It should be an easy ride today, so a little later departure time shouldn't hurt.

Listening, while packing, to the tragic ambush on the Dallas policemen. I don't understand all of the black Americans getting killed, but I do know this: the great majority of police are good people. Sometimes we forget what life would be like without them. I experienced that when I worked a gas station/lodge in northern British Columbia. The nearest Mounties were 135 miles to the north and 196 miles to the south. We were the only place in a 73 mile stretch. Suddenly, I was responsible for helping to protect the people and property there. We only had to show weapons once, but I completely changed my attitude towards police power. We have to have it to maintain safe and stable communities. Clearly, there is a spate of over-reacting officers, but let us not throw the baby out with the bath water.

 Stopped in a bakery downtown. Where else can you get a large bowl of oatmeal, side order of toast, and a large glass of orange juice for $5.25?

The ride along the river was wonderful. For the first time I saw a long barge, pushed by a tug. At some point the road needed to go through some hills, and the road started to climb. Overall the area near the river had rolling hills, so travel was scenic but not fast.

Then the event which changed the day happened. A bridge on my route  was out.  I followed the detour, hoping it was a short one. That ended up not being the case. I was being directed inland straight into the hills that I could see from the river.

The bicycling maps are very good as long as one stays on the route, but the roads around the route are not well identified.

Not having a clue where I was, or where this detour was taking me, I finally spotted a couple of farmers near the road. They were very helpful, and gave me directions which would get me back onto my  original route. They asked "Do you want short but steeper , or longer but less steep?"  I chose the longer route.

The farms looked healthy and prosperous. If corn is supposed to be knee high by the fourth of July, then the Iowa farmers are ahead of the game. Their corn is 5-6 feet high.

My hope was to get to a tiny town called Waterville, and have lunch. The bar was quaint with most of the walls covered with adages, signed dollar bills, stuffed animal heads, and plaques from pool tournments. I stepped onto the deck out back and the owner was cooking my hamburger on a charcoal grill. It was delicious. I cannot help but ponder where the residents work and play. The town seemed quiet for having two bars.

 The bicycle is starting to show sign of needing a "tune up". In particular, it is not shifting well, and the brakes are on their last legs. I have gotten by with soft brakes for awhile, but I have to admit that when I came to a descent, with warning signs indicating a 9% grade, I stopped to think up a strategy. To put 9% in perspective, Stevens Pass was a 5 % grade. The Orondo Grade was 6%. Some parts of the North Cascades Highway were 7%, but rarely have I had to deal with a 9% grade. At least, I was going down, not up, but I was envisioning the possibility of gathering too much speed, more than the brakes could affect, then losing control of the bike at high speed. I gently started down, brakes engaged until I could see where the curving road went. Once I saw it was okay, then I released the brakes and let momentum take over.

The point that of that story is that in two and one half days, I will be in a big enough town that it can sustain a bike shop. I already have made arrangements to have them address my concerns. Since my bike has disc brakes, I had difficulty 8 years ago finding a bike shop that carried the parts. This time I brought spare disc brake parts with me. 

Compared to Minnesota, the roads in Iowa have not been near as bicycle-friendly. Even busy roads lack proper shoulders for bicyclers. The drivers have been courteous, but I left the road into the gravel a number of times, just to allow vehicles room to pass.

After 53 miles, I reached a B&B near Elkader, my destination for the night.

May the peace of the Lord be with you. 

Checking my weather app on my phone last night, there might be a possibility of rain today. It is amazing how little rain I have ridden in since leaving Everett.

Around 4 AM, I awoke to a roaring sound. Hmm, what is it? It could be a ton of traffic on the highway, but that seems unlikely. Could it be rain? Likely. Willing myself out of bed, I opened the door, and it was raining hard. No wonder it was so loud.

It is hard to get back to sleep, then hard to get going once I got up. Another look outside, and it was a steady rain. I hate starting the day in the rain. If it rains once I have started pedalling, that is different to me. Well, on to devotions then breakfast.

Before eating breakfast, I decided to get ready to go with rain jacket and pants on. Everything going got packed, and I opened the door to go next door to eat. The rain had stopped, at least for the moment. My weather app had changed its hourly forecast to a likelihood of rain all day. I left with my rain jacket on but open. 

The change in terrain in Minnesota was striking. When I first entered the state it was flat as a pool table. As I approached the greater Minneapolis area, it started getting hilly. On either side of the Mississippi River the highway paralleling the river was relatively flat, but the west side of the highway were heavily wooded hills, one after the other. It reminded me of Tennessee or North Carolina.

The River did not look so pristine today. Between the clouds and the light wind, the water looked dark and potentially menacing. I kept waiting for the rain to re-commence, taking off my rain coat while on a break. Walking outside of a cafe, after lunch, the sun was out and the skies were blue. I went back inside to apply sun screen. 

The  River started looking more pleasant, with tons of islands and channels, great habitat for fish and wildlife.  Going through one small town, I was a little uncertain on how to get through. The only recognizable road was the Interstate, which is verboten to bicycles. Finally I found what I was looking for, a new bike path that bypassed the Interstate. The only problem was the "Trail closed" sign blocking the entrance. My options were so limited that I squeezed the bike around the blockade, and rode on. At the end of the trail, a couple of miles down the road, I discovered the problem: there was a big road work project which narrowed the southbound road to a narrow lane. For me to get on it was to slow everyone behind me down to 10 mph, but what else could I do? The lane lasted for 1/2 mile, a long three minutes with a line of cars backing up behind. But soon it was back to normal.

I entered Iowa a couple of hours after lunch.

The town I am staying in is Lansing, IA, and it is really a neat little town. Busy, funky shops and restaurants. They won me over immediately by having an ice cream store when you first enter town. After a rain, the humidity soars when the sun comes out. It is only 82 degrees but feels like it is in the nineties.

Had a nice faith talk with a local man who was working in the yard. Having been a Christian his whole life, I am sure I could have learned from him.

Four more days of riding in Iowa, then I bust out to the east again.

Blessings. 

Things can change quickly. This morning, when I opened the door to greet the dsy, there was little sign that last night's severe thunderstorms even happened. 

Straying from the recommended bicycle route on my map, I opted to stay on Hwy 61. It was a four lane divided highway, with wide shoulders, and it was close to the Mississippi River, following every turn. So much of it was relatively flat. 

With a distance of around 65 miles, and a beautiful sunny day, leaving at 8 AM allowed me to take my time. The Mississippi River was absolutely pristine looking. I normally picture the Mississippi when the river goes through St. Louis, which looks dirty brown, but this, from a distance looked blue. In fact, in one stretch, the river is so placid, they call it a lake. It really was gorgeous. 

There was one area of road, a mile or two long, which had sustained a lot of downed trees and branches. The car lanes seemed to be clear, but the shoulder was full of debris. Later I learned that this was where one of three tornados landed yesterday. They were all Catagory one tornados, but can still make a mess.

For the next five days, I will be following the Mississippi River south until I get to a town in Iowa called Muscatine. From there, I will start east again, continuing east until I get just north of Philadelphia. From that point I will head south until I reach Raleigh.

A note to my Washingtonian friends about tornados: Certainly tornados can be devastating, but I spent the first 20 years of my life living with tornado  warnings and alerts, and I like most people in the Midwest, never got close to one. So when severe weather is forecast, I will continue bicycling unless something happens which calls for getting off the road. 

I may be the one making the choices and decisions, but there is Someone far greater than I who is in charge.  

Checked in to a motel in Winona, MN by 3 PM. See what a difference it makes to leave early, have good weather, have decent terrain and a lightened load.

Blessings to you all. 

Today looked like it would be challenging. The humidity suddenly spiked, temperatures would be approaching 90 degrees, there would be a modest headwind, there were severe  thunderstorms warnings for the evening, and I would be getting a late start.

My host, Jack Ingersoll, lives in a retirement community, and I had been asked to speak to interested residents about this trip. The talk went well, but I was not on the road until 11 AM.

During my stay at Jack's, I had pared down my load from four panniers to two. In fact, it was the two smaller panniers which went over the rear wheel. Soon after I left Jack, I was questioning the wisdom of having all the weight over the rear drive tire. So part way through the city, I called Jack to see if he could meet me with the other two panniers which hung in the middle of the bike, thus sharing the weight between tires. Upon meeting, i would swap gear to the new panniers. Jack and I agreed to meet on Hwy 77 South, which is the route we had selected to get out of town. It was one of three routes that had a bridge over the Minnesota River, but the only route which would allow bicycles. 

I missed a turn going through town, resulting in entering Hwy 77 on a different on ramp than Jack and I had checked out two days earlier. This on ramp had a sign that said "No pedestrians. No bicycles." Oh no! Now what? Since Jack was going to be looking for me on Hwy 77, I decided to go onto the forbidden highway until Jack caught up with me, switch panniers, cross the bridge, then exit the highway.

Almost immediately upon getting onto the highway, Jack pulled up behind. The transfer took place. I rode on, crossing the river, and onto the arms of a waiting policeman. He agreed to allow me to continue to the next exit, and decided not to issue a citation.

This was not a good day of riding. The miles seemed creep by. There were stretches of hills upon hills. Time seemed to be running out, but around 6:30PM, I entered the city of my destination, Red Wing. Red Wing is a fair sized town, and is well known for its shoe factories. 

Since my motel was on the far side of town, I had to decide whether to grab a quick bite to eat in one of the many fast food restaurants I was passing, or whether to get to the motel first, then see if there were any restaurants nearby.

The darkening clouds, thunder and lightning made me decide that shelter in my motel room was the priority, so I put on my rain jacket, and continued pedalling. If there were no places to eat, I would wait until morning.

Around 7:15 PM, 69 miles after leaving this morning, I arrived at my motel. I checked in, and got my gear into my room, including the bike. In less than one minute after getting inside, the heavens opened up with a downpour and wind like you wouldn't believe! Had I stopped to eat, I would be out in that mess. Just to the east,tornados were sighted.

Do you think that it was a coincidence that I got into my room seconds before all hell broke loose? I don't. Thank you Lord for your protection. 

Did you know that Domino's Pizza delivers, even in inclement weather? 

Today,  our country is celebrating our Independence Day. For me, the celebratory nature  of today seems so removed from the reality of what I am going through.

With a big push tomorrow, I need to be completely ready today. As a result, I have gone through every single item that I have carried, and that Karen sent, and have pared it down.

I started out with four panniers, two large, and two medium sized. Ideally, I would be able to to reduce the gear, and get the remaining equipment into the medium sized panniers. Next the choice of tossing the tent and air mattress, or not? I decided to keep them. However the air mattress was in a special container attached to one of the large panniers. I would need to get a waterproof sack, and, lo and behold, there is an REI within 5 miles of Jack's apartment. 

The sack was a bit large, so large, in fact, that it gave me an idea. I removed the waterproof sack from the tent, and it fit perfectly into the sack with the air mattress!

Now, there are two issues coming up. The first is tomorow's ride. Since I was asked to speak to residents at 10 AM, my start will be late in the morning. Humidity is shooting up, temperatures expected to rise to 89 degrees, a 10 mph headwind, and a reasonable chance of rain and thunderstorms.  

Secondly, as I went through my itinerary again, I discovered that I had omitted a stop in Winona, Minnesota. Therefore, all my motel reservations were a day off, and, already, in getting back to them, at least one has no vacancies on the next date. Sigh.

Well, Lord, what do you have for me this week? As always, I will find out soon enough.

Have a wonderful 4th of July. 

Sometimes simpler is better. Last night, I was wondering how to get into the trail network, and which ones to get me in to Bloomington. Jack lives in the northwest corner of Bloomington. When he and I were talking on the phone, it dawned on me, while looking at the blown up map of the greater Minneapolis area, that my motel was a bit north and west of Minneapolis. Jack's apartment is a bit south and west of Minneapolis. So if I just went due south, on streets, I would come out near him, and would bypass Minneapolis altogether.

Going into Mapquest, the obvious route was also the busiest and riskiest route. When I filtered Mapquest for a bicycle route, it looked pretty safe and simple. I printed out a copy of the directions.

After 8 hours of sleep, I arose at 5:30 AM, and got ready for the day, leaving the motel at 7:30 AM.  One advantage to riding early on a Saturday morning, is that traffic will tend to be lighter than normal.

My strategy was to study the next several streets, their turns and distances, then pull over to study the next three streets once I did the first three. This worked great! For a while.

Whether it was road closures and detours, or just my ineptness, I finally decided I was off  the route. Reaching back for the route print-out, I discovered it was no longer there. Oops. Jack said "If all else fails, just head south. When you get to I-494,  cross over it and head west." So that is exactly what I did. Sort of.

At one point I was riding around a park, only to find another road closure, with no detour. Since I am not a car, I rodecided onto a paved path through the park to the other side of it. With the morning sun to my back, I knew I needed to turn left, to head south again. The next street looked like a likely candidate. Lo and behold, I recognized the name! It was a street I was supposed to eventually be on. I was excited until the road curved and winded, seemingly with no purpose. Yet when it finally came to a tee, I recognized the cross street. And right in front of me was I-494. Within 10 minutes I was at Jack's complex. 

If you have been following this journal, you will know that I do not believe that finding myself back on the route was an accident or coincidence. I had ridden 2 miles after getting lost, and finding the route was Providential.

Poor Jack. He has a nice one bedroom apartment, but it doesn't look so nice with all my stuff here. Karen had sent, in advance, a box of summer clothing. Then I will ship back home a  box of winter clothing, including my sleeping bag. I am trying to figure out if I can pare down from four panniers to two of them. Hmm, can I get rid of the tent and air mattress? My stuff is scattered all over poor Jack's living room. But not for long.

I will be leaving the day after the 4th of July. In the morning, I was asked to give a talk to anyone living here who is interested in this trip. If no one shows up, then I will leave early.

My itinerary has me heading south for 6 days, then turning east again. Watch out Indy, here I come! 

All the maps and directions one receives may prove meaningless once one is on the road. Studying a detailed Minnesota map at last night's motel, gave me confidence in David's little hand-drawn map. I found the small road which bridged the Mississippi River, and the other roads leading into Minneapolis. I was reasonably confident that I could fo.low the route that David sketched out. Getting onto the bike trails system was a different issue, but I would be in a motel before I ventured onto it. That would be tomorrow's issue.

A quick check on my smart phone had the distance between St. Cloud, where I was staying, and Bloomington, my destination, was 75 miles. By bicycle, it is always considerably longer, but I figured it at 100 miles. If I rode 50 to 60 miles today, I should be in good shape tomorrow.

The temperatures were about 10 degrees below normal, with today's high to be 75. I left the motel close to 8 AM, but it was after 10:30 AM before I took off my windbreaker. Not too long after starting, i came to a Rest Area, which offered free, detailed maps of  the stae, so I took one. Little did I know all the use it would get today. Stopping for lunch, I asked several people where the bridge was, and the second person gave me good diections. At least they would have been if I had followed them. Or maybe they dtill were good in spite of my ineptitude. I made a right turn instead of a left turn but discovered the error within 1/2 mile.

My friend yesterday, David, said there were lots of restaurants and motels. I discovered the first of those to be true.

Do you remember the scene from the movie called "The Jerk", starring Steve Martin? He was leaving home and stuck out his thumb to hitchhike.  A car picked him up and delivered him to the end of the fence, 60 feet away. I was reminded of that when I discovered the Mississippi River Trail. I rode down a winding asphalt pathway to the trail. Within 50 feet, it started angling back up to the street. Apparently, I had entered it 50 feet from its end. 

I became a serious directions asker (if there is such a thing). By the end of the day, at least a dozen, maybe two dozen, folks were approached with requests. Motels were getting scarce, but I finally found one. I do not recall ever finding so many people that did not have a clue.

So tomorrow's migration, via bicycle trails, will be interesting, and, no doubt, challenging. I suspect that once I am onto the trail system, I will be primarily dealing with bicyclers, so  my success ratio should improve.

Having ridden 63 miles today, Bloomington, according to my phone, is 23 miles away. Comparing car miles and bicycle miles is sort of like comparing human years to dog years. However, it would not surprise me if I arrive in Bloomington after 35 miles. Jack's place is on the far side of Bloomington, so it could be a 40-50 mile day. The weather should be pleasant, and a bit warmer.

At least I have a little more time for devotions.

God's peace to you all. 

It seems like every day, I am getting a little faster at getting ready to pack up and get on the road, without sacrificing devotions. I arrived at a quaint cafe in Sauk Center by 6:40 AM,

The maps i primarily use, are typically for a long east/west north/south routes. Each route may have a dozen or more maps from start to finish. Since I am not following the route that I am on, to its completion, I just purchased  maps on the areas that I would be on. By the end of this journeyes I will have done parts of the Northern Tier trail, Lewis and Clark trail, Atlantic  Coast trail, and the Underground Railroad trail. My route today started on map 5 of the Northern Tier, and then continued on map of the Northern Tier. Which helps to explain my errant comment yesterday about being on a rail-trail for three days. I had been told that, but the maps did not support it. I would start out on a trail today, but would leave it after 40 miles. 

In several days I will be in the Minneapolis area, visiting with Jack Ingersol, Karen's cousin. During my 2008 trip, Jack was so interested, that he drove all the way down to southern Illinois to follow me in his car for two days. He was a wonderful companion.

Technically, Jack lives in Bloomington, on the west side of Minneapolis. The maps I use take me to the east side of Minneapolis. It is probably 60 miles out the way one would travel by car. Jack couldn't understand why I would go that far out of the way. The answer is that my maps tell me where food and lodging are located, along with accurate mileages. To go off the map would bring a large amount of uncertainty into my ride. That would soon change.

The weather was a bit cool with low probability of rain. So, of course it rained, albeit lightly. Finally, about mid-morning, I decided it was not going to rain anymore. So I stopped the bike, got off it, folded up the rain  jacket and put it away. When done, I looked up, and there, standing next to me was another bicycle tourer. We chatted a bit, then started riding, and rode together for two hours.

Some of you may consider me a bicycler, but I know better. This fellow, David Siskind, was a bicycler indeed. At 74, he had bicycle toured most parts of the country multiple times. Living in Minneapolis, he was on his way up to explore some of the CanadIan landscape for six weeks. Since he was from the Twin Cities area, I shared Jack's lament about my route. My new friend agreed with Jack, then, as we were pedaling along he was quiet for a few minutes, then said "i've got it. I have your route figured out." Then he proceeded to explain it. It made more sense once he concisely put it down as a map. In essence I can get to Jack's place comfortably in three days instead of four days. So, right now I am 80 miles from Minneapolis and should be able to comfortably get to Jack in two days of 50 or so miles, not the 70-88 that I have been doing lately. He assured me there are restaurants all over the place, and motels galore (I just need one for tomorrow night). Hmm, I wonder if Jack even wants me a day early? Yikes!

I know that David was flesh and bones, but he was like an angel to me. I have been given so many suggestion on this trip, the overwhelming majority of which I reject. But David's credentials and clear knowledge of the area won my respect. These types of meetings seem like coincidences, but as I said before, the Lord's actions are much more clear and obvious when one is alone in the middle of nowhere. He brought us together.

The scenery was very pretty today, as always. I am getting out of the lakes area, but I enjoy farmland. Surprised a doe and fawn today. A pilliated woodpecker flew out in front of us for a while. 

The moment I got onto the highway i was going to take south, what do you suppose happened? I got a good tailwind. Once again, I was flying down the road.

When was the last time I had a 70 mile day, and was checking into a motel before 3 PM? 

 Blessings.

Today was going to be different than any of the other days on this journey so far. All day was going to be on a paved rail-trail. The next several days would be on one also. Minnesota is known for having multiple trails throughout its state.

To the non-bicycler, this would be a big plus. No traffic to contend with! As a bicycler, I think it's nice, but I am so used to vehicles, and their politeness, that it is not the big deal to me that it would be to others. 

As long as there is something to look at, I am happy. I love looking at the crops, and farm houses, and lakes with all that goes in them.  Often rail trails are thick on both sides by piled up soil and years of vegetation. To ride, but not be able to see much does not excite me. Fortunately there were a number of opportunities to see the area as the trail winded through a plethora of lakes.

As you might imagine, wildlife is abundant. In the morning, I could see a young deer ahead on the trail. It looked up, and instead of running, it started coming towards me. Suddenly, it realized that I was not what it originally thought, and turned away and tried to run, but asphalt is not a good surface for deer to get off to quick starts. First, it's rear legs did the splits, reminding me when Bambi, in the movie, tried to walk on the ice, doing the same splits I just witnessed. Finally, it got moving and soon was out of sight.

After lunch, I came across two baby raccoons who just got on the trail. Knowing that mama racoon was close at hand, and not someone to irritate, I started talking to the little ones, in a gentle voice, but urging them to get off the trail. Slowing down to give them enough time to escape, I pondered how cute they were. It reminded me of when we had a pet racoon baby, named Rascal. One day it left, only to return in the spring with a mate, and later with their children.

For the first time, I ended up chatting with bicyclers three separate times. The ones that were touring  traded information with me. In particular, they had advice on the C&O Canal that may prove valuable when I get into Maryland.

The second couple were excited about the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile in the next town. Hmm, I WAS getting hungry.

The third gentleman was riding a trike recumbent. We chatted, and when I shared my faith with him, he wished that I could have participated in his Bible study that morning. 

Although I started at 7:30 AM, I did not get into my destination, Sauk Centre until 5 PM.  The overall mileage was not terribly onerous, somewhere in the low to mid 70s, but the time got used up visiting and, of course, getting my photo taken with my favorite weinermobile.

Blessings until tomorrow. 

Today was going to be different than any of the other days on this journey so far. All day was going to be on a paved rail-trail. The next several days would be on one also. Minnesota is known for having multiple trails throughout its state.

To the non-bicycler, this would be a big plus. No traffic to contend with! As a bicycler, I think it's nice, but I am so used to vehicles, and their politeness, that it is not the big deal to me that it would be to others. 

As long as there is something to look at, I am happy. I love looking at the crops, and farm houses, and lakes with all that goes in them.  Often rail trails are thick on both sides by piled up soil and years of vegetation. To ride, but not be able to see much does not excite me. Fortunately there were a number of opportunities to see the area as the trail winded through a plethora of lakes.

As you might imagine, wildlife is abundant. In the morning, I could see a young deer ahead on the trail. It looked up, and instead of running, it started coming towards me. Suddenly, it realized that I was not what it originally thought, and turned away and tried to run, but asphalt is not a good surface for deer to get off to quick starts. First, it's rear legs did the splits, reminding me when Bambi, in the movie, tried to walk on the ice, doing the same splits I just witnessed. Finally, it got moving and soon was out of sight.

After lunch, I came across two baby raccoons who just got on the trail. Knowing that mama racoon was close at hand, and not someone to irritate, I started talking to the little ones, in a gentle voice, but urging them to get off the trail. Slowing down to give them enough time to escape, I pondered how cute they were. It reminded me of when we had a pet racoon baby, named Rascal. One day it left, only to return in the spring with a mate, and later with their children.

For the first time, I ended up chatting with bicyclers three separate times. The ones that were touring  traded information with me. In particular, they had advice on the C&O Canal that may prove valuable when I get into Maryland.

The second couple were excited about the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile in the next town. Hmm, I WAS getting hungry.

The third gentleman was riding a trike recumbent. We chatted, and when I shared my faith with him, he wished that I could have participated in his Bible study that morning. 

Although I started at 7:30 AM, I did not get into my destination, Sauk Centre until 5 PM.  The overall mileage was not terribly onerous, somewhere in the low to mid 70s, but the time got used up visiting and, of course, getting my photo taken with my favorite weinermobile.

Blessings until tomorrow.