Cornrows

Someone recently asked me if any part of my route is the same as anything I have done on a previous trip. Last night and today were the first instances of that, although things have changed a lot since 1988. On that last trip, Neil had tapped out in Pierre, SD and so Will, Tom and I were left to finish ourselves. This was fine with us. The first stop was Eden Prairie, MN, a western suburb of Minneapolis. More or less due east of where we were in Pierre. I’m not sure how many days it took us to cover the ground, but it was fewer than if Neil had still been with us. Our final stop before Eden Prairie was Hutchinson, MN, about 50 miles away. Hutchinson had (and still has) a city park that allows camping. We set up our tents and tried to sleep but the combination of 100ish degree weather and an unrelenting swarm of mosquitoes had us looking for an alternative. The best idea we came up with was to try and sleep on the floor of the men’s room. I have slept on a picnic table, on top of a rail car, and on a bathroom floor (not because of alcohol consumption). There is absolutely no dispute as to the worst of those ideas. It was oppressively hot and humid, the light stayed on and there were small open windows at the top of the wall and out of our reach, that were letting all the mosquitoes in. Yesterday, my ride was from Eden Prairie to Hutchinson, although I suspect I took different roads than our last trip. Today’s ride went on a straight line, due west on Hwy 7, from Hutchinson to Montevideo (MontāVIDēō - we are definitely not in a Spanish speaking part of the world). I do not recollect the exact road we came east on in 1988. It’s possible this was it. I will have occasion to retrace another portion of a different ride - the 1982 trip with Stefan - when we go up and over Teton Pass down to Jackson, WY in a couple weeks. That’ll be it.

As for today’s ride, there was less wind and it was only mostly in my face, but not entirely. There was corn. There were mileposts. There was more corn. And soybeans. There was the town of Cosmos. They are all in on the theme. The main drag is Milkyway. There are Astro Blvd and Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune Streets as well. There are more, but you get the gist. Their water tower has stars on it. And their zip code. I’ve never seen a town put their zip code on the water tower. There was the little Stepford town of Prinsburg where I had lunch. Creepy. Like Children of the Corn creepy. The people I met were nice but there was definitely a weird vibe.

Tonight, I’m doing a version of couch surfing through an organization called Warmshowers.org. It’s essentially a home stay with someone in the local riding community. It is the 5th such stay I’ve done on the trip and I have more set up for the next two nights as well. You sign up (and make a small donation -$30) and indicate your ability to host, amenities, etc. Riders will go on the site and look for people who might be on or near their route. In exchange, it is expected that when those riders are done with their tour, they will also offer their homes for bikers as well. The Warmshowers host in Montevideo - Mark - was unable to host me this evening. However, his friend Kevin had a spare room. Kevin and Mark even rode about 8-10 miles out to meet me as I was approaching town, and the three of us rode together back to town.

Water tower. With stars. And zip code

This is what a bad shoulder looks like. Virtually non-existent pavement, lined with rumble strips, next to loose gravel.

I told you it was windy

Mark, Kevin and me.

This picture was from yesterday. And tomorrow.