Day 22 Barrett, MN -> Sisseton, SD via North Dakota

Friday 12 August 2011. First Day Week 4
It would have been easy to stay another day at “Pearls Place” in Barrett, MN but we have to move on. Today we will add two new states to our quiver. 
The weather radar showed two nasty storms systems moving east. One was just below our route the other a little above it.  Could we be so lucky that the 30 mile corridor we are riding will be rain free?? Well we were. No rain, no hail or wind just over cast sky’s and moderate temperatures.

Ten miles out of town an older well dressed women passed us in her car and stopped.  She wanted to know where we were going and where we came from.  She told us she used to have a restaurant and would give free breakfasts to cross country cyclist.  Another good person doing good things for others, this country is full of them.

Sometimes when you enter a new state on a remote back road there is no sign or even a marker identifying the border crossing.  We try and get a photo next to each states “Welcome” sign whenever possible. When our GPS said we entered North Dakota there was no “welcome sign” to be found. We knew this would be the case from looking at that location with Google Earth. We knew the only available welcome sign is on the highway. 


 We rode our bikes past the Dakota Magic Casino on the border to the on ramp of the freeway up to the sign. For some reason that lane of the freeway was closed to traffic so it was done easily and safely.

Some photos are just harder to get.

As we crossed the Bois de Sioux River into South Dakota we could see some people fishing below the bridge.

The river was flowing swiftly over a spillway.  In the water were a few Pelicans working.  It seemed a bit odd to see a bird like this in the Midwest! Last time I saw a Pelican I was in Florida!  The river was beautiful and full of fish.  We could see them jumping up out of the water and returning with a splash. Most fish looked to be about 16 to 18” long.  The Pelicans would try and gobble up any fish that jumped too close.

Not far from the river you could see a change in the landscape. It looked like we may see some more varied vegetation when we saw a field of beets growing and a curving road.  But this soon gave way to straight flat riding.

A  while later we crossed the north/south Continental Divide.

We see less corn and more wheat and hay being harvested. But there is still plenty of corn to look at.  It is incredible the amount of corn we have seen so far beyond what anyone could imagine without seeing it.
We ended our day in Sisseton, SD.  A small town in the middle of a soybean field.

Tomorrow if all goes as planned we will rendezvous with the package that was shipped to us on Monday from Connecticut.  Inside the box we have new tires tubes and some other needed supplies, maybe some goodies from the bakery?.

89 Miles

1566 Feet of Climbing

Temperature 60 - 75 degrees




And now today's report from the WWTII reporter on the road

2:30 PM EST.  North Dakota complete.  Looks flat
11:18 AM CST (12:18 PM EST) The team reports crossing the border into South Dakota from Minnesota.  Headed for North Dakota to check in and then head South West into SD to land in Sisseton.
Updates as they are available

On the road to North Dakota.

Day 21 Albany, MN -Barrett, MN

Thursday 11 August 2011. Last Day Week 3

The night before each day of riding we go over our route looking at the elevation profile and decide how many miles we will travel. When we go to bed we know all the work is done for the next day and all we have to do is ride.

After eating the free breakfast at the motel Ken was returning to the room when he ran into another two cyclists coming out of their room. The couple, a retired school teacher and his wife were riding from North Dakota to Chicago.  They told Ken of a Rails to Trails route they were riding that may cross our route.  They handed Ken a map to keep and look over.

If you do not know what a Rails to Trails route is I will explain.  It is where an old unused railroad track has been removed and replaced with pavement for people to walk or ride bicycles on.  This peculiar trail is closed to all motorized vehicles….except snowmobiles in the winter.

This trail is called the Wobegon trail and is over 100 miles long.  About 45 miles of it somewhat paralleled our route so in a mad panic we changed all our lodging plans and route to utilize as much of this trail as we could. The only available lodging we could find was Pearls Place in Barrett, MN. We had no idea what it even looked like.  When we called a nice women answered the phone and was happy to answer any questions we had.  She said for $99 we could rent an entire 3 bedroom two bath house.  Ken asked her a few times “is it clean” because we have had some real dumps in the past.  She assured him it was nice and clean so we booked it.

The bicycle trail was fantastic.  No cars and well maintained the 12 foot wide asphalt roadway made for some great cycling.  You did not have to worry about traffic or any other road hazards. It was beautiful.  We even came across a bicycle shop on the trail.  Only the third we have seen and the only one that was open so we went in. Tim bought tubes and some new bar tape. Ken bought a new water bottle and a few other items.  We borrowed their grease gun to lubricate our peals and we were off.

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes and they are not kidding either.There are lakes everywhere. Next to one of these lakes is Barrertt where we will be staying. We pulled into the tiny town and saw three young kids tossing apples into the road for the occasional car to run over. The apples looked good so Tim and Ken went over to grab a couple to eat. The young kids thought the “big kids” may yell at them for tossing apples into the road so they stopped. One boy offered to scale the tree and get Tim and Ken a nice red apple from up high. You could see they were a bit nervous about all the apples in the road and tried to act like they knew nothing of it.  Ken sensed their uneasiness and said hey if the apples are on the ground it is alright to toss them onto the roadway.  Immediately the apple tossing continued as Tim and Ken filed their pockets with the tasty apples.

Just a little further down the road we found “Pearls Place”.  It was a beautiful little house with flowers and a perfectly manicured lawn. Once inside we found a fully furnished home neat as a pin and spotlessly clean.  All this for $99!  The women on the phone was right.

Across the street was a little restaurant/bar/liquor store called the Barrett Inn.  At first we were a bit nervous of the combination. But once inside we could see this was going to be good home cooking and it was. It was an all you can eat fried chicken with all the fixings and a salad bar. Great food, good people and super service for $7.50 each how can you beat it.  We took 3 slices of the homemade pie back to our little pad for an after dinner snack.

Outside the restaurant we met the “coolest dude in town” Jared Lock,  A young boy on  BMX bike who lives next to our rented house.  We hope to hear from him on our blog….Jared??

We only covered 73 miles today because of availability of a place to sleep.  Remember our sleep spots determine our daily mileage.  On the east coast we have many motels and other places to choose from.  But out here in the boonies it is a bit different.  There is nearly nothing to choose from.  Tonight though we did good in that department with Pearls Place.

With our bellies full we retried to our little house for a good nights sleep.

73 Miles

1675 Feet of Climbing

Temperature 60 - 75 degrees

The "View" from the WoBeGon trail..

 

Tunnel

Update from the trail:

Bike Path Albany to Alexandria 45 miles along the highway.

Bike Path

Day 20 Princeton, MN -> Albany, MN

Wednesday 10 August 2011. Day 6 Week 3

Easy day of riding and an even easier day of blog reporting.

75 Miles

2311 Feet of Climbing

Temperature 60 - 75 degrees

Day 19 Hudson, WI to Princeton, MN

Tuesday 9 August 2011. Day 5 Week 3

Most people think climbing the hills or mountains is the hardest part of riding a bicycle across the country. It is not.  The hardest part is overcoming the weather conditions Mother Nature tosses at you.
Today the wind was the big player for us.  A steady sustained 20+ mph wind blew in our faces most of the day.

It is like climbing a never ending hill that wants to howl in your ears all day.  At least when you are climbing a hill you see a reason for the effort you are giving up.  But when you are on flat ground and have to push to go nowhere it gets frustrating.  The panniers on our bikes act like parachutes slowing us down even more.

Our route took us north along the banks of the St Croix river before turning west at the end of the day. We left Wisconsin and returned into Minnesota and are now heading west towards the border between North and South Dakota.
We have had tires and supplies shipped from Connecticut to Aberdeen, SD.  The plan is to restock our bikes and change tires for the next leg.  We have to stay on schedule to pick up our package.

91 Miles
3051 Feet of Climbing
Temperature 70-78 degrees

Noon Report.  Just talked to the team and they say it is quite windy, From Ken the WWTII reporter on the Scene himself,.

Morning news:
Looks like another good weather day for the team in and around Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota:
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Northwest wind between 14 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Day 18 Winona, MN -> Hudson, Wi

Monday 8 August 2011. Day 4 Week 3

Once again Mother Nature threatened to rain us out but did not deliver the goods.
Instead we had cool weather with mostly cloudy skies to push our heavy bikes down the road. Just perfect.

With the cool weather we were able to maintain a reasonable 13.5 MPH pace.  It my seem slow but when you are running a bicycle that is loaded like a semi, 13.5 MPH is moving right along.
Early in the day we crossed into our 11th state of the tour, Wisconsin. This part of Wisconsin reminds me of Vermont with its small roads and dairy farms.  Just like Vermont, Wisconsin is famous for cheese.

All the towns we passed today were very small.  Most with populations of under 500 people.  We did come across a town with a porta-potty that seemed to have it all, including an ATM. How convenient.
Just like on most of this trip all our roads today were scenic and nearly traffic free.

104 Miles

4226 Feet of Climbing

Temperature 75-80 degrees

Forecast for Winona:
Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Widespread fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph


Looks like the team is ready to cross the Mississippi again into Wisconsin.  There are some hills along the river, look for the "climbing" number to be a little higher today.

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.