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.