Diary

Mileage:  100 miles (162 kms)

Elevation Change:  2913 feet (888 meters)

Weather:  HUGE thunderstorm, lots of rain and lightning

Morale:  Challenged

Incidents:  Took shelter in a barn

Daily Summary:

I was afraid that our website report was getting boring.  Too much talk about pretty farms and big tractors.  Well, today changed all that!  We pulled out of Mankato at 6:30 am, turned right, and went straight up a San Francisco type hill.  We dropped the chain at the bottom, so had to go up from a standing start, but made it with no problems.  The air was heavy with humidity, and it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before it rained.  We were optimistic that we would finish our century ride before the afternoon thunderstorms, though.  Not five miles in we hit road construction and a big detour, including a three mile run on a gravel road.  The winds were fierce today, and progress was slow.  It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to the first SAG stop, only 30 miles away.  On a good day we would do that distance in an hour and a half.  So we headed out from there anticipating a long, hard day.  About a half an hour from the SAG, the rain clouds we had been watching turned ominous. The wind suddenly picked up and changed direction, and our speed went from 11 mph to 35 mph because of it.  The corn was being blown flat horizontally and we looked over our shoulder to see the green storm that blew Dorothy out of Kansas.   Time to take shelter!  We sprinted up to the next farm on the right and pulled into the open barn just as the skies opened up.  We spent the next hour with two John Deere tractors and a lot of junk watching the lightening and listening to the rain and hail on the roof.  There was nobody home in the spooky run down farmhouse, except the dog who was just waiting for the rain to stop so he could come chase us.  After the rain eased up a bit and the lightening stopped, we headed out again.   But our problems were far from over.  The rain continued and the wind was much worse.  We crawled along at 10 mph.  We wanted desperately to find a café or someplace to eat or drink something, but we were in the middle of nowhere.  It took us hours to make the second SAG at a Sinclair gas station with three stools in the store.  We spent the next 1 hour and 45 minutes there, first drinking hot chocolate and getting warm, then being entertained by the crazy outfits and wild stories of our fellow cyclists as they struggled in.  Many, many cyclists gave up and took the support vehicles in to town, but the ones that continued were a fun and spirited bunch.   When we couldn’t put it off any longer, we headed back out in the rain and knocked out the last 30 miles into Rochester.  We were cold, wet, tired and hungry, but we made it.  We pulled in just before 4pm—our longest day on the road yet. 

 

Christopher’s plan today was to ride from the first to the second SAG with a group of riders.  When the others got to the first SAG, he started out with them.  They too were driven into a barn by the storm, and they too struggled in the rain.  Christopher did 18.8 miles in really difficult conditions before getting picked up by a support vehicle.  Then he helped at the second SAG.  Several people told me what a great help he was.  One guy even said Chris had saved his life (by making him a PB&J!).  Yeah Chris!

 

In the pictures below, first you see us in front of one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes.  Next, the storm rapidly catching up to us.  Finally, the view from the barn.  Yes, it was that dark!