Day 51: Rollin’ on the River

I crossed the Mississippi River!! Though I think I cross back tomorrow…

The Breakfast of Champions: S’mores

After missing out on s’mores last night, I woke up this morning craving one so I made one to go with my morning coffee. I had some more non-s’more breakfast after so I’d be well fueled for the day.

Bryce gave me a ride back to Milaca and told me all about the area and the local history and cities and economies along the way. As we neared Milaca we saw a lot of detour signs for the road I was supposed to be riding, so Bryce dropped me off one town further west where I got off that road. Detours designed for cars can be treacherous or too long for a bicyclist, so I was happy to have Bryce’s help in avoiding one.

The winds were strong today, but I was stronger. 20mph headwinds would have been killer a month ago, and still weren’t easy riding today, but definitely conquer-able and mostly above a 10mph crusing speed. I was biking through lots of farmland today, so the bowed cornstalks were good proof of the wind speeds.

I stopped at a convenience store to find chocolate milk midday and it turned out it was also a pub. They had chocolate milk and cheesey garlic bread on the menu, so I was sold. Talking with the folks there, it sounds like quite a few cyclists stop through there. While there, an older couple doing a hybrid road/bike trip along the northern tier stopped in and we chatted for a bit.

After another 20 miles or so, I stopped at a nice little park in Royalton for a picnic along the Platte River. Then a few miles past that, I crossed the Mississippi River. Despite the nice river crossings today, I was disappointed by the lack of lakes given Minnesota’s nickname as the land of 10,000 lakes.

I then turned north and headed along the Mississippi to Little Falls where I’m camping tonight. I rolled in and was about to unpack when I saw an ominous cloud headed my way. Sure enough, the radar showed a thunder cloud about to pass through. I took Bubba up to the bathroom building and parked him under the overhang, and found a nice bench under the overhand on the other side for myself. Me and all my things were able to stay dry and once the skies were blue again, I set up camp. It is very very buggy here, so it’s been a quiet evening of staring at maps and reading.