Trail Towns & Taco Legends

After leaving Goat’s Ridge, we kept pedaling until we rolled into the tiny town of Mineola—and when we say tiny, we mean tiny. We passed a one-room post office, a miniature hotel, and a building labeled “hoosegow” (we’re still not entirely sure what that is, but we assume someone was once locked up there for crimes against hydration).

Speaking of hydration, we were in serious need of water. Thankfully, we found Toby Jack’s, where we refueled with cold drinks and soaked up some glorious A/C. Small-town hospitality + climate control = trail magic.

On the way back, we had to stop at the famous giant chair rest stop for a photo op—because who can resist a big wooden chair in the middle of nowhere?

The wind wasn’t as fierce in the trees, but in a few open stretches Mother Nature gave us one last reminder that we were still biking in a convection oven.

Total ride: 20 miles.

Only after we finished did we realize we had unknowingly completed the legendary Thursday Night Taco Ride—a weekly event along the Wabash Trace so beloved, it’s been named one of Bicycling Magazine’s Top 10 Weekly Rides in the World. Tacos or not, we’ll take that win.Read more