We are getting later and later starts which is not a good habit to get into, but the extra sleep feels good! We had an excuse today though as we had to refill the propane and the station didn't open until 8:00 am. Sheesh propane is a scarce commodity in Willmar as there are only a couple places you can fill up and we were down to the last molecule so we had no choice.
I expected an easy, non eventful ride of 48 miles to Hutchinson today. I got the 48 miles right (no wrong turns) but easy and non eventful were not in the cards. Everything started fine with overcast, cool temperatures and good road. Cheryl and I met at an intersection of HWY 71 and HWY 7 to ensure we didn't have a repeat of yesterday's directional mishap and once we agreed we had the right route,I suggested to Cheryl she go on to Hutchinson and check out the town. About 5 miles from that intersection, all hell broke loose. I lost my nice shoulder, the rain stated coming down in buckets and the truck traffic picked up significantly (bad combination). It was the worst riding conditions of the trip so far. To add insult to injury I had my dark lenses in which made visibility really poor with the rain. Because with no shoulder and low visibility I felt unsafe for the first time. It was awful. "So why am I doing this?" popped into my head a few times.
Being the perfect SAG wagon, Cheryl sensed this and had stopped in a neat little town called Cosmos to wait for me. The town is based on, you guessed it, the Cosmos and all things cosmic related. Streets at named after planets, the water tower looks like a flying saucer and they even have an annual Space Festival that starts Friday. Damn! We missed it by 2 days!!!
There was a neighborhood bar and grill called Mug Shots which we thought would be a good place to grab some lunch and wait for the storm to blow over. It was the classic establishment you would expect in a town of 473 people. Matt, the owner, knew everyone that walked in (except us of course) and everyone knew Matt. The lunch special was scalloped potatoes with chopped ham which most everyone ordered. It sounded great (and unique) so count me in! Being raining and a little cold, Cheryl opted for the soup. "What's the soup today?" she asked. "Sorry, soup is only offered in the winter." was Matt's response. "Same for the Chili?" "Yep." "OK, I'll have a salad."
There was a neighborhood cribbage game going on over in the corner. I love cribbage and wanted to go over and watch and maybe get some pointers but I was a little intimidated. "Fifteen two, fifteen four and you better run yourself out of here boy" So I just stayed on my side of the restaurant. It was a nice place and the scalloped potatoes and ham hit the spot on a rainy day.At about 2:30 pm the rain cleared and I changed into some dry clothes and continued the ride to Hutchinson. It's funny how things work out. Immediately outside of Cosmos the shoulder widened and with it not raining, it was a very enjoyable 20 miles.
I rolled into Hutchinson much later than normal for obvious reasons and we found a nice spot to camp in Masonic West River Park. Not much time to see the town as it was a load of laundry, dinner at the Tokyo Grill and Game 4 of the NBA finals and then time for bed. As an aside, did I mention that we bought a party bag of M&Ms at the Walmart in Aberdeen? After Doritos, these are a major weak spot for me and I've been munching on M&Ms non stop for three days now. The party bag is like a box of wine (yes I drink box wine!) You never really know how much you are eating/drinking because it's just small amounts at a time. Next thing you know you're hammered.
Tomorrow we are in Bloomington. Since we skipped a rest day to catch up to the schedule, I've ridden 9 straight days. My body (and mind) is telling me I need a break so that's what we are doing. I'm thinking "Mall of America" may be in our future but you never know.
Until then.....
Stay safe! Been thinking about you guys every day since we met.
ReplyDeleteThanks for thinking of us. The name on the post shows up as unknown. Who is this?
DeleteThanks for thinking of us. The name on the post shows up as unknown. Who is this?
DeleteHey there. Loving reading these. I laugh every time. You are amazing putting your sister to shame altho I'm older than you. Great job Cheryl keeping Chris on track. My the hills be small and the wind at your back. Love to you both
ReplyDeleteThanks Corinne! Looking forward to seeing you when we get back!
DeleteI look at the road chart for the day and think "Must have been a great ride. A short 48 miles, 15 mph, and only 300 foot of elevation." Sorry to find out that was not the case for the first part of the day. The rain and road sounds awful. Glad the last 20 miles turned out nice.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing John. That’s the crazy thing. You never know what the day will bring! Just finished today. Rest day tomorrow!!
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