DAY
30
Worthington to Mankato MN
July 15
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| Distance: 102 Miles | Climbing: 947 Feet | Winds: SW 5-10 early, Light and Variable later in the day | |||
| Weather: Sunny and warm to hot...89 high | Terrain: Tame...rolling at best | ||||
Today's Report:
My day in the truck today...it looked like a long one, but a good one none-the-less. We started the day with a hearty buffet at the small Country Kitchen we ate at last night. They put on a nice spread to get us fueled and ready to go for a long day in the saddle. The morning departure was very comfortable as we pulled out on hwy 60 to the northeast. All the roads in this area run east and west and are perfect grids of 1 mile squares (not all paved however) except for hwy 60 that runs SW to NE. We rode several sections of that highway today...sections that had a shoulder where we could get out of the traffic lane. We broke off and out into the country after the first SAG at 30 miles and stayed on quiet backroads until the 80 mile point.
All in all it was a pretty uneventful day...Ho Hum in the van but just like I like it every day. The big news was that Nate's mom again supplied a gourmet SAG stop complete with ham salad/chicken salad pitas, fruit, macaroni salad, and plenty of snacks. For some reason no one was interested in Jeff's bananas he was displaying at our regular SAG.
The
scenery all day was vast farmland and for those who liked to see corn, they must
have been in heaven. We passed corn field after corn field with a soybean field
or two thrown in for good measure. Last year at a rap session, one of my staff
gave us a talk about corn and how it was one of the few plants that had both the
male and female parts on the same plant. He explained how the farmers cross
pollinated the plants to improve the hybrid corn crops and somehow equated the
pollination process as a corn "dating service." There's no end to the things
you learn out here...some more important than others of course.
Speaking of important
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 to
the truck and get going. I'll not do that again...good judgment over modesty
anytime!
Tonight we say good by to Tom R. who's ridden with us all the way from Astoria, but duty calls him away. He has some important engagements he can't get out of so he'll farewell tonight. We'll miss his "research" and his good nature...good luck Tom...hope you'll join us again.
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 and we are expecting rain...we'll see. 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.
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PHOTOS AND SUCH |
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A WISE MAN ONCE SAID: "At this point
in the ride, it's just mind over matter."
"Mike, where's the best place to be in case of a lightning strike?"
"Should I change out this tire?" |
We always stress the importance of hydration. Today Robert took it one step farther and carried the entire water tower on his modified helmet. He said it wasn't too bad, but he did have a sore neck when he got to town. |
Another TOUGH day on the road. |
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British conservatism gone awry with that jersey..."I think it's a bit fetching," Chris commented.
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Out here, everywhere you look you see old farm equipment serving their last days as lawn art. |
See what I mean? |
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