Posted on by Greg

Bike Across America – Day 31

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Start: Mankato, Minnesota
End: Rochester, Minnesota
Mileage today/cumulative: 101 / 2,270
Elevation Ascended: 2,083′
Weather: Sunny, 71° at start; cloudy, 82° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

Today’s ride was windy. How windy, you ask? On today’s ride I’m pretty sure that I saw Dorothy, her house, and Toto, followed by my ex-mother-in-law riding a broom.  This ride was a complete Minnesota beat down and we were never happier to see our hotel at the end when we finally rolled in at 3:00. And then this popped up on my phone while Bev was showering:

This was soon followed by a “Minnesota nice” Hampton Inn employee knocking on the door to inform us that we were under a tornado warning and that “if the wind picks up, get in the bathtub.” Well, okay, if I MUST get back in the shower/tub with my hot wife…

Today, the view on both sides of the road had four variations: corn and corn, corn and soy, soy and corn, soy and soy. It’s also apparent that every town in Minnesota schedules all of their road construction in July. I guess that’s what happens when winter begins in September and ends in June. Because of that, we had detours that added a mile and one-half to the ride. That wouldn’t have been a big deal except that we were already riding 99 miles into relentless, punishing headwinds with repeated gusts that moved our bikes where we weren’t pointing them. It also pushed us over 100 miles for consecutive days. The road conditions were rough for most of the route, so combined with the wind and mileage, we agreed that this was the toughest day so far.

The tornado warning has been lifted, torrential rain has stopped, and skies are clearing. Tomorrow is our last day in Minnesota and we’re counting on better conditions to push us over the Mississippi River and into Wisconsin!

Some nice Lutherans let us set up our 1st SAG stop in front of their church after our planned stop got bumped by road construction.
A mural in the town of West Concord.
Main Street in West Concord with the obligatory water tower in the background.
Our 2nd SAG stop of the day. 65 miles in and nobody was looking forward to another 36 into the wind.
Take shelter now! Save Pete the Prairie Dog!

11 Replies to “Bike Across America – Day 31”

  1. Don’t know how you could ride in that wind. You guys are amazing. I see you using the tornado excuse back in TN when you want to get in the shower with your hot wife!

  2. Hate wind on the bike – it is the worst. Love this blog, though. Hang tough, Team Pea!

  3. Glad you make it through your toughest day safe and sound. Sound of mind?….Let’s consult John Day.

  4. Long day for the Peas! The Relive video looks like a dull ride through squares and rectangles of light and dark brown plots, of course that graphic part may not be current. I guess right now those plots are a corn shade of green and a soy bean shade of green 🙂
    It’s pretty darn humid here in TN, even in the mountains. Best part of yesterday’s hike was walking through the Little River!

    1. HA! Yes, it was corn green and soy green. We were excited to see kale and broccoli today. At this point it doesn’t take much to get us excited.

  6. Wait, you’re not in Kansas any more?? 😉 Sounds tough, but I know you guys are tougher. Am so enjoying your blog, from the comfort of my home.

  7. Adios, Minnesota! I’m sure you won’t miss all that MN has thrown at you. Hello Wisconsin! (Hey, I got 53 miles in today!!)

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