'Mission' promotes bike trail use

This year is the inaugural year for the Munger Mission. The Munger Mission was started by Jolene Steffens, owner of Carlton Bike Rental & Repair. The idea behind the mission is to spur people to get out and bike the Willard Munger Bike Trail.

The mission is pretty simple and is a "do it at your own pace" type of challenge. Riders can either use their own bikes or rent through Carlton Bike Rental & Repair. Renting a bike for the mission would cost $35. Other rental options are two hours at $14 and four hours at $25.

The "mission" is to take a picture in front of each of the three Carlton Bike Rental locations in Carlton, Moose Lake and Hinckley while riding the 70-mile-long bike trail, and post the photos on Instagram, tagging @MungerMission, or to the Munger Mission Bike Ride Facebook page. For most riders the first stretch is Hinckley to Carlton, which is about 45 miles of biking.

Steffens came up with the idea for the Munger Mission in the fall of 2020. When she first opened her store, her intention was to rent bikes to families vacationing in Carlton County. But once Covid-19 hit, the shift was more toward bike repairs because of finances and the decreasing demand for bike rentals because of the pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns.

"Lots of people bought bikes during the pandemic, and they're going to get tired of riding around their own neighborhood and they're going to want to explore our state. There's a pent-up demand to get out and see places," Steffens said about how she came up with the idea.

Once winter came, it was the perfect opportunity to start the Munger Mission.

"I had just upgraded my fleet of bikes and needed a way to utilize them, so the Munger Mission was born. It's a great opportunity for us, families and the state of Minnesota," Steffens said. Other businesses are also participating in the mission. The bike store owner called these "bonus missions," where riders can win prizes, enter raffles, or just use the coupons provided by the businesses at the start of the mission.

Steffens also wants the people of Minnesota to see the hidden gem that Carlton County and the Munger Trail is. With the major construction in Duluth, Steffens wants to get the word out that you can still experience northern Minnesota in Carlton County.

As of July 13, Steffens said eight people had completed the mission so far.

"We encourage anyone and anybody to do the mission and get out and explore your own backyard for the summer," she said.

Bicyclist Jessi Friedrich not only completed the mission, but over the summer she biked the entire Munger Trail.

Friedrich posted about her experience on Facebook after completing the last leg: "Mission accomplished! As of yesterday I completed the Willard Munger Trail, all 160 miles. The third segment of my ride was definitely the most interesting, I saw my first bear and got my first flat. Despite those two items, it was still a wonderful day with gorgeous scenery. If you are looking for something fun to do check out the Munger Mission Bike Ride. It supports the local businesses on the trails and it's an excuse to get outside and enjoy our beautiful state. Plus you get a t-shirt!"

Steffens is currently working on adding more bike trips like the Munger Mission. Her goal is to create more all-inclusive trips.

"We are going through the permit process and are anticipating that we will come to agreements with the Department of Natural Resources and the state of Minnesota to do bike trips where folks from the Twin Cities can go to Hinckley, drop their camping gear, and we bring their gear to a campsite in Moose Lake while they bike up the Munger Trail and meet us," said Steffens.

Steffens says there is still a lot of coordinating needed before those trips can become reality. It's her goal to make the trips ready by the summer of 2022.

She plans to make Munger Mission an annual event.