Biking, Day 23: August 8, 2009

Day 23: New Ulm, MN to Owatonna, MN
Distance: 75 miles
Route: 14E
Lodging: Budget Host, $45 plus photos taken with motel-owners

A dear and wise friend told me today that this was the Dark Period. Like in a marathon, that point around 18-20 miles where you've finished more than half, but you can't quite see the finish. This isn't to say that Minnesota isn't lovely - it is - or that I'm not enjoying this anymore - I am - but the last few days have been particularly hard.

First, the weather has been crappy. Not crappy enough to warrant a day off, which I probably should have taken, but uncomfortable. Yesterday, it was periodic driving rain and 15-20MPH head and cross winds. Today, it was a heat advisory and 20MPH head wind with menacing clouds threatening (and eventually delivering) thunderstorms. I fell short both yesterday and today which, for anyone who knows me, is enough to lock the day in the 'crappy' column. Yesterday, I had hoped to make it 100 miles to Mankato. I went 65 to New Ulm (which, having now seen Mankato, was a MUCH better choice). Today, I had hoped to make it the 115 miles to Rochester, MN. When I was faced with thunder and lightening at 4pm in Owatonna with 40 more miles to Rochester and no cities with lodging in between, I chose to stay in Owatonna.

The wind has been particularly frustrating. I specifically flew out to Seattle to bike West to East with the hopes of some solid tailwinds. So far I have had exactly ONE day of tailwinds, the rest have been headwinds, crosswinds (which can sometimes be worse), and no wind. The winds today were so intense that some gusts were so strong that i was convinced I had blown a tire since I came to an abrupt almost-stop. I was barely breaking 10MPH today. It was frustrating.

To add to the dark period today, my iPod Shuffle died. Not only did it die, but it died mid-Maddow. I download Rachel Maddow every day (every week day) and save it for particularly challenging parts of my ride. She makes me laugh, and cringe sometimes, but mostly laugh. When I dug deep to deploy the Maddow today, my shuffle died. Sink deeper into Dark Period.

The other thing that I feel I should mention that has become a bit of an issue, and I know I've mentioned this before, but it's the lack of human contact. I wasn't fully prepared for this to be a challenge. The reality is that I haven't hugged a person in 24 days. It may not sound like a big deal, but I can't think of the last time in my life, if ever, that I haven't had moderately intimate contact with another human being. Hell, I can't remember the last time I haven't had moderately romantic contact (commence eye roll) with another human being for a period of 3 weeks. I can't even fathom solitary confinement.

Thinking ahead, I'm excited about the next two weeks. Things are starting to get familiar. But back to today. I woke up at 630, had my coffee and breakfast and tried to figure out where I wanted to go. I was tired, I sort of wanted to take a break, but the weather was good and I decided to ride. There were storms in the area, but it looked like I could ride until at least late afternoon without much trouble. Optimistically, I could possibly reach Rochester, MN - 115 miles or stop along the way in Mankato, Janesville, Waseca, or Owatonna, each about 15 miles apart.

When I started riding, it was incredibly humid and insanely windy. The wind was pretty miserable. I pushed through and took a break when I got to Mankato, about 30 miles into my ride. I got a drink, talked to my parents about motel options, and made small talk with an adorable boy with a 'Minnesota State Wrestling' t-shirt on who was filling the tires of his trailer with air. My mom made a reservation for me in Owatonna, 45 or so more miles. My mother has been awesome throughout this adventure in being my ever-available conversation partner, constant pressure-er to take a break, and overzealous travel agent.

I forged on. Route 14 around Mankato sucked. It had become more of an interstate and the lane where I ride was littered with rocks, glass, and other tire-threats. I rode past Janesville, where my mom had initially wanted to make a reservation. The wind was rough, but the heat started getting really intense. I pulled into Waseca for another break.

Waseca was a cute town, really gorgeous houses, and the best Kwik Mart I have encountered in my 2000+ miles. Clean bathrooms, fountain pop with the option to add flavors like vanilla, lime and cherry (vanilla, obvi), a bakery with the most beautiful cinnamon roll I have seen in weeks, and fresh fruit. I utilized all of the aforementioned.

I talked to my mom and we determined there wasn't anything between Owatonna, where I had a reservation, and Rochester, my lofty goal. Owatonna felt too short - I actually felt really good, despite the Dark Period and the wind and heat. But it was 3PM and pushing to Rochester felt risky considering the time and the weather report calling for storms. I decided to go and reassess in Owatonna.

I rode on, and felt great. Waseca is beautiful - a big lake, pretty houses, etc. I rode the 15 miles and got to Owatonna. When I got into town, I made the executive decision to stay. It was 3:55PM and I had to call before 4PM to tell the motel owners if I was coming. The owner, a gentleman with a strong Indian accent, gave me a $5 discount because he had never met anyone who was biking across the country. This was going to be fun.

In the distance, I saw a strip mall. Oh, middle America. I saw no strip malls in the west, I saw a mini one yesterday, but this one was worthy of the Virginia suburbs. Loews, Super Walmart, McDonalds, and even a Culver's, a sure sign of the midwest (and a personal favorite). I needed to go to Walmart to get some new headphones, since I was hoping the iPod Shuffle issue was maybe my headphones.

Walmart turned out to be more of an adventure than I had planned. I finally got that protein powder MC had encouraged me to buy (but I couldn't find electrolytes). I got vitamins. I got fresh fruit (strawberries!!) and vegetables to make a salad. There had been a period of several days where I had eaten primarily from convenience stores (read: high carb, sugar, delicious pastries, etc) and i was super excited to have some fresh food.

When I finished up at Walmart, I started riding toward the motel. I got a little lost so I called and re-asked directions. He helped me out.

About ten minutes later, when I arrived at the motel, the owner and his son were waiting outside. They cheered for me when I was pulling in. I'm not joking, they were cheering. He was REALLY excited. I greeted them, he said how amazing this was. He then asked if he could take a picture. Of course. He was a middle aged man, about 5'4", indian, bald, and a little overweight. He was wearing track pants. He then asked his son/relative to take a picture of us. oh! but before he took the picture, he needed to put on his bike helmet. Oh yes, he went inside the motel and emerged wearing a bicycle helmet. He admitted to never riding a bike, but said someone had once left a bike helmet. Clearly a perfect prop for our photo.

I indulged the owner and his son and checked into the motel. He offered to make me breakfast earlier than 6am, but I said 6am was fine. It's like I was an olympic athlete. I enjoyed the special treatment.

I showered, had dinner, and talked on the phone with some friends. I started mapping out the next few days. Tomorrow, I would like to make it to La Crosse, WI, an aggressive 120 miles. Then, Madison, WI (where I lived for a year), Hoffman Estates, Il (to see Shri), Westmont, Il (to see Melissa), Culver, IN (where I spent 5 summers growing up), then into Ohio to see my parents.

I can see an end to the Dark Period.