Day 26

Miles: 128

Mileage from start: 2,331

Today, the weather was great. If I couldn’t see it for myself, a nice lady with gray hair twisted up and pinned perfectly biking along the Paul Bunyan Trail with us told me. “Perfect day,” she said, beaming.

The temperature was pleasant, the breeze was mild and we made progress in reasonable time. 

We left the campground around 9 and got back on the bike trail. Minnesota seems to have invested in bike trails quite a bit and it’s a nice resource. 

There are many things I like about thrubiking over thruhiking, but the cars are not one of them. To some extent you get used to the constant noise and, by far, most drivers are careful and safe. But I definitely miss leaving roads and ducking into the woods to have the chance to escape the frontcountry.

We stopped midmorning at a grocery store for provisions then continued on. For me, the afternoon lasted forever. I couldn’t find anything to think about and after what seemed like an entire day, we’d only gone 65 miles. We took a break at 4:30 with about 40 miles left to our intended destination. I ate 800 calories of burrito and ice cream and felt much better. I barely noticed the last 40. Ice cream makes everything better.

We’re staying tonight at a cycler’s hostel near Dalbo, Minnesota. It’s run by a very friendly man who has converted his barn into a kitchen, shower, bathroom and bunkhouse for thrucyclists. It’s by-donation-only and he’s thought of everything. He keeps a pantry stocked and there’s appliances to make pizzas and stovetop cooking and coffee. There’s wifi and plenty of outlets to charge everything. 

He said he hasn’t had anyone come by the last three nights, but tonight there are four parties. And on Friday, he’s expecting a group of 30 that are biking from Washington, D.C. to Washington state to raise money for MS. This is a lovely place but I’m glad we came through on a quieter night.

Let’s hope the good weather holds!!