The classic red barn and a nostalgic look at farms of the past.
This pretty puppy barked at us, but at least he didn't chase us!
Linda, in front of the Ramey Grub and Pub. We like to go where we are welcome!
Jenna (the young pup in the group) rests after a long day.
Patty was better today, and said she wanted to bike slowly and lollygag with Edith and me, but she was off like a rocket and we didn't see her again until Little Falls. We had a good day, but there were not many "lollygagging" opportunities. The area we rode through astonished me. I have watched all the roads between Minneapolis and Brainerd "bloom" with homes and businesses over the years, but this place was just plain rural!
I noticed on the cue sheets that we were supposed to turn on something called 5S/SE. Hmmm. SE is a funny name for a road in Minnesota. Everyone told me I was nuts, county roads are often named with letters, but I sure never heard of such a thing in Minnesota. Sure enough, when we reached Milaca, we turned on 23. There was no sign of a 5S or an SE. We were looking for a cup of tea, but I threw Edith and Barbara M. for a loop when I turned into the floral shop. I had spotted the "COFFEE" sign outside, so we took a break there. I'm glad we did, because Georgia soon showed up to tell us that the bridge at our next turn was washed out! She had already found the alternate directions. Guess what, extra miles, how unique! We added a few more through the day, as the cue sheets continued to be misleading. 87 miles when all was said and done, instead of the planned 77. There were at least three casualties: Vicky was knocked off her bike by a dog; that was bad enough, but she fell in the grass, and she is allergic to grass. She soon had a reaction and her face and tongue swelled up, but she kept riding! Georgia's possible broken rib was hurting terribly and the road was really rough, so she was finally persuaded to get in the sag wagon. And Patty was six miles from Little Falls when she just plain collapsed on the side of the road, apparently dehydrated from having been sick for two days. Whew, Stephanie, the sag driver, had her work cut out for her, fetching wounded bikers and trying to help us all find our way through the bad directions.
Anyway, all's well that ends well. The ride was pretty. I stopped a local woman and asked for directions. She obliged, and then told Edith and I to go to the creamery and have an ice cream cone and put it on her bill! We had just finished lunch, so we had to decline, but wasn't that a sweet offer?
I pushed hard to keep up with Edith, and the last ten miles were really tough for me, but I knew I had a rest day, so no worries! Only two more riding days for the group, four more for the "Cigar Runners"!
Happy trails,
Dusty
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