We recently completed a four-day bicycling trip in Minnesota – the BAM (Bicycling Around Minnesota). It was a fun and challenging four days of riding. This year’s ride had 250 cyclists, ranging in age from 24 to 84, all coming together to be immersed in the scenery and sights of the northwestern lakes of Minnesota. We’ve found that bicycling is a great way to see the countryside, as opposed to driving on interstates or flying high above. On a bicycle seat you become part of the terrain, and can easily stop to see sights and talk with locals.

We started the ride in the city of Detroit Lakes with a 52 mile loop past cabins and lake homes on both Detroit and Pelican Lakes. Minnesota lays claim to over 10,000 lakes, and these two large bodies of water captured “lake life.” Day two was a 57 mile ride from Detroit Lakes to Fergus Falls, riding through the town of Pelican Rapids, home to Pelican Pete – the world’s largest pelican, standing 15.5 feet tall. Pete was built in 1957 and overlooks the Pelican River. He was a perfect “excuse” to stop and rest, appreciate the river and park, and get ready for the hills (and headwinds) that were waiting for us on our journey south to Fergus Falls.

The third day was 63 miles from Fergus Falls to Perham. The morning started with clouds and light showers left over from the overnight rainstorm that had rolled through the area. But the sun broke through the clouds in the late morning. We were lucky to take in the annual Corn Daze celebration in the small community of Dent – free corn, a parade, and a classic car show. In Perham we were camped at the fairgrounds next to Tuffy Stadium. The stadium is home to the Perham Pirates, the town baseball club that was playing New York Mills and Urbank that afternoon and evening. We drifted off to sleep hearing the crack of the bat and the announcer calling the game.

Day four gave us 35 miles to ride from Perham back to our beginning point in Detroit Lakes. The day dawned bright and cooler, and there were two important stops to make along this shorter route. The first was at the big loon in the town of Vergas. Standing 20 feet tall and overlooking Long Lake, it was built in 1963 by the Vergas Fire Department to honor a former town postmaster. The loon is Minnesota’s state bird, so this stop was even more appropriate. But there was one more aviary roadside attraction waiting up the road for us – the world’s tallest turkey.

The town of Frazee is one of the largest producers of turkeys in Minnesota. So it was only fitting that they have a 22 foot tall turkey. Known as Big Tom II and weighing nearly three tons, he replaced the first Big Tom who met an untimely death by fire in 1998. The current Big Tom is said to have 4,000 individual fire-resistant feathers (obviously they’re not looking for a repeat of the first Big Tom’s demise).

If we had been traveling by car we probably wouldn’t have detoured off our route for these roadside attractions. And yet there’s something interesting and unique about the statues that represent a community, that give them an identity, and certainly give them bragging rights and something to boast about.

207 miles, four nights of camping in a tent, lots of laughs, shared stories, many meals, multiple ice cream stops, and three more “quirky” roadside attractions to add to my list – it all made for a wonderful trip!