Today's 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 and with only about 2 blocks to warm up, it was also a lung buster.  I was supposed to be sweep today but Jeff's wife Sondra showed up and took charge of the sweep duties so Karen and I could blast into Rochester to route everyone through a complicated bike path system to the motel.  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.  Last year as I was snapping photos, two deer ran across the road just behind the last riders...and I thought what's deer doing in town?  They were smart though, they were running across the road and not up the hill.  After recording the oxygen deprived riders, off we strolled with Mark in tow to try to catch the front end. 

Today wasn't all fun and games though...we had a "3-H" ride...hills, humidity, and heat.  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 noon...after that, it was a struggle.  It is hot and humid and the locals are saying it's awful, but when the humidity gets like this in Alabama, our furniture starts to crack from lack of moisture.

Beyond the heat and humidity, as I said, we 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 and in spite of our efforts to mark it, several got lost a couple times.  Karen and I had covered the 100 miles before noon and were hustling to mark the path before the riders got into town.  Everything was going well until we made one turn to get them across Broadway and around a mall.  As we crossed a bridge to the west side of the river and started downtown, the bike path became "pedestrian only."  Oops!!!  As we were hustling back to the turn, here came a pack of riders bearing down on us.  We turned them around and found a path map to show them how to get to the motel while I tried to correct the markings I'd just put down to "redirect" the remaining riders down the other east side of the river.  By the time we got everything straightened out, other riders were riding by too.  So off the group went ahead of us as we followed marking the route for the remaining riders.  As Karen and I arrived at the motel, here came the group into the parking lot behind us.  They'd missed the last turn and had ridden to the end of the path beyond the motel turnoff.  I told them they should wait for the "marker" to go through ahead of them...oh well...they found it.  I thought everyone would want to lynch me at rap tonight if they got lost on the path, but they were all polite while reserving 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.  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.

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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