September 4, 2013

A few days of being out of internet service and mostly out of phone service.

So, spent Monday biking with the guys from Boston (Jerry and Frankie). They invited me to stay with them in Sauk Centre.  We stayed at the Palmer House.  Classic, old hotel with great
personality.  They let us put our bikes in the breakfast room, and were incredibly
 helpful.  They washed our clothes for us and were generally welcoming.  The Palmer
 House has been on some tv show dealing with ghosts.  We didn't see any, but supposedly
the hotel is haunted.  Answer to the trivia question about a famous author from Sauk
Centre - Sinclair Lewis.

Continued to ride on the bike trail (Lake Wobegon).  Great riding.  Jerry and Frank
were fun to ride with.  I learned a lot about Boston and Massachusetts.  They continued
towards Minneapolis and I split off to follow the Northern Tier Route.

Ate in an amazing cafe in Bowlus.  Cyclists get off the trail and head straight for the cafe.  There were waves and waves of cyclists stopping  and having lunch or a treat.

In some ways it was too many people for me.  I thought about camping there (across the street from the cafe).  Ended up riding another 20 miles to a farm house called Alice's Attic.  She has remodeled her barn to show off her antique business and has allowed bikers to spend the night on mattresses on the floor.  It was peaceful and restful.

The animal theme has changed to domestic animals.  Cattle, horses, and now that we are in farm country - dogs.  Chased by 4 dogs yesterday.  Today my heart beat a bit faster as I watched a Doberman start to give chase from a ways away.  Fastest I have moved for a while.  I'm glad it wasn't as close as the other dogs.  Also passed 3 alpaca.  Unusual.

Great riding.  Small country roads with little traffic.  The drivers that are there are accommodating.


Yesterday I spent the night at the Adventure Cycling Bunkhouse( near Dalbo).  Fantastic.  Converted barn with bunks, pads to sleep on, pillows, a shower heated by the sun, lots of room, and pictures and stories from the many cyclists who stop by.

I had just arrived and was looking around when Don(the farmer/owner) came out to greet me and invite me to lunch.  Another refreshing evening.

Today's ride was good.  Still cool, although the heat is coming back on Friday.   I rode on some newly improved roads.  These had rumble strips on the shoulder and also on the center line.  No wandering around on the roads in Minnesota.

In St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Minnesota was great.  I hope Wisconsin is just as good.

Til next time