Ride Day 118

Barnesville to Sauk Centre Minnesota 109 miles with only 1400' of hills. The weather today was bright sun with the temps climbing from 61 up to 95 by the end of the ride. I got run out of my campground in Barnesville yesterday because there were severe weather warnings and they told me it wasn't safe to be in a tent. The only hotel in town was booked up right away after that so I had to ride 15 miles to find a hotel for the night. Then it was a beautiful night with no storms at all and almost no wind and clear skies. The weather forecasters were way off on that call. On the ride the first 30 miles or so were on roads but then I entered the Central Lakes Trail a bike path that was very good to ride on. I ran into a few other long distance riders today. One had come from Maine on the same route I plan on using and he had gone 2100 miles so I guess that is how far I have to go to get my lobster roll. I have already put in almost 9000 miles with all my side trips included. I am now heading to southern Wisconsin for a short visit then on to finish my ride. I have about 500 miles to go to get to southern Wisconsin. I hope to do it in 6 days or less. Weather and storms could make it take longer but I just have to roll with it. There were a lot of day riders on the trails today and a lot of them want me to stop and talk. I did with a few but with a couple of them I just was too tired to chat so I made it quick. Minnesota does have a lot of lakes that is for sure. I started trying to count how many I went past today but quickly lost count trying to decide if a pond was big enough to be a lake or not. I saw some turtles and lots of birds as well as some coyote pups that were play fighting on the path and did not see me until I almost ran into them. I got a pic of them running away that I will post later when I get real wifi. I also ran over a depressed suicidal mouse that ran out in front of me and stopped in front of my bike as I rolled over it. I had no time to swerve or anything. I am surprised how many animals I have run over and killed as I ride along, mostly snakes. Minnesota is mostly corn and soy bean country so far with some grains that look to be used mostly for cattle fodder cause they are small fields. The people have all been very nice and friendly to me. I have seen and heard of very little crime in all the small towns I like to stop in. I like the culture but I don't think I could ever live in a small town again after so much time in the big cities of the world. More later...