The weather report last night included several disturbing possibilities. There was a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms. The storms might include lightning and hail, and there would be gusty winds out of the south (we are basically going south) between 15 and 25 mph. The upside is that we all agreed that a day with some cloud cover would be a good thing. And in the end, only the last of the terrible things came to pass. We had an epic headwind for many miles.
The rain began in the night, and it was sprinkling in the morning. The hotel had automatic sprinklers set up right next to our trailer, making it impossible to load our luggage. These were not gentle little sprinklers. They were more like small, directed fire hoses. Apparently, there was no manual override, so the helpful desk clerk finally put inverted plastic buckets over the heads. I hope that he waited until the end of their cycle to remove them.
My raincoat came off in the first few miles. It is a good raincoat, and therefore too hot. To be really waterproof, the fabric can’t be porous, and it it is impermeable no air can get through. I kept it on my bike but didn’t need it the rest of the day.
The wind kicked up very early. I was riding with several people, and we took turns “pulling.”. Pulling involves riding in the front of a line of riders to break the wind. On the Tour de France they do this all the time. The difference is that they pull at about 35 mph, and we could barely manage 12. I consoled myself that it was not hailing, or lightening, or even raining hard. I knew that it would be a long day, but that we’d get there eventually.
One thing that was striking today was how few people we saw. We were riding on county roads, through farm country, but there were very few cars for a summer Saturday. We passed lakes that looked like they might be vacation destinations, but they were largely deserted. It is possible that all of the people who live here were off protesting at the state Capitol. The state is still on strike, apparently
Beautiful Minnesota farm country. We passed lots of soybean fields today.
Connie and Sherry pause to consult the cue sheet.
A young Amish man drove by in a cart with two beautiful horses, and I couldn’t quite get my camera out fast enough.
The fields are dotted with neatly packaged hay bales. It is really quite lovely, because they hay contrasts with the many shades of green.
This anomalous church was by far the largest building in a very small town.
The first of many times that we will cross theMississippi on this trip.
Our sous chef, Barb, puts the final touches on an excellent feast.
Bibliocyclist 