Day 31--Mankato MN to Rochester MN--July 21st
Miles Ridden 102.5
Avg. Speed 16.0 MPH
Climbing 2500 Ft.
Total Miles Ridden 2261
Miles To Go 1368
Today's hundred mile ride started with a very steep climb up from the Minnesota River to get out of Mankato. When we got to the top, my roommate felt light-headed and fell off his bike at a traffic light. He added to his existing collection of cuts and bruises but continued riding. Combined with yesterday's accident, this helped convince us to take it easy today and avoid the hard riding we had been doing.
It was another day of corn, soybeans, back roads and small towns. We went through St Clair, Waseca, Medford, and West Concord; all small, neat and prosperous looking towns. By not worrying about our speed, we got to see a little more of the countryside and towns. The farms of Minnesota are really starting to bother to me. We have covered over 250 miles so far and the only two things I have seen growing are....you guessed it. We haven't seen anyone actually working on these huge farms and have seen virtually no animals (some horses today) and only smelled the hog factory farms. I'm hoping to at least see some cows when we get to Wisconsin tomorrow.
After hours of bumping over some of the rougher roads we have experienced on the trip we descended into our destination Rochester, Minnesota. Just about everything we saw in the city looked well done and orderly. We avoided city traffic by covering the last five miles over bike paths along the Zumbro (never heard of that before) River and got some nice views of the larger than expected city and skyline. 30,000 people work at the Mayo Clinic so I'm guessing health care money helps make Rochester a nice place to live. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the hotel, it was too late and I was too tired to make it to the downtown area to look around.
The good news today was that, other than my roommate's minor mishap, there were no more injuries. The bad news is that the forecast for our 90 mile ride to La Crosse, Wisconsin tomorrow calls for up to two inches of rain during the day.
Avg. Speed 16.0 MPH
Climbing 2500 Ft.
Total Miles Ridden 2261
Miles To Go 1368
Today's hundred mile ride started with a very steep climb up from the Minnesota River to get out of Mankato. When we got to the top, my roommate felt light-headed and fell off his bike at a traffic light. He added to his existing collection of cuts and bruises but continued riding. Combined with yesterday's accident, this helped convince us to take it easy today and avoid the hard riding we had been doing.
It was another day of corn, soybeans, back roads and small towns. We went through St Clair, Waseca, Medford, and West Concord; all small, neat and prosperous looking towns. By not worrying about our speed, we got to see a little more of the countryside and towns. The farms of Minnesota are really starting to bother to me. We have covered over 250 miles so far and the only two things I have seen growing are....you guessed it. We haven't seen anyone actually working on these huge farms and have seen virtually no animals (some horses today) and only smelled the hog factory farms. I'm hoping to at least see some cows when we get to Wisconsin tomorrow.
After hours of bumping over some of the rougher roads we have experienced on the trip we descended into our destination Rochester, Minnesota. Just about everything we saw in the city looked well done and orderly. We avoided city traffic by covering the last five miles over bike paths along the Zumbro (never heard of that before) River and got some nice views of the larger than expected city and skyline. 30,000 people work at the Mayo Clinic so I'm guessing health care money helps make Rochester a nice place to live. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the hotel, it was too late and I was too tired to make it to the downtown area to look around.
The good news today was that, other than my roommate's minor mishap, there were no more injuries. The bad news is that the forecast for our 90 mile ride to La Crosse, Wisconsin tomorrow calls for up to two inches of rain during the day.
Mural on the side of a building done in the 1950's of Main Street in West Concord
Main Street in West Concord today
First animals we have seen on a Minnesota farm
Looking at the Zumbro River from one of the miles of bike paths in Rochester
Skyline of Rochester from the river. I didn't make it into the city so I don't know which buildings are part of the Mayo Clinic
This is Ian, a Scotsman who is a retired policeman from Newcastle, England.
He rides slowly but completes every mile. He is enjoying a beer after riding eight and a half hours today
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