Day 24: Gravel, headwind, and crucial victories. Having had a late dinner last night, we decided to ride 20 miles before sitting down to a proper breakfast. The best deal at the only restaurant open early Sunday morning in Montevideo, MN was the buffet, so we unintentionally ended up with 2 buffet meals in a row. Sufficiently fueled, we resumed riding. We took a break in Milan, MN (pop. 359) and encountered Mr. Billy Thompson, 90 year old proud veteran of the Korean War. He is undoubtedly the oldest resident in town, has lived there his whole life, and he entertained us with a well-rehearsed stand-up comedy routine. He made sure we knew that he was the last remaining Lions' Club member in town. Onwards, our northbound ride was slowed by notable headwinds. Our last 10 miles was mostly on soft gravel, which added to our difficulties. Despite less than ideal road conditions in a sparsely populated area of Minnesota, Tim's visibly wobbling rear wheel made it all the way to our destination today without completely coming apart. Linda also completed the ride, despite some residual symptoms from her BPPV. She is tough. We are all amazed at her spirit and resiliency.
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| Mr Billy Thompson tells a joke |
Our hosts today were Ainars and Deb Silis, who greeted us at their retirement farm property near Chokio, MN (pop. 377). They are growing a vineyard of Minnesota Marquette red grapes, developed at the University of Minnesota. Ainars is the last of Tim's high school classmates we will be visiting. Ainars is retired from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Deb is a retired high school chemistry teacher. Upon arrival, Ainars whisked Tim and his bike away to nearby Morton, MN (pop. 378) to obtain a rear wheel replacement from the resident bike/guitar repairman. Once again, we were treated to a great dinner and exceptionally comfortable accommodations in their machine shed. Sounds unusual, and you had to be there to truly appreciate it.
Maps for today's ride:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3777705057
https://www.relive.cc/view/u3623536357
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| a looonngg day of gravel roads |
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