Bike Across America – Day 30

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Start: Worthington, Minnesota
End: Mankato, Minnesota
Mileage today/cumulative: 111 / 2,169
Elevation Ascended: 1,325′
Weather: Cloudy, 70° at start; partly cloudy, 82° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

It took thirty days and 2,090 miles, but we finally got wet. We were hoping to outride the rain today but it finally caught us thirty miles into the route. Nothing hard – just enough to make a mess of our bikes and clothing. We skirted thunderstorms for the first half of the ride, keeping our eyes out for buildings that could provide shelter from lightning and grateful that we didn’t need them today. In the end, it turned out to be another beautiful ride in Minnesota with rolling farmland and interesting skies. We ran into our share of road construction and minor detours over dirt and gravel roads but nothing that did more than make an even bigger mess of our bikes. We’re also still in search of an unkind Minnesotan but I think they must deport them to New Jersey.

The towns between Worthington and Mankato are small town Midwest with tree lined streets and green lawns. Each town has a grain elevator, which can be seen from several miles out. There were also lots of hog farms that are hard to miss because the smell can be detected from miles away. We spent some late miles on a shaded bike path that had a few downed tress from the storm that we managed to miss. A little bush whacking and tree hurdling with bikes made the ride that much more interesting.

Because it was a longer mileage day and the forecast called for a high chance of early afternoon thunderstorms at our destination, we pushed hard to “get it done”. The forecast turned out to be wrong but that was okay. It just meant extra time for a Dairy Queen visit, bike cleaning, a quick load of laundry, and showering. We silently apologized to Holiday Inn Express for all of the dirt and grime that ended up in our shower drain. When riding a bicycle, everything sticks to sunscreen. Sand, mud, even the road spray from passing cattle trucks (lovely!). Showering tonight reminded me of returning home from week-long Boy Scout summer camp and my mother making me strip down before entering the house (presumably so that she could burn my clothing) and getting in the shower, which was hopelessly overmatched.

We began this adventure exactly one month ago by dipping our wheels in the Pacific Ocean and we’ve ridden our bicycles more than 2,000 miles in that time. You’d think it would get old but we wake up with just as much excitement and anticipation of what the day will bring as we did on day one. Tomorrow is another day and it’s “only” 99 miles to Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic!