Monday, July 3. Royalton, MN to Osakis, MN.
https://ride.biketheusforms.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=1436
(I had to re-write this, as I lost my draft, so now I'm a day and 58 miles away from those memories already, so my writing is probably less colorful.)
I went to bed at a decent time, but I woke up to a drunken man talking sternly to his dog (I almost intervened), and then later to the sound of heavy rain drops that sounded like a wall of pouring rain as it approached. It only lasted maybe 15 minutes, but my bath towel and bike chamois I had left out to dry were certainly no longer dry!
In the morning, I was packed and ready to leave with most of the group. Our wonderful camp hosts left us donuts and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, as well as hot coffee! Hooray!
Leaving camp, we stopped for photos as we crossed the Mississippi River, which wasn't as wide as I expected it to be. Though, we are fairly close to where it starts, I suppose.
Two miles down the road, we hung a left onto the shaded and cool Soo Trail, which features a few small towns along the way, a fun Boho Art/Coffee house, a random, oversized snowmobile statue made of wood, and a covered bridge. It led us into the town of Albany where we connected to Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Trail®️. It was 26 miles to Rest Stop 1 in Freeport, MN where there were super nice Sinclar gas station hosts that gave us coffee and I bought a double decker Oatmeal Cream Pie!
Carrying onward, it was 16 miles to
Rest Stop 2 in Sauk. I bought a foam roller for the group (but really for me that I will leave with the group!) in Walmart and a Caribou Coffee iced mocha. Hallelujah for my first Caribou on this trip!!
It was hot in the sun, though windy, and uphill the entire rest of the way to Osakis. I'm still in a lot pain - seems to be a pinched nerved in my back or neck causing pain in my upper back and shoulders, and numbness down to my fingers. I spent most of the day stretching while riding. I don't understand how anyone could possibly be comfortable on a bicycle.
Once in Osakis, I was thankful to stay in Osakis High School, which the Principal very kindly opened up for us. It was great to have a real, nice shower. Many of us set up our tents to dry out in the sun. Jeremy and I went to the 24-Hour Laundromat to get a quick load in, then headed for a truly delicious dinner at O-Town Tavern - complete with cheddar cheese curds! The burgers were also fresh and so good! We talked with the bartender about the trip and she was pretty amazed at what we are doing, as are most people when they learn about the distances we cover. While wandering around, we went in to Barnyard Bowling and threw a pretty pitiful game! It was lots of fun, though. We were the only ones bowling while the locals ate dinner. Surely, they're used to people bowling since its adjacent to the restaurant. Next, we went for dipped twisty cones at the Tip Top Dairy Bar, which opened in 1955. The sun was very much still up at 9pm, but I headed to bed as soon as possible. I wanted to try to get caught up on some sleep!
Thank you for following along!
If you feel compelled to donate to Bike The US for MS, here's the link:
No comments:
Post a Comment