We’ve had some long hauls lately. On Tuesday we biked
102 miles, on Wednesday we biked 101 miles and today,
because of construction detours, our scheduled 89 mile
ride turned out to be 96 miles.
Yesterday’s ride into Rochester, MN was one of the
worst of the trip. You might call it the 5H trip.
Heat, Humidity, Hills, Headwind and Hours (on the
bike). That adds up to Hell. We were beat by the end
of the day. It was one long slog.
Today’s ride into was much better with lower
temperatures and much less humidity. There were some
tough hills but it was very scenic. Although there was
a lot of time on the bike, it wasn’t nearly as painful
as yesterday.
As for milestones, we are now officially in the East
because we crossed the Mississippi River. We entered a
new state, Wisconsin. Also, we are about 2/3 of the
way through the journey.
Things are moving along. Time has become a fluid
concept. In some way Oregon seems like years ago and
in other ways it seems like yesterday. The trip seemed
like it was never to end but now the tour company is
mentioning planning for the arrival in New Hampshire.
Tomorrow’s ride to the Wisconsin Dells should be
interesting. A big chunk of it will be on a rail
trail. If you are not familiar with a rail trail it is
an abandoned railroad that has been converted to a
recreational trail. The Rails to Trails Conservancy is
the advocate for this nationwide project. Their web
address is:
http://www.railtrails.org/index.html
Attached is an amusing photo that the guide took of
me standing in front of a mural painted on the side
of a building in the little town of W. Concord, MN.
