"Count it all joy, brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith will produce perseverance. And let perseverance have its full effect…"
Haydynne spent the night in our motel room and at 7AM crawled in bed with Ann to snuggle a while with grandma
. After a while, she was told to go tell her mom to start fixing breakfast. Somehow the message got garbled and Becca thought that grandma was fixing breakfast. So, after about 20 minutes we realized nobody was making breakfast! Rodney to the rescue – he started the eggs and bacon, and fixed us a wonderful breakfast. We got the camper loaded up, and Ann, Becca, and Dave were soon heading off on their bikes SE on county road 52 into 15-20 mph headwinds (again), while Rodney took the kids 30 miles to Fergus Falls to find a park where they could play and wait for us.
The headwinds were discouraging, as we were making about 10 mph. But Becca started a conversation with Ann while Dave led, and eventually we were five miles down the road. The plan was to take a break at mile 15 in Rothsay, but after about nine miles Dave decided we needed a break. So we pulled off into a driveway where we could take shelter from the wind behind some nearby bushes and trees, and rested a short time.
Back on the bikes we were able to slightly increase our average. At 12 ¼ miles we came to our first slight dip and incline in the road for the past day and a half (excluding freeway overpasses)! The road was actually curving now, too, which made the ride more interesting. We came to the Tesoro minimart in Rothsay for a real break having averaged 10.1 mph for the 15 miles. We were sitting outside on a bench drinking a coke, eating snacks, when the owner came out and offered us some fresh cooked donut holes
. They were soooo good, Ann went in and bought some for breakfast tomorrow!
We hit the road again, and were able to up our pace a smidgeon. Must have been the magic donut holes! We passed a house sitting just up from a small lake (pond) and had to stop and take a picture. About 6 miles from Fergus Falls we stopped under the I-94 overpass to get out of the wind and rest a while. Our average was up to 10.2 mph! (We hate headwinds!) Turns out we shouldn't have taken that rest break.
We were only 6 miles from Fergus Falls, and the road curved slightly down and then up a hill. Going up the hill, we felt the first rain drops. By the time we reached the top of the hill, it was definitely raining. And by the time we were turning into the city, it was a full mid-western downpour. We have never ridden in such hard rain – even Becca said she hadn’t ridden through a rain like that! We were on the main street, so there was plenty of traffic, and none of us could see well through the rain on our glasses, plus the road was ½ inch deep at least in water, more in the hollows and puddles, which we hit frequently! But the mid-western drivers are very polite to cyclists, and we had no troubles
. We just had to laugh, it was so crazy. Wound our way through town to the park where the camper was parked and Rodney had towels waiting. The rain had slackened a bit, so he came out and took a picture of the 3 crazy drowned cyclists!
We opted for grilled cheese sandwiches on a day like this, and ate while the rain continued to sputter down outside. Haydynne & Sammi were so good – they stayed up on the camper bed where they wouldn’t get wet or stepped on. There’s just not much room in a camper with 4 adults – 3 of them sopping wet – and 2 kids. Dave and I changed jerseys, but shoes and socks were just too wet to do anything about. In an hour, we were set to go again.
From Fergus Falls, we picked up the Central Lakes Bike Trail which we’ll follow for the next 100 miles or so. It was beautiful! It follows the old railroad line, so there are no real hills. After a couple of miles, we saw a great big turtle on the edge of the trail! Stopped to take pictures, of course, but Becca warned us not to get to close, as it could be a snapping turtle
. Very cool!
Rain started again before long, but not too hard, and we were thankfully protected from the wind by trees and the railroad cut. So we made decent time, and when the rain stopped, we began to dry out – a little. It was much better for conversation, too, without the wind, and we had a good time. We decided to pull into Dalton – a hamlet supposedly 3-6 miles from our stopping point at Ashby. We say supposedly because the maps had shown 15 miles from Fergus Falls to Ashby, the trail marker had said 16 miles, but the most recent sign had said 7 miles, and none of the distances added up! As we pulled in, Dave’s rear tire went flat. So we spent 15 minutes changing the tire and stretching out. Rodney checked in on his way to Ashby, then we rode out again. The last however many miles – it turned out to be 8 miles – were harder, as the trees and cuts dropped away, and we were exposed to the stiff headwinds again. But it was still pretty countryside, and eventually we got into another line of trees and then saw the camper waiting. 55 miles, 11.0 average for the day.
Loaded up while the girls picked wildflowers for us – some incredibly sweet, delicate stems of tiny yellow blossoms – and then drove back to the hotel in Fergus Falls. We were glad to be able to use the shower in Rodney & Becca’s room, then went to dinner at Pizza Ranch (a Langworthy favorite!) across the road
. First, though, we drove to the laundromat a mile down the road to start laundry. While we were eating, we noticed that it had begun to pour again – really pour, even harder than before! When we’d finished eating, Dave and I dashed through the rain to the truck to go back and get the laundry. Becca and Rodney and the girls sprinted back to the motel. At the laundromat, it rained even harder and the wind was blowing hard and the lightning was flashing and thunder rumbling – it was a great storm! So we let the clothes get mostly dry, and when the rain stopped, we took it all out to the camper and drove back to the motel.
If you’re a cyclist, you’ll know that most cycling clothes don’t go in the dryer. So Dave strung a rope criss-crossed across the camper and we hung up the last of the clothes to dry. It looked like we belonged in a “trailer trash” neighborhood!
The last of the evening we spent teaching the girls (especially Haydynne) to play Skip-Bo. It was a nice end to the day. Dave and I slept in the camper, which was nice and dry up in the sleeping area, though rather damp in the kitchen/sitting area – the carpet was squishy wet under where the clothes dripped!
We have persevered over eight days of almost nothing but headwinds. Tomorrow, perseverance will have it's full effect - the forecast is for northwest winds, TAILWINDS!
Perseverance
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Fergus Falls, Minnesota, United States
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