Woaaah, livin’ on a prayer

At 2200ish miles into the trip, I think I’m about half way there! I have the trip scheduled to clock in at 96 days, so this also marks the half way time wise.

Made it to Minnesota

Eight states down, six-ish to go! I crossed into Minnesota first thing this morning by cutting through a small trail from the campground to a pedestrian sidewalk along the highway bridge.

I had to climb up a hill to get up and over the bluff along the river, but after that the riding was gently rolling through farmland. The roads were very quiet with a few exceptions (good shoulders on those roads) and made for peaceful riding. Not tons of services along the route today, but the gas station in Harris was quite well stocked so I got a coffee and a chocolate milk and a baked good (really not sure what it was… but it tasted good!).

I stopped for a brief rest in Grandy at a mini picnic pavilion. Lying on the picnic bench I noticed the heel of my shoe was not so attached anymore… time for new bike shoes. I’ve had this pair for about seven years and love them, so am bummed, but not shocked, that they’re broken. The thing with going on a tour like this is you put about five years of wear and tear on your gear in one summer, so it’s inevitable you’ll need to replace/fix some things along the way.

I was hoping for a picnic pavilion for a rest and snack in Dalbo, but there was nothing in town. However, there was something even better up the road a mile: the Adventure Bicycling Bunkhouse. It’s a family farm that took in some cyclists to camp in 2006 then let the Adventure Cycling Association know they were happy to have cyclists camp in their yard and now they have a whole barn outfitted with bunk rooms and snacks and arm chairs. They typically see about 150-200 cyclists in a year. This year numbers are down, so it’s not just that I’m not seeing many cyclists, there just aren’t tons out here for whatever reason. Donn have me a good overview of what’s ahead in Minnesota and he had a page where other cyclists had given some hints on great places to stay along the route, so I have a photo of that to reference as I head west.

After Dalbo, it was on to Milaca. I stopped at a cafe and Dairy Queen by the highway. My cousin Kit was meeting me at the Dairy Queen to pick me up and take me to spend a couple days with her family in New Prague (which is where I actually am, but I left Milaca as the location for today so the map reflects the route better). Kit and John and their daughter Kat’s family share a big farm and house where they have about 17 horses - a mix of their own and boarders. There are also four dogs, though one is their daughter Katie’s and not a permanent resident. Kit and John picked me up after their golf tournament and we went to dinner with their golf buddies in town. I’m now enjoying a very comfy bed and looking forward to a rest day with family.