Day 31: We just completed century ride number two in the same number of days. The weather forecast called for rain and wind, but the rain never materialized and we encountered very little wind. The ride was on good roads through enormous corn and soybean fields. Evergreen trees bordered well-maintained houses. The landscape looks very green and prosperous.
Much of today's conversation revolved around the usual topic, food. After our six person riding group finished our third breakfast (one at the hotel, and two at McDonald's) it only took a few minutes before discussions began about what we should eat for lunch and where we should eat.
We are now in Minnesota. Today's ride ended in Rochester, a city of 70,000 founded in the early 1900's and home of the famous Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic is known worldwide for it's medical research and education. Mayo Rochester is one of three Mayo clinics. The other clinics are located in Jacksonville and Scottsdale. As we rode into town we encountered lots of traffic, tall buildings and a flurry of activity. We haven't been in such a large town in a very long time.
Tonight's dinner buffet offered the usual salad, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, and chicken. Dinner was served around the indoor swimming. It was very hot and humid and I felt like I was eating dinner in a sauna. Due to the heat I couldn't eat much. After a short meeting about tomorrow's ride and ice cream, we all rushed to our air-conditioned rooms.
Day 32: Thunder, lightening and heavy rain woke most of us up at 3:00 a.m. I was happy not to be riding at that moment. It wasn't raining when we began riding. Instead the day offered us some strong headwinds, sharper rollers, 95-degree heat and lots of humidity. This combination made this only "80" mile day a bit more challenging. I was drinking water all day, but I had to drink more fortified power drinks than usual to beat the heat.
We have crossed the Mississippi River and are now riding in Wisconsin. I feel very tired today. It is hard for me to eat a lot in this heat and humidity and our high mileage over the past few days is taking its toll on me.
Day 33: As much as I enjoy riding each day, it is a wonderful feeling at the end of each ride when, after checking into the hotel, showering, washing bike clothes for the next day, I finally get to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack. I usually have plenty to nibble on as I squirrel away all my leftovers from the day's food purchases. Today, I am sipping coffee and enjoying a leftover cranberry muffin as I write this.
I purchased a new bike computer a few days ago. It is working very well. I was off by less than a half mile on what I rounded out to be century ride #3 in 4 days. Today started out hot and humid, but clouds rolled in and helped keep the temperature down to 85 degrees. The clouds saved all of us from what could have been a very difficult day. This part of Wisconsin reminds me of Sweden. There are endless rolling farm lands, many Lutheran Churches, lots of street and house signs with Scandinavian names, quaint vegetable and flower gardens, and much of the architecture has a Scandinavian flavor. What was different, however, was a ten-mile area of Amish country that we pedaled through. We saw the Amish people riding around in their horse drawn buggies. Their houses do not have electricity and most of the adults and children wear broad brimmed hats. The little girls were all wearing long dresses and bonnets. We asked if we could take their pictures, but they refused. We took some pictures from a far, but no one photographed them up close.
/Gunnel