Swedish Immigrant Trail

If you haven't heard, the Swedish Immigrant Trail in Chisago County is officially 'open!' Trail dedication was at 10 am today, and rain did not spoil the ribbon cutting. I did not have my bike with me, but I took a walk on it from Shafer towards Center City. It is a pretty trail, with wetlands, trees, and even a buffalo farm nearby!

It will be a good alternative to highway 8 and other local roads, as they become congested with more and more auto traffic. As I live on the probable route of the Gateway Trail expansion, I am hoping to see the two trails meet sometime in the near future. I usually have no problem with riding on roads, as I have done a lot of long-distance road touring, but as the media becomes clogged with stories of deteriorating infrastructure, too many taxpayers seem to think that the problem will be fixed by diverting all funds from parks and trails to roads and bridges. So the roadhogs increasingly curse cyclists who dare use the road when the roadhogs 'paid x million for the blankety-blank bike trail!' I don't expect them to understand. They are, after all, roadhogs. They also want free gasoline. As a cyclist, I know I'm somehow paying for their gas consumption habits. Money that I'd rather spend on bike trails, that is. But I don't waste time screaming at motorists. I'll just keep riding my bike.