Day 18, 27 July, (Distance Biked 46.5 miles): Day 18 was all trail riding. I walked my bike through the longest tunnel encountered so far on my trip; pitch black in the middle and it was cool water dripped from above. I stopped in Norwalk for lunch. I chose a restaurant next to the trail and a park. I noticed a gathering of people picnicking in the park. I placed my order and a few minutes later I asked the solitary worker at the restaurant if he knew what was taking place in the park. He told me it was free lunch in the park being provided by a local church. I should have asked before ordering. While I ate, a pair touring cyclist came my way and we chatted. The father, a hotel developer for colleges, and the son, a recent college graduate, were cycling across the country and started their journey in Eugene, Oregon; they were staying in hotels on their trip. The father previously cycled across the states with his daughter. I decided to stay that night in a hotel in Onalaska, WI to avoid some upcoming bad weather. I thought it was funny that I was on my way to Alaska and staying overnight in Onalaska.
Day 19, 28 July, (Distance Biked 84.2 miles): The first third of my ride was on trails and included passing through the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge. I crossed the Mississippi River for the first time and entered Minnesota in Winona. After lunching in Winona, I cycled the rest of the day and for several hours of darkness until finally setting up camp in Hok Si La. The pictures below are: 1) crossing the Mississippi into Winona 2) a passing barge on the river 3) a sign about Lake Pepin with the lake in the background.
Day 20-21, 29-30 July, (Distance Biked 107 miles): I left Hok Si La and shortly stopped for a long breakfast at a roadside cafe. It was a long day of biking with many ice cream and food stops. I met a nearly blind gentleman who was cycling with the assistance of a lady; truly remarkable. The woman was getting ready for a cycling trip on the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal. There was some trail riding in the beginning and end, especially in St. Paul and Minneapolis; I was pleasantly surprised to see the biking infrastructure and number of cyclists in the Twin Cities. I stayed the next few days with Jeri and Mark Van Heel in Rogers, MN. Jeri and Mark are the parent’s of my daughter’s boyfriend. I had met them briefly in Whittier, AK as they, my daughter and their son were transitioning from a train ride in interior AK to a cruise down the Inside Passage. I couldn’t have had a better time while getting to know Jeri and Mark and I look forward to seeing them again. Jeri and Mark own MVp Mechanical Service Co. (http://www.mvpmechanical.com) and I had the privilege to spend time with Mark while he attended to business and a service call. Jerri and Mark shuttled me around to replace my phone and to purchase new cycling shoes. I was also reunited with my gear that I had shipped ahead from Pittsburgh after cycling the C&O Canal and the Great Allegheny Passage. I made some decisions on which gear to continue with again and Jeri and Mark were kind enough to allow me to leve a box of gear to deal with at a later time. Thank you for allowing me to stay at your home and for your kindness and hospitality!
Day 22, 31 July, (Distance Biked 84 miles): I departed Jeri and Mark’s home and cycled and ate my way through burger and ice cream joints until I decided to setup camp in Melrose. This was the first time I felt uneasy about another person during my trip. I was setting up my tent, around midnight, at a campground across the Sauk River. I had my head lamp on and was using the red light to assist me in setting up. Like a moth attracted to light, a figure came out from the dark from the opposite direction of fellow campers. He asked me what I was doing there and I stated that I had been riding all day and was setting up my tent so I could get to sleep and start biking again early the next morning; I also pointed out that this was a campground. He didn’t get my subtle hint that I was tired and wanted to sleep. He kept trying to get into my personal space and I kept my head lamp pointed in his face and he repeatedly stated that the light was bright. Finally, I told him directly that I was tired, that I wanted to go to sleep and that while he shouldn’t take it personally, that I would have been distrustful of the presence of any stranger under those circumstances. He finally departed, but I have to admit it wasn’t easy getting to sleep that night.
Day 23-Day 24, 01-2 August, (Distance Biked 138 miles *Revised*): I departed Melrose thinking I might push into Fargo that night. I met my first Korean cyclists along the Lake Wobegon Trail. About two hours separated the two; the first was biking from Vancouver to Chicago, the second from Washington State to Maine. I stopped at the Travelers Inn Restaurant in Alexandria, MN and had a long breakfast for dinner and spent the time trying to convince myself to push into Fargo. After dinner, I cycled into the night until I worried about charging my bike light and couldn’t find my charging cable. When the cycling trail ended I biked to the nearest Walmart for a cable hunt. Cable in hand, I cycled about 40 miles of pitch dark back roads until I reached Fargo. I was passed by only a few cars and passed through just a couple of very small towns along the road. I had three cats, on separate occasions, nearly run into me and change course at the last-minute. Cycling into Fargo as the sun rose I passed time until I found a hotel that I could check into early.
Peace on the Peninsula 