Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Day 30 - Mankato, MN - July 18th 2006
Weather: Sunny, low 90s
Location: Mankato, MN (from Worthington, MN)
Miles per day: 102.6
Average miles per hour: 13.60
Elevation climb: Neglible. A downhill day!
Blizzards/Ice Cream to date: 23 (German Chocalate 9/10!)
Flat Tires to date: 1 ( this occurred day 4 at a Dairy Queen!)
Dairly Queen is as American as Apple Pie and Baseball. We've all agreed that my trip should really be called 'America by Blizzard on-a-bike'. With my count now approaching 23, it is demonstrating that I have a knack for finding the DQ! Today, the 'FINAL FOUR' team outwitted our fellow riders and found St James Dairy Queen up on 7th Avenue in St. James. Always one to chip in, I assisted owner Curt Rogers serve up our fellow customers (Stu and Lois). And with a quick mop, I was off and biking again!.
In anticipation for today and the possibility of our nasty friend, my adrenaline was pumping on how I was going to beat her today. My strategy was simply to have an early start before she was awake. Sure enough, I downed my chocolate milk in the parking lot and was on the road by 6:00 AM. After ten miles, we opted to leave our fellow riders some cryptic notes (e.g. Where R U Wolfpack?). They turned out to be too cryptic and sure enough they found us at the first SAG stop. And then would you believe it, the wind was really no where to be found! I could have slept in... But we later caught our daily siesta in a fantastic spot - 9th hole!
The scenery continues to be corn and more corn. Although, I should add that at this point, the corn is for livestock. This really means that most of the day there is rancid smell of pigs in the air and the occasonal squealing sounds about. We have collectively agreed 'no more corn photos'! As the day ended, we passed Crystal Lake and viewed this interesting bi-plane below.
