ROUTE: Mankato to Rochester, MN
DISTANCE: 100 miles
WINDS: Southwest
WEATHER: Rain in AM clearing to warm and humid
TERRAIN: Rolling countryside with some urban
TOTAL CLIMBING: 3,110 feet
RIDE OVERVIEW: I awoke early this morning and found heavy rain, heat, and humidity at 5:15, but no thunder or lightning. So I stashed the computer in White, affixed my bike to the bike rack (first removing the computer and covering the seat with a shower cap), and then went back inside to read the newspaper and wait for the others to get up and at 'em.
Discovered a large photo of Dianne on the front page and a story about her ride and hospice care. Another photo of Bill and Dianne and Steve fixing a flat just outside of Mankato appeared on page 8. I was just about to go back to my room when Big Mike came downstairs. He was feeling a bit under the weather and wanted to get checked out. I had the front desk call a taxi and then waited until he was on his way to the nearby hospital. Turned around and there was Jill Smith. If you recall, she took a tumble just before the first SS yesterday. She was feeling a bit sore but she was able to ride the day without problem.
By the time the riders got on the road, the rain had all but stopped. First challenge of the day was climbing the hill out of town, which was three blocks from the motel (upper right). The climb was a good punch up--about 300 feet in less than a mile, but it was a little like climbing San Francisco's hills or even biking to the Astoria Column because there were two cross streets that gave riders a little flat on the way up.
Box had the first SS, so I drove to the hospital to see how Big Mike was. Mike's wife, Karen, had walked to the hospital (which was a few blocks the other side of the climb), and the two of us and some very helpful staff checked out all possible modes of getting Mike from Mankato to Rochester after his check up: Car rental companies were overbooked or out of business; Amtrak didn't run on Wed.; Greyhound and another bus service had one bus run and it was at 8:30 AM--too early. The doc said Mike wouldn't be road ready until 10 at the earliest. So . . . I gave the two of them Barb's and Mike's and my cell phone numbers and took to the road close to 8 AM to chase down the riders.
We encountered one detour today, and it was a little rough (ka-thunk, ka-thunk) but it actually shaved about one half mile from the route. Box had set up SS#1 in a pavilion in a soggy park on Clear Lake at mile 33 in Waseca. Thus began Groundhog Day for me as we had rain last year and this very park was as waterlogged last year as it was this. Same puddles even. Only difference is that I cycled this day last year but was in White this year.
I set up SS#2 near a Sinclair gas station in a pocket park in West Concord. This little park contains a pavilion that sits next to a mural depicting cars lining Concord's small-town main street, circa 1950 or so. (See photo of Mike going back in time in the Photos of the Day section.)
As riders rolled in I heard stories of riders being chased by and narrowly escaping a yellow lab about a mile from the SS. Then Paul rolled in and showed us where the dog had grazed his leg with its teeth. Awhile later Len came in with a dog-bite. After doctoring him, Sue2 and I drove back along the route to ensure that the dog's rabies inoculation was current and also to ask the owner to pen the dog until all of the riders had passed through. Not sure of which house, we asked a boy coming toward us on a bicycle. He told us where the dog lived and then showed us the hole in his jeans and a bite he'd just received from the dog! I told him to go to the pavilion in town and to wait with our cyclists until we found out about the dog's rabies shot. At the lab's house, we found a young boy whose parents were not home, but he gave us the name of the vet and a phone number. Just as we were pulling out of the driveway, the sheriff arrived. He called the vet. The rabies inoculation was current. Whew! Apparently, this lab, normally a mild-mannered breed, had something against cyclists.
As riders rolled in I heard stories of riders being chased by and narrowly escaping a yellow lab about a mile from the SS. Then Paul rolled in and showed us where the dog had grazed his leg with its teeth. Awhile later Len came in with a dog-bite. After doctoring him, Sue2 and I drove back along the route to ensure that the dog's rabies inoculation was current and also to ask the owner to pen the dog until all of the riders had passed through. Not sure of which house, we asked a boy coming toward us on a bicycle. He told us where the dog lived and then showed us the hole in his jeans and a bite he'd just received from the dog! I told him to go to the pavilion in town and to wait with our cyclists until we found out about the dog's rabies shot. At the lab's house, we found a young boy whose parents were not home, but he gave us the name of the vet and a phone number. Just as we were pulling out of the driveway, the sheriff arrived. He called the vet. The rabies inoculation was current. Whew! Apparently, this lab, normally a mild-mannered breed, had something against cyclists.
But back to Groundhog Day. A utility truck pulled up shortly after I got back from canine patrol and raised its basket so that workers could change the light bulb in the corner streetlight. The exact same scenario took place last year at this SS. What are the odds? Maybe I really am trapped into endlessly repeating my summers. Think?
Minnesota farmland is beautiful and I'd be reluctant to leave this state tomorrow when we ride from Rochester to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, except that Wisconsin (our 6th state) farms are equally beautiful. Tomorrow we'll pass some turkey farms, a change from the cropland we've been passing through. I know I've said it before, but the farms are magnificent diamonds set in emerald fields of corn or soybeans. Each farm is a gem: neat and tidy, houses painted, lawns mowed right up to the outbuildings, hanging flower baskets and large flower gardens, and shade trees. Everywhere you looked there were tree islands sheltering silos, barns, and farm lots. Meadowlarks sang their summer songs in the early morning as the sun came out and riders pedaled to their destination.
Mike says that when people ask him why he rides bicycles across the nation, he realizes that days like this are what draw him to the road. I second that. You can just let your mind wander as you pedal through changing scenery . . . or you can solve all the world's problems, depends on whether you're Type A or Type B personality . . . though come to think of it, I don't think I've ever met a Type B endurance cyclist.
Tonight we're in Rochester, MN, home of the Mayo Clinic, established in 1889 by Dr. Wm. W. Mayo and his sons Charles and William. On Aug. 21, 1883, when a devastating tornado demolished much of Rochester, leaving 75 dead and several hundred wounded, Rochester did not have a medical facility that could treat all of the injured. Dr. Wm. W. Mayo and his two sons worked together with the sisters of St. Francis Church to care for the wounded. Seeing a need for a hospital, the sisters collected more than $60,000 in donations from area residents, and in 1889, St. Mary's Hospital was opened. Dr. Mayo was asked to head the facility. The Mayo Clinic employs nearly 11,000 people, and nearly half a million people seek medical care at the Clinic each year. Rochester has been called "The Physician Capital of the World" with one of every 70 residents being a doctor. Also, it has been voted the best place to live in America 5 years in a row.
Coming into the city, riders had the option of riding a bike path along the Zumbro River or riding through downtown Rochester. Many chose the path (above right), including the Dairy Queens, led by Jill Williams, who is from Rochester, MN.
THE REST OF THE STORY: Big Mike & Karen showed up in Rochester about the time we were unloading luggage. How had they gotten from Mankato to Rochester? In a taxi. And . . . the hospital paid for it, comping it out as part of their services. They explained that they'd seen the article about the America by Bicycle Ride on the front page of the newspaper and decided that Big Mike and Karen were probably the biggest celebrities they'd ever treat. Very very nice random act of kindness I think.
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:
- "I had this baby custom made in Tuscany using titanium blessed by the Pope."
- "Owning a bike shop is like bleeding to death from a paper cut."
- "I wouldn't touch his bike without donning a haz mat suit."
- "How many bonus miles did you accumulate today, Cliff"
- "Doodah!"
PHOTOS OF THE DAY:
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| Mike discovers a time machine and pedals down Main Street, circa 1950. |
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| Mike doing what the sign tells him to do--showing his bike |
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| There was a wahr in South'n Jim's tahr this afternoon so Hook-n-Bull gave Jim a hay-und in fixin' it up right good. |
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| The chaos called early morning luggage load, artfully shot through bike spokes. |
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| Canada geese and mallards along the Rochester bike trail. |
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| Albert, Cliff, and Chips (not bothering to stifle a yawn) wondering why we weren't getting the show on the road this morning. |
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