Day 30 -- Land of 10,000 lakes, but all of them were in the air today--drip, drip

July 20, 2004

ROUTE: Worthington MN to Mankato MN          
DISTANCE:  102 miles                  
WINDS: Zilch

WEATHER: Overcast and very humid; few drops of rain occasionally           
TERRAIN: Pretty tame all day...             
TOTAL CLIMBING: 1,480 feet

RIDE OVERVIEW: Mike here. Welcome to Minnesota . . . the state where the women are pretty, the men are good looking, and the children are all above average . . . according to the Prairie Home Companion. Our ride today was on Hwy 60 out of Worthington to Windom where we took back roads to Madelia and from there it was back on Hwy 60 to Mankato.  The scenery all day was vast farmland, and those who liked to see corn, must have been in heaven. The word of the day was "Green."  It's a sharp contrast from what we were seeing in South Dakota where the rolling rangeland and large wheat fields were mostly brown.  Everywhere you looked today all you'd see was green...If it wasn't corn or soybeans standing in perfectly straight rows that stretched to the horizon, it was tall grass that gave a different hue to the green patchwork that dominated the landscape.  It's really nice to be back into country that looks fertile again and, according to NPR, these farms are run by Norwegian Bachelor Farmers...mostly (ever heard of Powder Milk Biscuits?).  I think we are going to see a lot of corn and gently rolling terrain for the next few days...uff da! You betcha.

There's just no end to the things you learn out here . . . experience is golden. Today I just relearned the lesson I should have remembered from '96 when I rode across Minnesota with Cycle America.  You don't ever walk into the tall grass to "use the facilities."  That's where 1,000,000 mosquitoes live and they are all hungry! I forgot that important lesson until I had to stop and go to the bathroom and wanted to hide from possible on coming traffic.  I was covered before I could get out of the grass and had to do the two step to get back on the bike and get going.  I'll not do that again . . . good judgment over modesty anytime!

We had rap before dinner and dinner was at a Country Buffet...great spread.  If anyone went away hungry after tonight's spread, they weren't trying.  Tomorrow we ride another century.  It won't be long before we'll wave good bye to this beautiful state, but tomorrow we'll enjoy another day in the corn.  See you then. Mike

This is Susan picking this up on the road today:  Most of yesterday we passed pig farms--immaculate pig farms but odoriferous nonetheless. This morning several pig transports passed us, pink piggy snouts poking out. I wonder if Wilbur was aboard. I hope not.  Last night at dinner Bill said that he'd been tempted to pay an impromptu visit to one of yesterday's pig farms. We told Bill that he probably would not have been welcomed. Pigs are very susceptible to many human diseases and to sunburn and heat stroke, too. One must gown up and wear a mask to visit the piglets and suckling sows at the OSU pig farms, for example.

The country roads we've been traveling in Minnesota between all these farms and corn/soybean fields are--like all else I've seen in this state so far--very well kept up and marked.  They usually have two sets of full lane rumbles before stop signs, however, so bicyclists must be alert or they'll shake themselves up.

The last rider got in at 4 p.m. today, the first one, RePete--who was trying for a 5-hour century--got in just under the wire.  I got in at 3 p.m. because Mark said that he would sweep the last few riders on the road.  My compass must not have been working today because I got lost momentarily three (count 'em) times today. Took the right onto CR 13 out of Windom but then became perplexed when it teed at Collins St. which was not on the route sheet.  Russell & Ian were there, and Russ cased it out and got us on the right track--which was just around a curve in the road. Then I went a block or so beyond CR 216, which the route sheet said was "easy to miss."  Just had to prove the accuracy of the route sheet, I guess.  In Mankato I took the frontage road before Frontage Road when coming into town.  Russ saw that one, too.  When I got to the motel, he said, "Did you get lost again?" Well... not lost, exactly...

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: 

• "At first I would have said that this ride was perfectly flat, but then--duh!--I remembered that the earth is round!"    
• "Go Lance!!!"   
• Ted did the classic clip-in fall-over in the parking lot of the second SS today. Louis, always sympathetic, said, "Hey Ted! Your tooth affecting your sense of balance?" [Ted had a bothersome wisdom tooth extracted yesterday in Worthington]

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

On our route today we found a set of bleachers facing a set
 of railroad tracks, nothing else int he area. Josh got
into the spirit of things after sitting there for a minute
or two.  I think he's been on the road too long as
he was muttering, "Wow!!  This is exciting!"

He did sit on the bleachers long enough to be treated by a passing train which allowed him to enjoy the
full experience.  Guess it doesn't take much to entertain the locals...or Josh, for that matter

Three J's (Jeff, Judith, and Jim) preparing to leave SS#2.  Judith's Camelbak isn't really a Minnesota
Vikings model ... that's just a banana she's tucked into the top.

Purple Paul:  "I don't know what happened, but something put a great dent in my rim and slashed my tire.  I'm going to need both a replacement wheel and a tire,  preferably purple if you have it."

Mark: "Omygawd this is giving me heart palpations , , , I think we're all out of purple.
Would magenta be close enough?"

Got SPF-45?

This must be Paul's day...he was so embarrassed about the goofy face (left) that he decided to
walk the rest of the way to Mankato.