Day 29 journal/photo Sioux Falls, SD to Worthington, MN

Yippie! We crossed another state line this morning!! We are into our fifth state, Minnesota. Hard to believe I have have made my bike pedals go round and round for 2,096 miles already. What a trip!! I added 73.65 miles this morning. What a ride it was. I was constantly asking God, "GIVE ME A BREAK!" (from the wind) We were traveling due east and the wind was gusting and blowing almost straight from the north, with a little east (NE) the entire time, 12-16 mph with gusts to 20+ mph. It was a bit of a battle to stay on a straight course with that strong side wind. Chuck and I tried drafting off each other, but that is hopeless in a strong side wind. When a big semi-truck would come towards us from the other side of the road, it was hang on for dear life. The big trucks barrelling down the road would create such a gap in the draft that our bikes would have fallen if you weren't hanging on with both hands on the handle bars. I was talking to recumbent Jim at the DQ when we got in and he said he almost toppled over when a truck went by -- but was able to unclip his pedal fast enough to catch himself in the gravel berm. I stopped once, here at the Minnesota state line for this photo and one other time in a tiny town of Adrian at a gas station for V-8 to get me through the last 18 miles. We had a 3.5 mile detour on the route due to a closed road. And that 3.5 miles was directly into the north wind. This ride today was not so easy, and I was glad to see the Worthington city limits sign, and knew it was only 2 more miles to the Dairy Queen! We kid each other that this is a mandatory stop when we pass one on the route. Usually we find one very close to our destination motel! I've never eaten so much DQ in my entire life, and don't expect to visit another one for years after this trip. I rolled in to town by 12:25 PM -- not bad for the 73.65 miles fighting the wind the whole time. One great break today was that it was much cooler feeling. The wind felt cooling, and not a blast of hot air. The Accuweather.com says the wind is going to change and be from the south tomorrow. That should be better. We eat tonight at the Country Kitchen about a quarter mile down the road. The next two days will be long ones. 102 miles tomorrow (Mankato, MN) and then 100 miles on Wednesday into Rochester, MN. I'm going to lay down and rest for the next 2 hours, to save all leg energy for the back-to-back 'Century' rides. (bikeez: Century Ride = 100 miles) .
Road Kill: 1 bungee cord, 2 bolts, 3 birds
Bananas: 3