LAKE COUNTRY

Every so often, I receive a most unexpected invitation: Would I consider traveling to Tower, Minnesota, to read from my new book?

“We hold our cultural events in an old train car,” the programer explained. Who gets to read in an old train car? Of course I’d go.

Turns out Tower lies at the end of the longest paved bike trail in the United States. I’d have to ride 40 miles a day for four days. It was meant to be!

I was met in Grand Rapids, fitted with a bike, and driven to my inn, where I stowed my bag and rushed outside, eager to discuss the trail with the locals.

The locals weren’t so eager for me, however.

“There are bears,” my inn-keeper said.

“Have you ever seen a bear?” I asked.

“No.”

“I have,” I say with a smile, remembering inner-tubing down the Wenatchee River. I didn’t say I was so scared I started to cry. What’s a trip into the Mainland wild without a good bear story?

“The wind is against you.”

True. But it felt like more of a breeze.

A young woman standing in her yard said, “There are child molesters living here.”

“Since I’m a grown woman, that won’t be a problem. Have you ever ridden the trail?

“No.”

The most fearful are always the ones who haven’t tried.

At the local bar, my waitress said, “There are wolves.”

Nothing like hearing the word “wolves” to preoccupy you from the eyes of the drunk who is leering.

“Well,” I said, “there are always a few wolves to contend with.”

“You’ll get lost.”

“It’s a trail. I’m not bushwhacking.”

The thing that seemed to bother everyone the most was that I was alone. There are places where people look at me funny when I say that I’m traveling alone, and this was one of those places. Even funnier after they ask if I have kids. But if you aren’t in the mood for this sort of questioning, you’d better stick to the cities.

Editor’s Note: This is the first part in a two-part essay. Check back next week for the second half.

Mary Lou Sanelli’s newest book is A Woman Writing. See her book tour dates at marylousanelli.com.

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