T1 Day 33 (Kayla)

 July 9 


Fergus Falls - Sauk Center


Spoiler alert: today was amazing! It was filled with all sorts of lovely: lovely bike trails, lovely weather, and best of all lovely people!


The day started in the home of Mike and Lexi, our super cool and kind Warm Showers hosts. Lexi cooked us up a massive breakfast, which even included vegetarian sausages, such a surprising treat, liz and I were so excited. As we were finishing up packing up our things to start riding Lexi’s mom shouted her goodbyes down the stairs :“HAVE A GREAT LIFE! YOU’RE OFF TO A GOOD START!” I know she doesn’t actually know us, but I would agree with her. Then Mike biked with us through fergus falls to the bike path that we would be on for the next 100 miles. Mike is a cyclist but hadn’t been on his bike yet this summer so when we started riding in the morning he was grinning from ear to ear. The joy was palpable and infectious! We all couldn’t help but smiling. Plus, it was such a treat to have new company and be on a shaded bike path after so many miles on crowded roads. After 10 miles or so mike parted ways with us to turn back and we continued on. Since we didn’t have to worry about cars, and it was incredibly flat, it was easy for us to bike together and pass the time chatting about all sorts of things. Before long it was lunchtime and we needed to stop for food, since we weren’t carrying any lunch on us at the time. Just before 1p we came across the town of Evansville and rode over to the grocery store only to find that it was closed on Sundays! That’s when keelin suggested that we try to see if the one restaurants in town, Schatzi’s, was still open (online it said they closed at 1p). We arrived at 12:59p, thinking we might be able to just get something quick to go, but they insisted we could sit and order a meal! We couldn’t believe their kindness! 


After lunch we continued along the bike trail for a ways only to run into Liz’s uncle and aunt, Rick and Kathy! They live in Minnesota, about an hour south of where we were biking. They had been tracking us and figured out that they could intercept us and bike with us for a bit. It was so fun to meet some of Liz’s family and have the new cycling company again (twice in one day!). Back at their car in Alexandria, Rick pulled out a cycling goodie bag of snacks, spare inner tubes, and a new front and rear light for Liz (Yey for better bike safety!). As if that wasn’t already amazing they also treated us to food and drinks before parting ways. 


The rest of the ride to Sauk center was relatively uneventful. We continued to follow the bike path through the trees and I was reminded of the training ride we had done down to New Haven on the Farmington heritage trail. Cruising along the bike trail I almost forgot that I was on a cross country tour and it just felt like I was going for a little casual 75mi ride. I guess my perception of distance has changed a bit!


When we arrived at the campground we were immediately told by the host that we would only be able to have one tent at our campsite. That sent my mind spiraling to whether cowboy camping was allowed and how that would be with all the bugs, while Liz pondered the prospects of us all squeezing into her 2 person tent. Luckily we didn’t have to go with either of those options and were able to get a different site by the lake. Unfortunately the ground at that site was very slanted, but at least it was a place to pitch all of our tents. Before settling in for the night Liz and I took a jump in the lake, which was a perfect refreshing temperature, and felt like a fitting activity for the state that claims to be the land of 10,000 lakes. For keelin the day wrapped up with a shower in the dark, since the power shut off in the bathroom. I was impressed by how calm she was about the situation given how much true crime she and her family listen to, but I guess that just goes to show how much more comfortable we’ve all become with less than ideal circumstances.

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