Day 60: Little Falls, MN to Long Prairie, MN

July 11, 2008

31.72 Miles, 2:14:54 Ride Time, 14.10 Average Speed, 28.43 Maximum Speed

I'm going to have to start putting my cellphone/alarm clock farther away at night, so it's not so easy to turn it off and go back to sleep - I really overslept this morning. Because it was so late, and so hot, and so humid, etc. etc., I decided to take a quasi-rest day today, and just ride about thirty miles to Long Prairie. I like Minnesota, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever make it out of here alive.

I was finally riding through downtown Little Falls at about 11:00, when I stopped to take a picture of a mural on a bakery wall. The only thing I had photographed in town yesterday was a billboard for a furniture store ("You're going the wrong way!"), so I felt I owed it to the town to document something a little more charming.

While I was leaning my bike against the wall, a man walked up and asked if I was riding the Northern Tier, and if so, which direction. He was Peter, from Germany, and he quickly informed me that he and his wife were riding the "correct" direction, but were taking the day off today because they had a rare headwind. I told him I was only going to Long Prairie today, and he sort-of chastised me for not taking advantage of my (rare) tailwind. Whatever.

The short ride to Long Prairie was mostly uneventful. I rode through Sobieski (pop. 196), where I briefly considered stopping at the Polish Palace, and talking to the "host", "Snooze" (?), but I settled for taking a photograph of the sign outside.

I rode through Swanville (pop. 351), but, frankly, remember nothing about it all. Sorry, Swanville. Around this time I met a couple of Eastbounders, whose names I didn't get. When I told them I was going to Long Prairie, they excitedly informed me that they had just stopped there, and that the town had a Burger King. They really seemed enthusiastic about the Burger King. Well, I feel that way about Dairy Queens sometimes, too. (Imagine the excitement in the unlikely event I ever encounter another Dunkin' Donuts on this trip. Alas, I suspect that they don't exist west of Ohio).

I got to Long Prairie around 1:30, and found the motel, The Budget Host, which was one of the nicer old-style, mom-and-pop places I've stayed at. These old motels can be charming when they're well maintained.

After getting caught up on this journal, I checked out the town, and talked to some local people who informed me that storms were forecast for this evening. Later, at dusk, I went out again, and although the storms had never materialized, the power did go out in town briefly - some bad weather must have been occurring somewhere nearby, although I never saw it. The power outage occurred just as I was trying to purchase some snacks at the Casey's General Store, and even after the power returned, commerce was interrupted for several minutes while the cash registers "rebooted." (Earlier, at a supermarket, I had noticed that the terminals at half of the checkout lines read "Page cannot be displayed." Heh.)

I also visited the Burger King, where the brief power outage had rendered them unable to process my credit card, but they were, thankfully, still able to make french fries.

Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 4,334 miles (6,975 km)

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