Day 31 
Today was a 4-H ride...hills, humidity, heat, and a hundred...oh, and haze too...I guess that's 5

DAILY REPORT: 

Right out of the motel we faced a 10% climb out of town...whew!  I thought we left the Tetons a couple weeks ago!  To say it was a knee breaker so early in the morning would be an understatement.  I was sweep today so I was looking forward to a long day in the saddle with the afternoon heat, but at least I'm on my bike.  I left the motel just before the last riders so I could climb the hill and snap a couple photos before everyone got over the top.  The view back down was even more impressive than the look up from the bottom.  As I was snapping photos, two deer ran across the road just behind the last riders...what's deer doing in town?  They were smart though, they were running across the road and not up the hill. 

After everyone got by, I waited for Karen to ride up the hill so we could ride together and when she got there, off we strolled.  About 3 miles down the road I had this funny feeling that something was amiss...we should have caught the back end by this time.  I told Karen that somehow I had the feeling that riders were behind us.  A mile farther down the road, we came upon Jim working in Debbie's bike and I asked him if we were at the back.  About then we saw several riders coming up the hill behind us...yep, the entire back end had missed a turn.  Finally, my ducks were all in line...well, not so fast.  When we got to the first SAG, I had everyone accounted for...or at least I thought I did.  Just as the last rider was leaving the SAG and Karen and I were getting ready to pull out, here came Alfredo.  He's missed a turn and ended up about 12 miles off route before someone told him how to get back on course.  Geese, I had riders scattered all over Minnesota!

Today wasn't all fun and games though...by afternoon, the temperatures were rising into the 80s but the humidity was higher.  It got pretty muggy before we got to the second SAG.  As we were riding the air seemed to cool the body pretty well until about 2:30...after that, it was a struggle.  Beyond the heat and humidity, I gave the riders an option of riding a nice bike path around the city of Rochester to get them off a busy road to the motel.  Well, this bike path system isn't user friendly and in the late afternoon heat, most everyone got lost a couple times.  I thought everyone would want to lynch me at rap tonight...they were all polite, but reserved the right to reconsider at a later time.

It was a tough day alright, but I think everyone would agree that Minnesota farm land is beautiful.  I know I've said it before, but the farms are magnificent diamonds set in emerald fields of corn or soybeans. Each farm is a gem:  neat and tidy, houses painted, lawns mowed right up to the outbuildings, hanging flower baskets and large flower gardens, and shade trees. (One house I noticed even had phlox planted on either side of the whistle under their driveway.)  As we departed into the eastern sunrise, the dew was heavy and the reflection on the foliage was serene.  Everywhere you looked there were tree islands sheltering silos, barns, and farm lots.  Meadowlarks sang their summer songs in the early morning as we pedaled to our destination.  When people ask me why I ride a bicycle across the nation, it's days like this that draw me to the road.  You can just let your mind wander as you pedal through changing scenery ... or you can solve all the world's problems, depends on whether you're Type A or Type B, though come to think of it, I don't think I've ever met a Type B cyclist.

After a long, hot day in the saddle, Jim and I performed maintenance...Jim had to make a couple trips to a bike shop to replace Big Mike's worn out chainring.  He had to have his spare bike shipped to us on the road because the bike he was riding has a cracked frame.  He was down a day or two waiting for the replacement bike to show up...we made him honorary SAG person while he wasn't riding.  He's the only person we've ever had on our rides that can put a bike on the top of our vans while standing on the ground.  That little trait has come in handy a couple times this trip.

Yes, it was a tough day, but all finished and are ready to do it again tomorrow.  We'll start a little later, but early to beat the heat.  We're looking forward to a better bike path tomorrow...at least it's easy to navigate...good thing or I would be lynched.  M

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