July 9, 2008
Day 58: Stillwater, MN to Springvale Campground (Near Springvale, MN)
87.23 Miles, 6:54:37 Ride Time, 12.62 Average Speed, 34.49 Maximum Speed
After my latest start ever - 11:00! - I found my way back onto the route, and into the appealing downtown of Stillwater (I had stayed last night at a motel out near a highway, by the "big box" stores and restaurants). After stopping to take a couple of my flower photos, for the fans of those (both of them), I crossed the St. Croix River and immediately encountered the steepest climb since Connecticut. Fortunately, it wasn't very long.
I was now back in Wisconsin for a while, which, after yesterday's fiasco on State Route 35, really redeemed itself. Super-quiet, scenic back roads. Great. I especially liked the long section on 280th Street, which, signs informed me, also functioned as an ATV route. (I thought people just rode those things wherever they wanted, anyway - at least that's how it is where I'm from).
Somewhere along this route I spotted a barn, on which an apparently poetry-loving farmer had painted "The Red Wheelbarrow", by William Carlos Williams. Nice. So much more interesting than "Chew Mail Pouch."
Later, a fortuitous wrong turn led me to another interesting barn. This one was gigantic, was on wheels, and had recently been moved to its present location, a sign informed me, by LiteHouse Movers of Balsam Lake, WI. I would have dearly loved to have seen this operation. The barn was about 2.5 times wider than the roads I had been riding on all morning.
After spending about 15 minutes examining the barn-on-wheels, I got back on the route and soon arrived in Osceloa (pop. 2,421). After talking to Barb and Bob, Eastbounders who have a journal here, I stopped for a leisurely lunch - almost too leisurely, as it turned out later, when I almost ran out of daylight.
I crossed the St. Croix River back into Minnesota, and started a long, rather boring stretch. It seemed to take forever to get to Sunrise (pop. 70), where riding on a tube down the river is apparently a big, big deal. (At least it's the biggest deal in Sunrise, where the only open business I saw offered tube trips down the Sunrise River with shuttle pickup.)
Later, in Harris (pop. 1,121), at about 60 miles for the day, I stopped at a gas station, where I was disappointed to find them out of chocolate milk. How can such a thing happen? It was getting kind of late, and I didn't know where I was stopping for the day, so I made a few phone calls and learned that, because there was a rodeo in the area, there was no place to stay in Cambridge, the nearest bigger town. There did appear to be a couple of camping options much farther down the road, so I quickly drank a Coke in lieu of the unavailable chocolate milk, and left.
As has been my habit recently, I really sped up at the end of the day, and was able to reach the Springvale Campground well before dark (but after 8:00). This is a must-stop for a cyclist. The owner, Sandy, only charges cyclists $2.50 to camp there, and it is probably the nicest campground I've ever seen. She offered to let me sleep in the recreation hall, or the air-conditioned laundry room, if I didn't feel like setting up my tent. The mosquitoes were out in force, so the choice was obvious - I moved into the laundry room.
Ironically, given my proximity to a washer and dryer - say, 6 inches - I didn't take the opportunity to do a real wash. It was too late, and I was too tired. A good day.
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Today's ride: 87 miles (140 km)
Total: 4,213 miles (6,780 km)
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