Some Stats About the Minnesota Ride

I rode over 44,000 miles during 2018 riding season, with a large majority of that attempting to complete the Minnesota ride. Here are some rough statistics of what exactly it took to be the first person to document riding every highway in Minnesota.

1995 BMW K75S
Miles: 15,375
Gallons of gas: 301
Gast cost: $933
MPG: 51
Tires: 1.8 sets
Oil Changes: 3
Other: 2 transmission oil changes, 2 final drive oil changes, 1 spline lube, 1 valve check, 1 headlight bulb


2007 BMW R1200RT
Miles: 16,647
Gallons of gas: 365.9
Gas cost: $988
MPG: 45.5
Tires: 3 sets
Oil Changes: 2
Other: 1 air filter, 1 set of spark plugs, 1 low-beam headlight, 2 transmission oil changes, 2 final drive oil changes

2009 BMW G650GS
Miles: 3,464
Gallons of gas: 64.1
Gas Cost: $176
MPG: 54.2
Tires: 0 sets
Oil Changes: 1
Other: Nothing :)



Here's something amazing (and embarrassing), if you took my mileage total from these three motorcycles and divided them by various MPH averages...

Mileage total of 35,486 miles:

Avg. MPH	Hours rode	Days rode
50	709.7	29.6
55	645.2	26.9
60	591.4	24.6
65	545.9	22.7

Now, this doesn't count all of the hours I spent waiting at red lights and stops signs. Therefore, I probably spent over a month sitting on my motorcycles this summer 😧

My yearly total for my tracking app (Rever) was 839 hours

Most importantly: I never had a roadside chat with any law enforcement!!

All done!!!

On November 3rd, 2018, Thom Rieck became the first person to document riding ALL of Minnesota's highways.

Starting with a blank, empty map:

Finishing with every single road highlighted!

My Tools of the Trade

For a majority of this "ride" I had two motorcycle to choose from. The first is my 1995 BMW K75S, which currently has over 125k miles. Both have been modified and molded into super long-distance motorcycles. Most importantly, they are both in silver, which I believe is the fastest color ☺

The second, is my 2007 R1200RT, which currently has over 80k miles.



Importantly, neither left me stranded on the side of the road at any time through this journey!!! 

Map update - I'm geting sooooo close!

Just a couple roads left - can you spot them?

Number 16 - MN Highway 86 into Lakefield, MN

Not the most beautiful day out - cold and windy on October 11th.  

Number 58 - Interstate 94 from Hastings, WI

A nice "Major Entrance Monument" example

Number 59 - Highway 10 into Hastings, MN from Prescott, WI

Fun fact - In 2017 Dan Gaz, and I (Thom Rieck) biked across Minnesota, setting a world record for the fastest bike team across Minnesota - West to East.  We covered 194 miles in 9 hours and 21 minutes and ended our ride in Prescott, WI. It was fun to visit again!

Number 6 - Highway 63 into Winona... kinda

Highway 63 into Winona is getting a face lift, so all of the signs are down (you can almost make out the pile from my picture spot).

:(

Number 61 - Highway MN 60 from Nelson, WI across the Mississippi into Wabasha, MN

Both sides of the Mississippi are beautiful here (of course I prefer the MN side).

The only truly gravel road that I encountered on the whole ride - MN 74

Minnesota Highway 74 has a short ~5 mile section that is gravel. However, it does happens to wind through some very beautiful areas of southeast Minnesota, so I can't fault it too much. If you're in the area and have an adventure bike or don't mind a little gravel, it's a fun ride!

Number 2 - Minnesota Highway 76 into Eitzen

A little faded, but very fun to ride to!

Number 53 - Highway MN 48 into Cloverdale, MN

And the winner of the Minnesota Border Crossing "Most Amount of Signs" is....

This border crossing made up for the missing sign on the previous road. This crossing not only had a nice stone monument, but also had a metal sign PLUS an interpretive sign noting some sign history.

Number 54 - MN70 into Pine City, MN

I ran across another road today that didn't have a sign! I was looking for a Type 3 (metal sign) and there were plenty of others, but no "Welcome to Minnesota" signs... there's even a little parking lot where you can walk down to the river, which would also be a perfect spot for the Welcome sign.

Number 4 - Mn 139 into Harmony, MN

Beautiful limestone brickwork

A quick look back at the motorcycle that has carried my over the last ~30,000 miles of this particular adventure - 1995 BMW K75S with over 125,000 miles (and counting!)

Beautiful Sunflowers

Yet another map update

Plus a cool gas station

Another interesting project

This is "Froggie's" website all about various highways in Minnesota and other states - a nice resource that's helped my own project a couple times

http://www.ajfroggie.com/

Number 55 and 55A - US 8 into Taylors Falls

Like a double rainbow... IT'S A DOUBLE SIGN!!!

Number 56 - The Missing Sign - Highway MN 56

This sign was long gone - I see that it's been gone since 2016 according to Google Streetview. 😕Hopefully it will be replaced soon!

Another tiny little road - MN 298

This road is in Faribault, MN ends around a state prison. I think it took me longer to stop the motorcycle and take a picture than it did for me to ride it

Number 3 - Highway US 52 into Canton, MN

Another blue sign with the "10,000 Lakes" below 

Number 5 - Highway US 63 into Spring Valley, MN

It was a colder, wetter day out, hence the crappy photo

Number 57 - Highway MN 57 into Stillwater, MN

This is the new highway 36 that replaced the older lift bridge crossing in Stillwater. I thought I was being artistic in how I captured the setting sun

Number 51 - Interstate 535 / 53 into Duluth, MN

Number 52 - US 2 into Duluth, MN

Another map update

Here's where I was halfway through August. It seems so close, yet so far!

Number 23 - Highway MN 30 into Pipestone, MN

If you are this close, you have to go check out one of Minnesota's National Parks - the Pipestone National Monument