Minneapolis couple finish 12,200-mile bike trip around U.S.

Updated: August 17, 2012 - 11:59 PM

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From the tense border towns in west Texas to the boarded-up communities of upstate New York to the homes of hospitable strangers, a Minneapolis couple biked the perimeter of the continental United States over the past 14 months.

Anne and David Winkler-Morey, both 54, returned home earlier this month after a 12,200-mile bicycle trip that took them through 34 states, two Mexican states and two Canadian provinces.

Anne was a college professor at St. Cloud State University, where she taught history and race relations until she was laid off in 2010. David is a social worker at Anthony Middle School in Minneapolis. He took a year's leave. They cashed in an insurance policy, sold their car and rented out their house to pay for the trip, and have returned with a treasury of memories that Anne says will be the subject of a book she plans to write with photographs by her husband.

"I always wanted to escape," Anne says. "It was a great and wonderful escape."

The couple will share their experiences with the public Monday, 6 to 8 p.m. at McRae Park, 907 E. 47th St.