Day 39 Gaylord to Hutchinson, MN

We had a magnificent ride down into the Minnesota river valley after New Prague yesterday. The long, steep decent into the town of Henderson was a white knuckled thrill! A bit less thrilling was the long, steep ascent back OUT of the Minnesota river valley after leaving Henderson. But we just dropped into the granny gears and "ground it out". We managed around 70 miles by the end of the day into Gaylord, and slept soundly as a result. An amusing side note was that we met a fellow cyclist from South Africa who was riding from Minneapolis to Henderson and back and was putting on over a 120-mile day... and he thought WE were nuts.

Today was another pleasant riding day, with all conditions in our favor! The fact that it was a shorter day today made us push a bit harder without really stopping much... so the effect was that at the end of a shorter day we felt similar to our longer days. Hmmm.

Day 38 Waseca to Gaylord, MN

Its a little after 10am and we've stopped at the library in New Prague to post on the blog. I didn't know if Gaylord would have any access, and its been a few days since I've posted.

We're 33 miles into it today. The weather is once again fabulous! In fact it was actually COLD this morning when we set out. After more than a month of 90-degree and higher days, this weather is really a gift! We will eventually have a SE wind which is great as the rest of the day we'll be traveling almost straight west toward Gaylord.

Our itinerary for the rest of the ride should be as follows (weather permitting):
Sun. 7/1 Gaylord to Hutchinson
Mon. 7/2 Hutch. to Willmar
Tues. 7/3 Willmar to Morris
Wed. 7/4 Rest day in Morris
Thurs. 7/5 Morris to Fergus Falls
Fri. 7/6 Fergus Falls to Detroit Lakes
Sat. 7/7 D.L. to Mahnomen
Sun. 7/8 Mahnomen to TRF

I've been informed that the NCTC foundation is planning a reception for us on Monday in the student commons area at 2pm. I'd hope that you would all consider joining us for a root beer float! Also, I'd like to invite anyone that would like to join us on any part of the last day's ride to join us along the route. We'll be coming up highway 59 from Mahnomen. I'd recommend a short ride in from the casino, but if the mood strikes you, join us at any point along the way!!

Day 37 Austin to Waseca, MN

A great big THANK YOU!!! goes out to Bruce and Nancy Rindflesch of Austin for their fantastic hospitality and good humor...our abs still hurt from laughing!!!
Bruce gave us a Ruckus escort out to the Austin city limits, and we on our way. Riding was GREAT! Cool morning air, south wind, and only rolling hills. We made great time to Albert Lea, and stopped at a very odd McDonald's for breakfast. It was all done up like a viking lodge. A few breakfast burritos later we were back on the road and once again made great time all the way to Waseca. It was 57 miles of riding of the kind I had day-dreamed about way back in January!

Andy finally checked his tire pressure... under protest. And found that he was at about 60psi... 40psi low. Well it didn't seem to slow him down too much. Of course we all got a good laugh out it anyway!

Day 35 Charles City, IA - Austin, MN

As luck would have it, the heat broke last night when a small front moved though northern Iowa... and as luck would also have it, the wind changed switched as well and was right out of the north at 6 o'clock this morning at 10-15 mph. We began the day in bigger hills and they lasted for the first 36 miles into St. Ansgar (pronounced: Sintansger). I was somewhat cursing our luck when in the midst of that thinking I passed a cemetery. I began reading the names on the nearest tombstones as I passed, and from that point on I felt very fortunate to be riding a bicycle in ANY weather conditions... always a nice wake up call passing a graveyard!

In St. Ansgar we met up with my cousin Bruce Rindflesch who then provided "local knowledge guiding" and a motorized escort us on his Ruckus scooter.
The terrain evened out and we crossed the Minnesota border on highway 105 and stopped for the traditional border-crossing photos.
The wind continued to pick up and so we just kept crawling along at between 7 and 10 mph all the way into Austin, Minnesota... even Andy had to admit that he was tired and the wind "sucked". All told we spent nearly 10 hours travelling a mere 62 miles.

Bruce and his wife Nancy have the grill fired up, and the alluring scent of some huge burgers (with all the fixings of course!) are prompting me get off the computer. It is GREAT to be back in Minnesota!!!

Day 34 Traer to Charles City, IA

After a great hamburger at the Sunshine Tavern, we enjoyed a real treat last night in Traer, we took in a film at the restored Traer movie house. It was like traveling back in time to the glory days of American theaters in the late 50's and early 60's, and tickets are a DOLLAR... a must visit if you're ever in the area!

This morning we were on the road promptly, but just haven't made the best time. Its nearly 3pm and we've still got about 20 or so miles to go to Charles City. Its hot, humid, but we have a tail wind... not sure whats up with our lack of progress! Iowa is a sea of long low hills, and while its not flat, its also not too bad cycling-wise.

I'm writing from the Clarksville library. "... just take a left at the post office, you can't miss it." Clarksville is another typical midwestern town with friendly people, a drive in, and a downtown area that still has business in it (no Mall!).

Well its back on the road and into the heat. The vague promise of a hot supper and a shower is driving me on... that and the very limited catalog of songs in my mp3 player. Tomorrow at this time we should be in Minnesota!!!

Day 33 Iowa city(Coralville) to Traer, IA

After a longer rest break, Andy and April were up for riding today... While they rested this past weekend I flew to Dallas, TX and attended the 45th annual black belt training clinic for Juko Kai International. I was not quite so rested this morning!

But we hit the road, and the miles seemed to click off pretty regularly today. We put 75 miles behind us, and we are now just over 100 miles from the Minnesota border. Along the way today, I had to turn around and take this photo. It was just too good to pass up! However, in all fairness to the great state of Iowa, the route really was scenic after we passed the corn fields!

I am currently blogging from the Traer public library, and it is a great facility. It is obviously valued by the community as it is state of the art, very well kept, and signs point the way to it in this town of less than 3000.

We're off to find a bit to eat and a shower... the 90 degree weather continues to follow us northward.

Day 29 Mt. Pleasant - Iowa City

After reaching Iowa City today, we have scheduled a long weekend for ourselves. So we will be resting and recovering in Iowa City until Monday Morning... I probably will not contribute much to the blog until leave Iowa city.

The photo is of the storm we thought we would be riding through on our way to rest, but as luck would have it we got all rain-suited-up and it blew right by us!