Day 17 Ion, Iowa -> Winona, Minnesota

Sunday 7 August 2011. Day 3 Week 3.

Moments after the alarm went off in our cabin at 5:30 AM we heard the rumble of thunder and saw the flashes of lighting. It was dark in the cabin and each lightning bolt lit the room for a moment like a flash bulb going off.
As the storm approached the wind picked up to the point where it was blowing and swirling like a hurricane. Next an incredible downpour of rain began.
Instead of getting out of bed each rider just laid there listening to what could be the beginning of a real bad day. Our cabin did not have a TV so we were unable to look at the weather forecast. In the back of everyone’s mind was “I am not going out in that stuff” it was raining that hard. Hopping on a bike in a storm like that would not only be miserable beyond words but also unsafe. The problem is we need to ride every day to stay on schedule and within our budget. Everyone knows Time=Money.
Just as quickly as the storm appeared it vanished. The wind stopped and so did the rain. Looking out the window we could see the ponds of water the downpour had created in just a few minutes.

We saddled up the metal ponies and after saying good-by to our friendly hosts at the Natural Gait we hit the road. That would be all Mother Nature would throw at us today.

The rest of the day was mostly cloudy and the temperature very comfortable in the low 80’s.

Our route went North and followed the Mississippi River. A few hours after leaving the cabin we entered the 10th state of the tour Minnesota.

We are seeing less corn and more trees and hills. Much better scenery for riding today’s 95 miles.

The once novel sighting of a crop dusting aircraft is now becoming the norm. Even we are getting use to seeing the dive bombing planes now.

95 Miles

4408 Feet of Climbing

Temperature 75-85 degrees


Team crossed into Minnesota about lunch time.