-quality version of any of the images, about 1.5 meg's each, feel free to email me and I will send it, or them, back my email. To request images, send me the "Show Number" (either 1, 2, and 3) and image number (.jpg) of the image(s) you want. View Slideshows
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