2010 Bike Trip

July 1, 2010 5:58 am

Yesterday, as we were packing up outside the Ambrose Motel, I met an interesting woman. Her name was Laura, and she was temporarily living in the Ambrose, as she was between jobs. She rode a bicycle, and seemed very much into health and natural foods. Although she had grown up in Cumberland, she sounded more like a Californian than a Wisconsinite. Laura gave us directions to a wonderful food co-op in town, right next to a bakery. I asked if I might take her picture, but she balked. She said it never comes out the way she envisions herself. Maybe she’s like the salt monster in Star Trek – some kind of hypnotic screen that makes her look different. A positive attitude is always beautiful.

Elliot and I were in room 3. The white furniture outside is what Laura had set up as a pleasant sitting area.

We rode down to the Island co-op store, and I got a pound of peanuts, and a pound of Judy’s trail mix. We also got a couple items from the bakery, but Elliot felt like a hot breakfast with eggs.

Judy’s trail mix contains peanuts, cashews, almonds, raisins, and carob chips.

Down the street, there was a Cafe called “Our Place,” where we each had the Our Place Breakfast. I think we learned to always just order the biggest thing – we don’t want a repeat of the hunger coming out of Osceola. I asked the short order cook / server about taking Highway 63, a straight shot into Hayward, rather than following the circuitous Adventure Cycling Route. He said that it should be fine, and that yes, there were towns to stop at along the way (important for water and food). In doing so, we would save about 10 miles of riding.

Along the way, we passed several small towns, but did not stop. We passed Shell Lake, but it was too early for lunch, so we only stopped briefly to take a picture.

The beach at Shell Lake. It’s not white sand like Hawaii, but a brownish sand/dirt mixture.

We stopped at Spooner for lunch. At least I think it was Spooner. Since we were off-route, I can’t check my map. It was a large town, with banks and businesses – maybe a population of 1500 or so. We went into a Thrift store there. I was looking for a T-shirt related to Wisconsin. It had to be white. I was cooking in my God Is Still Speaking shirt on account of the black picture on the back. I only brought 2 shirts, including the one I was wearing. The store did not have anything white with local content unfortunately, but had these 50-pound bags of corn and sunflower seed for sale. Corn is $8, sunflower $14. It’s like a month supply of deer food, or 2 year’s supply of squirrel food.

Proceeds from the feed sale went to a volunteer organization

After splitting a foot long at Subway, we continued on 63. At one point, it merged with highway 53, and a sign said 27 miles to Hayward. That’s when the shoulder started getting annoying. It was smooth, except that every second or two, Ka-CHUNKA, we would hit a crack. It was jarring. I wasn’t looking forward to 27 miles of ka-chunka.

I discovered that the more green grass there was in the crack, the bigger it was, and the harder the jolt

Remember that trail mix we got back in Cumberland? Here’s what it looks like after being in a hot handlebar bag:

Elliot said it was like candy clusters, and didn’t seem to mind

We reached Hayward at about 5:30 or so, and found a bargain at the Quik-Stop – pizza slices for a dollar on Wednesdays.

We pulled into the local KOA 3 miles north of town at 6:20 pm. We got a tent site, right next to the Outdoor Kitchen with electricity, stove and sink (it’s where I’m blogging from right now). The whole campground has Wi-Fi, of course. Breakfast is being served in about 20 minutes. Maybe I’ll type more later.

Okay, I’m back. This KOA is amazing. They have an Ice Cream Social every night, a giant bounce structure, gem panning, wagon ride, water slide, volleyball net, horseshoes, and a laundry. This is the kind of place meant for small kids, and in fact, it’s mostly families here.

We did 55.2 miles yesterday. My odometer only says 158, because I had to reset it in Cambridge after it dried out. To get our true total mileage, add 427 to that figure.

June 30, 2010 5:22 am

I woke up at 5 am, and it was fully bright. The sun rises early as we travel east.

Yesterday, we had a leisurely continental breakfast at the River Valley Inn, I put an extra bagel into a ziploc in my front pack. I confirmed our route with Barbara at the front desk. She said that if we were going through Dresser, we might as well take 35, rather than backtracking through town and taking twisty backroads. We hit the road at about 10.

Just after Dresser on county road F, I saw a fluorescent yellow patch coming our way. It turned out to be a couple touring on bikes, also. Chris and Allison were from southeast England, and had started from Cumberland that morning, using only standard highway maps. I had no doubt that they would reach their goal of Minneapolis by the end of the day, as it was not quite 11 yet, and they were making excellent time. They were only the second group of touring cyclists we met; I thought we would see many more. I gave them a card, so Allison and Chris, if you are reading this, please comment or email with the address of your blog.

Half an hour later, Elliot started getting very hungry. Good thing I had that bagel. He also fished around in his pack and found the peanuts that we got from the plane, and a biscof. Amery, the next town, was still miles distant, and we were both ravenous when we pulled in at noon.

At the A&W there, we each got a bacon double cheeseburger meal, and we also got a side order of cheese curds – something I had never seen before. Casey, the girl at the register, explained what they were. It must be a Wisconsin thing – I’ve started to notice it in convenience stores, for example, and package of cheese curds and ham in a lunch size.

When we got our order, I realized that cheese curds are basically the same as Mozzarella sticks, just with a different form factor. The cheese is more springy than rubbery, and kind of squeaks when you bite it. We ate every bit, except that I packed my fries into a ziploc for the road. It was 99-cent coney dog Tuesday, so Elliot got one to put in his front pack.

I went into a nearby store to get supplies for the road, and when I came out, Elliot had just about finished his coney dog.

After lunch, I got lost on the county roads, and at one point we ran into road construction. We went around, but in order to stay on paved roads (not ATV trails), that means a detour of 5 or 10 miles. We arrived at the intersection of 55th Street and 70th Avenue, only to find we had just made a huge circle, and were basically in the same place, just a block from the construction. And I was confused at which way was North. My compass said one thing, but the map said another.

A few driveways down, there was a business, Central Auto Body and Towing, where a very friendly Jerry helped us out. At first, I tried to navigate back to the Adventure Cycling route, but when I mentioned Cumberland, he said we could just go up the road, and turn left on Highway 63. That’s a lesson I must learn when asking natives: don’t ask how to get back to the route, ask how to get to the destination.

They had a couple dogs wandering about. The chihuahua was afraid of us, but the other dog, Lincoln, was sociable.

While I was talking with Jerry, Elliot’s bike fell over onto his ankle. His first accident, and it wasn’t even while riding. Jerry opened his car door so Elliot could sit on the seat and look at the scrape, and brought band-aids. Jerry even offered us a ride or a soda (which they call “pop” here), and even gave us his card, saying to call if we needed anything. It was an astounding offer, only to be found in small towns. We were fine, though, and went on.

On the highway, two more drivers shouted obscenities at us. I’m at a loss to know why – we were well on the shoulder. Maybe the culture in Wisconsin is different, and it’s considered fun to yell at cyclists.

We stopped at an interesting store near a lake beginning with M. I forgot the name, it was something like Margado. There was a dead mosquito in the spigot of the blue raspberry slurpy, but that was Elliot’s favored flavor, so he got it, anyway,

We reached Cumberland at 6:30, and stopped at a Burger King right next to the Cumberland Inn & Suites. I didn’t like that word, “suites,” again. The server in the restaurant said there were other motels down the highway at the edge of town, and suggested the Ambrose. I called with the cell, and found they had rooms for $49. Now that was more like it. No pool, no continental breakfast, but a room. When we got there, I found there was a room with a standard bed for $46, so we took that. It was plenty big. And they have Wi-Fi. As a note to other cyclists and travelers – don’t bother bringing a modem. Wi-Fi is abundant everywhere.

Our total for the day was 59.7 miles.

June 28, 2010 7:22 pm

We had gone to Cambridge for a bike shop, and the only one in town opened at 10:30 in the morning. Outdoor Edge was great. The technician Patrick tightened up Elliot’s derailleur, and showed us what to do. That got rid of the clicking. We also got more handlebar tape to replace the loose left side (as opposed to the right side we fixed in Grand Rapids), and a spare tube (the blown tube from yesterday was torn at the valve – unrepairable).

Tracy gave us a 20% discount for being on the Adventure Cycling tour, and did not charge us anything for the repair. Between customers, she advised me on the best way to get to Osceola. She let me take her picture, but was initially shy about it being put on the blog. She came around, but I never stop being amazed at how unaware some people are about how photogenic/attractive they are.

Attention cycling tourists! Good bike shop in Cambridge.

Elliot headed for the McDonald’s again while I was at the Outdoor Edge. When I met up with him, he was still waiting for his quarter pounder. When he finally got it, they gave him a card for a free meal, for his inconvenience of waiting five minutes.

On the outskirts of Shafer (that one’s for you, Lois), there were two boys on the side of the road holding up small signs . They were advertising their lemonade stand around the corner. Nick, Allie, and Jon had been out for about 25 minutes, and we were their first customers. It was 15¢ for a small, and 25 ¢ for a large. Elliot had a large, and I had two larges.

There was construction on the Osceola (OSSY-ola) bridge as we crossed over into Wisconsin.

As I reached the other side, a guy in a truck shouted “Get on the sidewalk!” What sidewalk? Surely, he didn’t expect us to walk our bikes on the grassy shoulder? This surprised me, since we went all the way across Minnesota, and the drivers were patient and courteous to a fault. They would cross all the way over to the left lane to pass us, even when we were well into a wide shoulder. When there was a car coming in the other direction, they would often slow down and stay behind us, until they could pass in the left lane. This would not have happened at home. One rude driver does not a pattern make, and I would not take it as an indictment of Wisconsinites, by the way. Everyone else has been nice.

We are now at the River Valley Inn & Suites. It’s very similar to the place we stayed at last night. The rooms are big, and they have a pool and spa. There isn’t a hair dryer in the bathroom or ironing board in the room – things we don’t need that much, anyway. It was $71.10 for a room with two queen beds, not surprising for a place that has “Suites” in its name, even if after an ampersand. My excuse for a motel this time is that my left knee was hurting slightly, and I want to get a good night’s rest so as not to push it to injury. We did only 44 miles today. I hope we can stay at a campground tomorrow. The weather is clearing, and it’s supposed to be sunny, cooler, and less humid.

June 27, 2010

We went back to the store in the morning, and both Jon and Annette were there. I returned the key to them with profuse thanks. The Glen Grill next door was open from 7-2, so we ate breakfast. There were all kinds of pictures on the wall showing the history of the place, which dated back to 1916. From the more recent pictures, I recognized a couple of the waitresses, probably their daughters. I asked what the weather was going to be like, and they assured me there were no tornado warnings in effect, and probably, it would burn off by afternoon.

It was raining moderately when I loaded up the bikes, but as we left Glen, the rain had let up. It drizzled off and on during the morning, but by the afternoon, all was clear.

I got my first flat that morning. It was a routine tube change that only took a few minutes. I will patch the tube later – the leak was not obvious.

We rode right past Malmo, but stopped at a convenience store near Isle that morning. There was a giant fish there. It was early for lunch, but as we knew it was 24 miles to the next town, I got a hotdog, and Elliot got a slice of pizza. Lipton Iced Tea products were on sale – 99¢ for the liter size (more than a quart)! It was cheaper than bottled water. I got a peach flavored green tea, and filled my bottle with it.

We put the hammer down and hit Ogilvie at about 2:30. There was a pleasant store there, air conditioned, with tables and chairs inside. Elliot ate an entire extra-size can of Pringle’s, and I ate an entire pint of sherbet.

Elliot’s bike had been making clicking noises, and I was unable to locate the cause. It would be good to find a bike shop. There were none along the route within range. In fact, there were few campgrounds. The only thing was a farmer’s yard where camping was allowed. We decided to go off-route, and head for Cambridge, a city of about 5000. It was 30 miles away.

The woman behind the counter gave us directions. I love directions from locals, because they know things that Google doesn’t. We were going to take hwy 95, but she said to take 65, it’s faster. Go down the street 3 miles, past the Raceway, just before the road curves, turn right onto hwy 12. If you miss it, 23 will eventually run into 65, it’s just longer. She knew which roads were paved and which were not. We left at 3 pm, and by 5:15, were in Cambridge.

There’s only one motel in Cambridge – Crossings Inn and Suites. It’s a notch higher than I would usually go for. The cheapest room is $80 (but big). I mentioned that I was an HP Employee, although I wasn’t traveling on business. The registrar replied, “What’s HP?” Yes, I’m definitely not in Silicon Valley, anymore. She gave me the corporate rate anyway, which was $72.

There’s a pool, but also a heated jacuzzi (neither of which we used). They have a breakfast area that has apples, yogurt, milk, coffee, tea, and hard-boiled eggs all day and night. We didn’t have any of that, either, since I got a foot-long from Subway down the street. Continental breakfast in the morning, of course. Wi-fi, naturally. When we got to the room, it had two queen beds with mints on the pillows.

June 26th, 2010. 6:40 pm

Because there was active internet, we didn’t leave Larson’s Barn until around 10:30 am. We rode 6 miles or so and stopped at Kelly’s Kitchen, where we each had the breakfast special of country fried steak and eggs.

There really is a Kelly, a kind and personable woman who served us. There seemed to be two kinds of patrons in the restaurant: tourists, and senior citizens. The place also serves meals to seniors under some kind of program. It seemed they came in as much to socialize with Kelly as for physical food.

We stopped in Aitken, at our first McDonald’s of the trip. Since it had Wi-Fi, I dawdled there.

At about 5 pm, we reached Glen, population 50. The GasStation-BaitShop-Grill-LiquorStore-Convenience store basically is the town. It was a step up from the usual small-town gas station.

I’ve been meaning to ask someone what “Off Sale” means. Wouldn’t you want to buy something that’s On Sale instead?

Elliot was interested in a motel room, and I saw two possibilities on the Adventure Cycling map. One was McQuoid’s Inn, 8 miles down the road, and the other was Scenic Bay Motel in the town of Isle, 15 miles away. After we got some snacks and supplies in the store, I inquired about motels in the area, in case there were others. The woman behind the counter, Annette, only knew of McQuoid’s in the direction that we were going. She asked if we could camp too, and I said yes, it just wasn’t first choice.

The battery on Elliot’s cell was dying, so I used my Tracfone to call McQuoid’s. All their hotel rooms were booked, and all they had left was 4- and 5-bedroom cabins. Upon double-checking, they did have one 2-bedroom cabin for $269 plus tax. I politely declined. I called Scenic Bay, but got an “unavailable subscriber” message.

Annette, who turns out to be the owner of he store, came out to check on how we were doing, and I said that McQuoid’s was full, and Scenic was not answering, so we were going to bike over to Isle, and if Scenic was unavailable, there was always the campground there. At that point, Annette said they had a rental that had been vacant for a month, and we could stay there. It was right across the street from the store. She said to think about it.

As Mr. Ratchek advised Johnny Rico, “Never pass up a good thing.” I offered to pay Annette what we would have paid for a motel ($50 to $60), but she said that was too much. It turned out to be a 3-bedroom house. Elliot slept in another room to avoid my snoring.

She gave us the key and just left us (strangers) there, saying we could return the key to her husband Jon at the store in the morning.

I am SO grateful for this place, as it has hot running water for showers, and electricity. No mosquitoes. And moreover, it rained tonight.

We went only 43 miles today.

June 26, 2010.

Yesterday was a rather uneventful ride. We did 56 miles. No rain, but no burning sun, either.

Black flies swarmed, but we were protected by repellent. I slapped one on Elliot’s back while we were riding, then took this picture.

Elliot called out, “Bunnies!” I looked around, and saw two on the road shoulder. As we passed, about 10 of them scampered into the ferns. I tried to take a picture, but they were already hiding pretty well.

We had the option of taking a resort room earlier on the trail, but Elliot wanted maximum distance for the day.

So here we are at Larson’s Barn Campground. It was a Barn Dance Hall until last year, and is still rented out for weddings and community events. As we rode up, the owner, Lenny Larson, was mowing the lawn with his riding mower. He stopped to greet us and show us the campground, but said that his wife would be by later to sign us in. There were two campground dogs that walked right up and made themselves at home at our campsite. Lenny told us that they grew up on the campground, and like to mooch food from campers.

Lenny Larson

The wood in the foreground we put there to cover dog poop

This is a very nice place with gentle breezes. There’s a fire ring, and actual electric outlets intended for RV hookups. I got to recharge my cell phone. Wi-fi was too much to hope for on this huge field, but amazingly, when I turned on the laptop, there was an access point, and the signal is good.

Elliot sketching by firelight

The inside of the Dance Hall

The next morning (as I type now), I found Lenny and told him that his wife never did come by to settle up. He said he spoke with her, and she said that since we were bicyclists, it would be all right if we stayed for free. So I’d like to put in a plug for them. It has a view of gorgeous Big Sandy Lake, and would be great for a country wedding.

Larson’s Barn, on Hwy 232, intersection of 240th Ave and 480th St. by Big Sandy Lake.

June 24, 2010 11:31 pm

This morning, I thought I had slept late, because I was so tired. I checked the cell phone, and it was either 6:24, or 8:24. I couldn’t tell without my glasses. It was 6:24. A light rain was falling. The Big Fish restaurant was completely closed, and there was no sign of the owners, which also meant that the bathroom was any one of the trees on the property. It also meant no breakfast.

Elliot was tired. We considered simply going 2 miles into Bena proper (population 100 or so), and getting a room at a Motel for a rest day. We rolled up the wet tent, and left in the rain. By Bena, it was coming down hard. We discovered that there were no restaurants in Bena, contrary to what the map said. There was an abandoned building that said “Cafe” on the sign – that was probably the restaurant until the last economic downturn. We got breakfast at the gas station store, and ate at a table in the store. The store also rented cabins, but the guy said they were completely booked.

We found out that we could stay on highway 2, and go all the way to Grand Rapids. It would be flat and straight, and we would save 5 miles over the more scenic standard route. Nothing to see on a rainy day, anyway. Highway 2 took us through Deer River (a lot of towns on the Indian Reservation have names like this). There’s a lot of Chippewa stuff in this area – wild rice, Native American crafts. And Casinos.

We stopped outside Northern Star Cooperative (a grocery store, known locally as the Co-Op), and met Hugh Cameron (Sr), a former DA for Itasca County. His son, like Elliot, had been in Debate (no surprise, Dad is a lawyer). Elliot was already in the store, so I held the camera at arm’s length.

After lunch at Co-Op, we continued into Grand Rapids with no incident. Grand Rapids prides itself on being the birthplace of Judy Garland. There’s Wizard of Oz stuff all over – museums, painting, sculptures.

Somewhere along the way, Elliot lost the end cap to his handlebars. On the road, I could have whittled a replacement from a fallen branch (there are many here). After checking into the Budget Inn Motel, I went to the bike shop just a couple blocks away and asked if they had one. They did. I asked Adam how much he wanted for it, and he said, “Well… how about nothing?” This is typical for small-town bike shops, especially for long-distance riders. In the city, they’ll say a dollar, even if it’s a giveaway item, because they got you. Sam and Adam’s names were easy to remember, on account of the Beer by that name. They’re students in Moorehead during the school year, not far from where we started.

And guys, if you’re reading this, the plug fit perfectly!

It was rather fortunate that we got into Grand Rapids so early (2 pm). When we turned on the TV at the motel, there was a Tornado Warning up for Lake Prarie, the town right next to Grand Rapids. In fact, the border of Lake Prarie was 4 blocks from our Motel. The warning was for possible Tornado and Golf Ball size hail. There was a crack of lightning and an abrupt, torrential downpour while we were in the room, but no hail.

That evening, in light rain, we walked several blocks to an Asian Buffet in a mall. The price was good – $9.95 for dinner. I don’t think I took any sushi. I would not expect Hamachi nigiri for that price, but would Saba have been too much to ask for? The Chinese food was tasty. Not what I was used to, but satisfying.

June 25, 10:23 am. This morning, I went to the lobby for continental breakfast, and met Minton, the manager on duty. He also rode a bicycle, but because he was legally blind. Like me, he had asthma, but his was severe, and people thought he would never make it to 50. Then, a couple years ago, Advair was his salvation. He rode to Jacobsen, which was our next stop. He’s also a ham radio operator, and writes Christian songs with his friend at the local Baptist church. Mackensie, the young woman, has lived upstairs at the motel for 2 years. She formerly played for the Minnesota Crunch, on defense as the Enforcer. I took a step back when I heard that. MacKensie, if you want a copy of this picture in high-res, just email us (see the About page), and we’ll send you one.

Minton got off as we checked out, so he escorted us a few blocks, since his house was along the route.

Note to cyclists: Graham Crackers in front pack + Driving Rain = Disgusting.

June 23, 2010

This was errand day, and we had several. Post office, credit union, groceries, laundromat. I was careful to draw out a map while still at the KOA, since the internet connection was good there. There are no printers on the road. Oh, the things we take for granted! All the prep and packing took a long time, and we left the KOA at 10:45. But we intended it to be a short riding day in the first place.

On the way to downtown Bemidji, we passed a credit union, and I pulled some cash out of the drive-by ATM. Elliot noted the Arby’s across the street, and said he was hungry, so we had lunch. This surprised me, since it seemed we had just eaten continental breakfast at the KOA. We had the steakhouse combo, which includes a sandwich, waffle fries, and a drink for $3.95.

Next, we went to the Post Office. In line at the post office, a young man named Jason asked me if that was my Peugot outside. When I replied to the negative, he shared that his mother-in-law had a classic Peugot, and got him into cycling. He did rides from Bemidji to Grand Rapids in a single day, a distance which would take us two on tour. The woman behind me joined the conversation, and it came out that she was Christian. I told her that I was also a Christian, and that the bike provided a lot of time to think and meditate. “And pray,” she added. Yes. I mentioned that I had scanned a prayer request from someone in my home group, and it was on the laptop we brought along, so as often as I blog, I see it. (So Dean, if you’re reading this, your prayer request is being taken seriously.) The woman also had a request on behalf of her friend, whose son, Ryan is about to be deployed to Iraq for the third time. To anyone reading this, if you pray, please consider Ryan from Bemidji, MN, that he would do right, and of course, for God’s protection.

The Downtown Laundry was our next stop. I met the owner, Jeff Brower, an affable man who was suitably impressed with our trek. I left him a card. We also met Greg, whom I originally mistook for the owner.

Jeff at the Downtown Laundry in Bemidji

There were a lot of young women at the laundromat, many with accents. One was looking for a pen, so I lent her one of ours. She was from Australia, and her name was Kate. Doesn’t it seem like half the women from there are Kate? She said her mother was an avid cyclist, so to Kate’s mum, if you’re reading this, a big Howdy from the U.S. of A. Jen is from England. They, and about 6 or 8 other girls, are counselors at nearby Kamaji Camp for Girls. Apparently, the camp imports counselors from other countries, including Scotland and Denmark. They were not sure why. They get a day off, which is laundry day. They also get a few weeks vacation in the US after the camp ends, when most of them tour. I left cards with them.

Kate(L) and Jen(R)

As we left the laundromat, a outgoing girl on the street asked where we were going. She was originally from Ashland, Oregon, and knew others who did the cross country ride.

Emily

We left Bemidji at about 3 pm – late, but then again, we had few miles. My plan was to stay at one of the campgrounds 20 miles away. The terrain was rolling, so we decided to go further. This seems to be a pattern with us, always exceeding our aspirations. Then we hit this

I looked at the map, and there were no alternatives. I was worried because we would still be on road 39 for 5 more miles, until we hit Highway 2. I realized also that had we not taken the standard route, we could have stayed on Highway 2 all the way, and saved 10 miles. Nothing to do, so we started walking the bikes. Fortunately, the sand ended after a quarter- or half-mile. Then we had paved road, then more sand, paved, more sand, and finally paved up to Highway 2. Along the way, we could have simply stopped at a primitive campground, but that would have meant eating plain macaroni for dinner (possibly uncooked) with water, and a few graham crackers for breakfast. We hadn’t encountered any open grocery stores after the Laundromat, so hadn’t stocked up on supplies.

As soon as we hit Highway 2, this sign greeted us:

We didn’t get in this late, I took a picture of the sign after dinner

I inquired about camping, and the woman behind the bar, Melissa, advised me that they had no showers, and I might be better off 2 miles up the road. Who needs showers? She didn’t actually have campsites to rent (only cabins), but the cook (possibly the other owner or her husband) convinced her to rent the rear lawn (acres) to us for $15. No one else was there, so we had the whole thing to ourselves. We ate at the restaurant, of course, and I had Walleye for the first time. All the locals raved about it. It tasted sort of like wild-caught (not farm-raised) Tilapia.

While we were eating, an older couple punched up some country songs on the jukebox and danced. I later asked them how long they had been married, and it turned out they weren’t. Each had just lost their spouse a few years ago, and they were friends that enjoyed each other’s company. They were on a fishing trip. Marlene had ridden the RAGBRAI twenty-four times (until the last two years when her husband got sick), and was going to ride it for the 25th and final time this year. Ralph was a character. If you look at the placement of Marlene’s hand, you’ll know who’s the boss.

Marlene Giermann and Ralph Marten

There was no internet at the Big Fish, so I did some picture processing, but could not blog. We slept well, except for a freight train in the wee hours.

June 23, 2010 7:20 am

As usual, Elliot is on the netbook at night, and I wake up in the morning to do my stuff. He’s still sleeping.

So yesterday, we headed for Bemidji, with a stop along the way at Becida.

Becida is not actually a place with houses and stuff, it’s basically a Bar and Grill (no store) and defunct gas station. It was deserted when we got there at 3:30 pm. We got juice from the cooler, and rested for a few minutes. Elliot was hungry, so we ordered a pizza. It was just one bartender running the whole place. She had a limp because she had just been kicked in the pelvis by a horse. I didn’t inquire further.

Around 4 pm, the local fisherman started to show up, and the place got more busy. We discovered that the place had free Wi-Fi, so I took advantage of the opportunity to update the blog. The internet had gone down at Itasca, so I couldn’t update that morning.

Feeling good, we headed down a freshly-paved, smooth, very fast road. It was 15 miles to Bemidji (beh-MIDGE-ee). We were screaming down that thing.

About 9 miles in, I realized we were going the wrong way. We were supposed to turn left at Becida, not continue on straight. God humbles the proud. I followed other roads to set us back in the right direction, thankful for the fact that Adventure Cycling maps show more than the main route. I got confused, because there is a county road 2, labeled as (you guessed it) “2”, which is not the same as State Highway 2. We asked locals for directions on two occasions, and they were EXTREMELY helpful. A local will say, don’t take that road, it’s just sand, this one will be blacktop, and avoid the construction at such-and-such place. I wish we could have taken pictures of everyone who had helped us. The best directions we got were to stay on State Highway 2, past L&M fleet supply, past the Airport, past the Bemidji Theater. The speed limit was 65, and cars and trucks were zooming by, but the shoulder was very wide, as wide as a full lane. I was about to give up, and sorely tempted by a Quality Inn that we passed, and told Elliot that if KOA didn’t show up in 2-3 miles, let’s just go to a motel. KOA showed up on the next block.

Instead of 16 miles from Becida to Bemidji, it was 35. Elliot was absolutely patient. Not once did he complain. Our total mileage for the day was 58, on a day that should have been near zero.

At the KOA, I was in no mood to set up a tent. We got a Kabin for $48 (with my KOA card).

KOA is the luxury line of campgrounds. They cost more, but have amenities. Free Wi-Fi. Game room for the teens The cabin has 3 outlets, lighting, and beds, although we use our sleeping bags as there are no sheets. At the office, I ordered a pizza, and the lady asked if I would like it delivered to the Kabin. What service!

There is complimentary continental breakfast from 8 to 9 am, which is in five minutes. Elliot is up, and in the shower. When he returns, we’ll go to eat.

June 22, 2010

My original plan yesterday was for us to go about 60 miles, so we could have a short ride into Lake Itasca (EYE-tas-ka) today. The people at Hitterdal told us that Itasca was 75-80 miles away, and that since we were in good shape, we should be able to make it. I was not so sure, but Elliot was on board for it.

There was a deer standing in the middle of the road ahead near a farmer’s field, as an oncoming car approached. It bounded away before I could take a picture It had a big, white butt, unlike any deer I’d seen, and I realized that it might have been the first antelope that I had ever seen in the wild. Later, we saw a gaggle of ten goslings waddle across the road before us. I thought they were full-size geese, because they were about 2 feet tall, but then the mother followed, who was 3 feet. This is common on the road – experiences captured only in memories, not on camera.

We stopped in Richwood, at the Burger Barn, for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised by the price, and found later that I had inadvertently ordered the Monday special, which was Cheeseburger and fries for $3.15. There was just one girl taking the orders and serving, and she was pretty, too. She later chatted with us and we found out she was 17 (Elliot’s age), and going into senior year. I tried to take her picture when she brought the food to our table, but mistakenly hit the power button on the camera instead of the shutter release. To Elliot’s friends: sorry, too bad.

As we rode on, I remarked to Elliot that I would rather have rain than the hot sun. Later in the day, the sky became overcast, which was a blessing. As we neared our destination, the terrain became more rolling and wooded, and the black flies came out. I watched a swarm following Elliot at speed on the bike. He got a bite.

Even after entering the South Gate of Lake Itasca State park, it was still several miles to camp headquarters. That’s when it started raining like crazy. I didn’t get a picture, because I didn’t want to open my front pack to get the camera. The rain stopped as suddenly as it started, and I quickly took a picture.

The rain seems to have driven turtles out. I rescued this one from the middle of the road. It peed on me.

I got a phone call from Merrianne while riding, but cell phone reception is spotty in the park. We got cut off in the middle.

A campsite was $20. I inquired about the AYH sign I had seen when entering the park. That was $27 per person. I was thinking to spend the whole tomorrow in the park, camp one day, but one day in the hostel to dry out, do laundry, and sync with the internet. The weather forecast was posted on the bulletin board. Tomorrow night, Occasional Thunderstorms. Tonight, Severe Thunderstorms. Which should we choose?

There was wi-fi at this Hostel, and Elliot got on the internet last night. There was no laundry. The only people here were Jackie, who is from the Minneapolis area, and the host. The host left after checking us in, saying that we could call the number if we needed anything.

Rather than bike 3 miles to the park food service, we decided to stay in and eat our freeze-dried meals. Elliot said it was really good, as good as the restaurant would have been. I think Rat Testicle ala King would have tasted good after our time in the rain. We had ridden 82 miles.

This is the most deserted hostel I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s practically void of leftover food. We’ll head out to food service later, but this morning, I’m having a cup of hot water with a spoon of brown sugar in it.

4:00 pm. We ate at the Douglas Lodge (park food service) this morning, a huge breakfast for $5.50, and I ate every bite. The guy next to us couldn’t finish his.

People had suggested riding the Wilderness bike path all around the park. The loop is 10 miles, and Jackie told us it takes 2 hours.

This is not a bridge, the boardwalk goes on for a quarter mile

We rode part of it, and at the rate we were going, we could have finished in one, but decided to jump off at the North Exit of the park, and head toward Bemidji. It was 30 miles, and though it would be a “short” day, the original plan was to stay at the park.

But before we left the park, though, we made a stop at the Mississippi Headwaters, the source of the Mississippi River. It reminded me of Jackass-Ginger Lake in Hawaii – fresh water and not too cold.

Just outside the north entrance to the park, there was a country store, and we refilled our water there. It smelled like sewage, Elliot said. He went inside and bought bottled water, instead. I decided to not be picky and keep the toilet flush for hydration. (By the way, I didn’t get sick later.)