Last 3

We've been busy the last couple days with a few bike troubles but we're going pretty good now.  On Saturday morning we left Jordies' after breakfast and headed down the Soo Line bicycle trail--which turns into the Lake Wobegan trail.  The trail used to be a railroad so it makes for easy pedaling as there are few steep hills.  The trail is pretty scenic--it cuts through rural Minnesota crossing rushing creeks and bisecting an array of marshlands and lakes. 

The first flat tire of the trip went to Jer.  We were able to make it to Jake's Bike Shop in Alexandria.  There we shot the shit with the mechanics for an hour and a half and learned quite a bit about our bikes.  Also, one of the guys gave us a great spot to camp for the night.

The campsite was secluded and sandwiched inbetween Lake Brophy and the bike trail.  We cleaned up in the clear water and jumped off a submerged dock at the site.  The wind off the lake kept the mosquitos at bay so we were able to spread out all of our stuff like a bike tourist garage sale and lay in the sun, read, do some yoga, and shoot our sling shot at an empty V8 bottle like a few kids.

We saw a storm front building up in the distance and hung out on a hill to watch the clouds gather.  The calm before the storm brought out the mosquitos which drove us into our tents before dark.

Saturday Miles logged: 67
Total:  283

We wanted to make Sunday a long ride but we noticed that the back tire of Ryan's bike was wobbling.  We spent some time "truing" his back wheel and we were able to get to Fergus Falls.  We'll probably be damn good bike mechanics by the time we get to Oregon.

We still needed a bike shop in Fergus Falls but nothing was open on Sunday.  We did meet a really cool bike tourer, a German named Manuel biking to New York City by way of Vancouver, BC.  We talked for at least an hour trading stories, information and tips for the road.  After Manuel left we found an open Mexican Restaurant and watched the World cup match.  

We decided to camp that night and go to the bike shop when it opened the next morning.  We camped at Delagoon City Park just a mile and a half south of Fergus Falls and finally didn't have to use the rain fly. The stars were amazing.

Miles logged: 48

Overall: 331

That brings us to today. Ryan went to the bike shop when it opened in the morning while Brady and Jer went to the library. We all were back together around 1130 after Ryan came to the library with a fixed back wheel and some other improvements to his ride. We decided it was also a good time to send the things we realized we didn't need back home. So we loaded a box Jer found near the dumpster behind a hardware store with 30 lbs worth of extra weight.  We all felt a bit of relief after shedding a few pounds.

We didn't get on the road until nearly 1 but figured the roughly 50 miles we thought we needed to go was still manageable. It ended up being nearly 60 miles and was also probably the hilliest day we've encounterd thus far. We curved and climbed through all kinds of hills dappled with clumps of forest and stretches of farm-field.  Also the prettiest ride yet.  

Another cool thing are the avian critters around this area.  Lots of egrets--tall, slender, bleached-white stoic looking birds and huge pelicans that look like swans on steroids but instead of a petite black beak they have a foot and half long fish scoop the color of a number two pencil attached to their face.

Right now we're camped in Barnesville in west central MN close to the ND border.  The place has $1.00 showers.  We so clean.  

Also, thanks for reading our stuff we're diggin' the support from everyone!  Sometimes we do not get very good reception but we'll try to have posts and pictures every couple days.  Thanks :)

Miles logged: 56

Total: 387

Learnin about bikes

They fall apart all the time

Gotta fix em, man.