Looked like rain, felt like rain

Even the radar looked like rain but you can't ride lots unless you sometimes set out to ride into threatening conditions.

Today is the first Sunday in June, the traditional date for Grand Old Days.  That crowd is most definitely not bicycle friendly so I intended to stay at least a couple of miles away at all times.  I did expect though, that most of the folks out for a little Sunday recreational stroll would be over on Grand Avenue.

So I was pretty surprised to discover an extremely large crowd at the Fairgrounds.  It seemed to me to rival even the really large horse show event crowds, certainly parking was crazier.  I thought it was the largest crowd I have ever seen over there other than the Fair itself and also excluding rent a fence events.

It turns out that it may have looked like rain and felt like rain but what it actually was was cheese. It was the Minnesota Cheese Festival.

I note from the website that they not only had cheese, they had wine and cheese AND beer and cheese. I have felt for several years now that one of the primary attractions of Grand Old Days is that it is an opportunity for public drunkenness. It appears that an opportunity to get a bit tipsy was also part of the attraction at the cheese deal.

But it was early when I was there, actually everyone seemed pretty orderly.

Tickets, you had to buy tickets to get into a cheese festival!

The sun came out in about the last mile or so of the ride. In conditions like that I ride nearby routes, trying to keep within a half hour sprint or so of home, just in case it does rain. Well withing a half hour sprint of home are these big pieces of metal.

That's a seldom photographed angle as I have to cyclocross a bit on a road bike to get into position for that. But that white flowering tree called out to be included in the picture so cyclocross I did.

I wonder what's up with the beavers.