When I got to Hopkins, where the trail meets the SW LRT corridor, I ran into Dennis. He said Paul and Joe, a couple friends were meeting him there, and Joe had a DragonFlyer. We waited for a bit and there they were. After a bit of talking, Paul headed back to work, Dennis, Joe and I went into downtown Hopkins for some shopping (Dennis was looking for stuff for an aquarium he'd gotten).
A few more stops in Hopkins, and then the SW LRT corridor back to town. The missing half-mile of corridor is rideable on a bike, but there are just a lot of spots where a trike is too wide to fit on the path that's been created by folks on bikes, so we took France to Hwy 5, then city streets to meet up with the Kenilworth trail.
A stop for some frozen yogurt, then the Cedar Lake trail back into downtown, down Hennepin, and I was home. Joe commented that I'm a pretty strong rider, which is encouraging. The past couple months have paid off, and while I can't go all day yet, I can keep up with (or pass) traffic on Hennepin Avenue, which is nice.
25 miles. About 4 hours, with the stopping shops. Just a little over 2 hours riding.
It was nice running into a few other folks, but I still like solo rides, too. Setting my own pace and watching the scenery is nice. Talking to other folks as we pedal along is good, too. But riding with other folks means talking while I ride, which means keeping my cadence a smidge lower, which means a little more muscle soreness the next day, rather than being ready for another 30 mile ride.