storms

I woke up at 2:47 AM, and it was raining, but I was as snug as a bug in a rug. It tapered off and had stopped raining by the time I woke up at 4:30 AM. (A storm was forecast for later in the morning, so we’d decided to pack up a bit early to avoid having to pack up in it.) I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I heard a series of deep rumbles. The other girls in there and I turned around and looked at each other to see if anyone else knew what the noise was. We opened the door to the bathroom to find a torrential downpour. The noise had been thunder, and was also apparently our warning that we had approximately 10 seconds to pack up our bags and tents if we didn’t want them drenched. We all scrambled around like ants in an ant hill that had just been stepped on, frantically trying to pack up our belongings, take down and bundle up our tents, and give each other a hand.

We then bicycled the ¹⁄₂ mile to Ward’s store for breakfast where we had a breakfast casserole with egg and sausage, boiled eggs, and the previous evening’s leftover cheesey potatoes and cake (every decent meal needs dessert!).

The rain storm continued on through breakfast and most of the morning, and unfortunately the headwinds were present today as well. The only way I’ve been able to find any relief from it is to curl up and get lower on my bike so that the wind has less surface area to hit. This does do some good (though not a lot), but it also seriously limits your available positions on the bike. Usually holding on to the handle bars requires you to be leaning forward at a 45° angle, but sometimes I’ll sit upright and hold on to the top of the handle bar; sometimes I’ll lean further forward and hold on to the drop handlebar; sometimes I’ll rest my forearms on the top of the handle bar. Anyhow, where I’m going with this is that you generally have fewer positions when riding in wind avoidance mode, so I’m getting a bit stiff and sore with all of this downward riding – and my body is letting me know how displeased it is. My wrists say to me “Why do we have to hold you up all day? Aren’t you aware that you have legs for this task? We are made to chill out – possibly sit at a desk and type. We’ve been happy to accept this task and other odd jobs as required. What we are not made for is to hold your torso up all day. Work something else out!” And my behind says “We’ve had an arrangement that you have adhered to for so long – why the sudden change? Things were going so well with our arrangement. I sit in chairs. I prefer cushions, but I’m somewhat flexible. I’ll sit on bicycle saddles on occasion, but nothing like this. You’re asking far too much of me.”

Thankfully, Brian, one of the speedier riders, slowed down a bit to ride with me today. While he did slow down a bit, it was still a lot quicker than I usually went, so I had to go at a quick clip to stick with him. When I’m by myself and don’t have anyone else to keep pace with, I tend to spiral down the path of least resistance and just barely keep my pedals moving, so it’s always nice to ride with others – both for the company and because I generally go faster!

Late in the ride, we crossed the state line into Minnesota. To South Dakota and its headwinds, I say good riddance! The state sign boasted that Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, but with all of the flooding happening here, I bet they’re up to 11,000! The stagnant bodies of water that occupy what was once farmland and the rotting vegetation therein give off quite a foul smell that accompanied us for much of today’s ride.

Interestingly, the Minnesota state government has more or less shut down due to lack of agreement over a state budget, so all of the rest stops in Minnesota are closed. I hope this is not foreshadowing for the federal government! Unfortunately, the wind followed us right in to Minnesota as well – it seems there’s no escaping it! However, at least there were windmills all over the place in Minnesota (they were noticeably absent in South Dakota) so that at least some good resulted from the mercilessly strong winds.

As we rode in to the small town of Tyler, we saw a lot of damage done by a recent tornado. Trees had fallen down right and left, sometimes cracking in half, sometimes tipping right over taking a chunk of the ground with it as though it were just too tired to stand up anymore and had laid down.

We spent the night in the Tyler High School (though I still had to set up my tent to let it dry out from this morning’s deluge), and I had a most bizarre experience upon my arrival. The first several bikers to arrive at camp each evening help unload everyone’s bags from the gear truck. Generally, when I arrive, this has long since been done. However, not today – I was somehow a speedy one, and though it meant the extra work of unloading the truck, I was just overjoyed to be involved because it meant I wasn’t such a slow snail.

Dinner was still several hours off, so I went in to town for a snack at the Timber Tavern. Another rider had been there and recommended the jalapeno poppers, so I tried those. While they were delicious, they were also somewhat appalling. They are jalapenos sliced in half, filled with cream cheese, and then deep fried. I felt like I’d eaten a brick after I finished them!

Dinner was catered at the high school by the “Tu Phat Girls” catering company. Now I know that based on the name, you may be expecting that they served Vietnamese food or something similar. However, they were just two little American ladies who served up barbeque pork, corn, salad, and similar fare. I have no idea how they chose the name for their catering company!

After dinner, we all played silly board games and laughed a lot, which was much needed after this week’s long days and pummeling by the wind.