Bishop Bike Adventure Day 35 August 4, 2010

We have been experiencing a streak of wonderful weather all throughout our trip, and certainly today was no exception. Add in a delightful tailwind, and the biking was much easier. To date, we have not had to bike in the rain.

We discovered that we are moving into corn country. All around us were large corn fields filled with bumper crops, a result of the ample rainfall earlier in the summer. Tim was not quite able to reach to the top of the corn stalks in this field. We also stumbled onto the clover field shown below.

We ventured into a town named Bowlus today where we were stopped by a bike touring enthusiast. He wanted to make sure that we visited their community visitor’s center and signed the guest book. The visitor’s center was an old train station located on an old railbed, which was converted into a trail for bikes and snowmobiles. Minnesota boasts some very significant bike trails, several of them in different parts of the State that span many miles. Shortly after leaving Bowlus, we crossed the Mississippi River, pictured below. We are close to the origins of the Mississippi, and therefore the River is not nearly as wide as most people are accustomed to thinking of it.

As we landed at Royalton for lunch, we spoke with a woman who was thrilled to talk with us about our adventure. In her words, we made her day. Her daughter is an avid biker who has trained with Lance Armstrong’s team of riders and has done some long distance touring.

Near the end of our biking day, we connected with Debbie’s Aunt and Uncle, who picked us up on the road and transported us to their summer camp in Pine City, Minnesota where we enjoyed a delicious home cooked meal on their deck overlooking the lake.