Coulee Challenge 1200k Pre-ride pictures - September 2017

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Ready at the start in Apple Valley

Old farm buildings near the road in coulee country

Many barns have unique signs or paintings.

One of the biggest Amish businesses in the area is refurbishing old barn wood

Small town Wisconsin bars are a great place to relax and hide out from a passing rainstorm

A foggy morning in the coulees

Coulee Challenge committee member and Driftless Randonneurs

RBA Greg Smith joined us for some committee work and to

spin a few miles along the way

Kit Oslin and Scott Gregory check out the next section of the route

Kit and Scott

Lake Pepin is a wide spot along the Mississippi River and a

favorite area for cyclists to ride around, about 70 miles

Uber randonneur Mark Olsen, a Coulee Challenge committee contributor

The Mindoro Cut was an engineering achievement over 100 years ago.

It is the second-deepest cut built by hand in the Western Hemisphere

and the oldest functional cut which has not been improved upon.

Work on the cut began in 1907 and concluded in 1908.

The project was completed primarily with hand tools.

The Mindoro Cut was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Night control: Kit Oslin, Tom Ehlman and Scott Gregory

Pace Line at dawn

Seventh Heaven barn on the top of a ridge deep in coulee country

Dan Diehn and Rob Welsh (Minnesota Randonneurs RBA),

Coulee Challenge committee members, at the finish in Apple Valley