Day 25

61 Miles
The other campers were up long before my eyes opened. I ate a small breakfast. My food was pretty low. I looked over my maps and decided to cut out some of my route and take a more direct line to the next town. This worked well for me. It was shady forest and the hills were small. I was feeling good and excited about buying more food some 8 miles ahead.
I was devastated when I ran into a closed road sign. I wanted to brave it. They were tearing it up. It was mostly dirt and gravel. It was a bit rough but I could manage. The first mile was void of workers. As I crested a hill I saw the trucks and other equipment and workers. The road ahead looked much less navigable. I pulled over to check Googlemaps for alternates. The roads weren't straight. They were hilly, long and gravel. There was no easy route to go. Cutting through the road work would be fastest. Right around the time I was braving to go through the workers working one of them drove up to me. He stopped and asked if I was lost. I explained where I wanted to go and that through the construction would be fastest. He quickly discouraged it and said it'd be hard to get through there. He pulled out a county map and showed me a way around. He said it was all paved not too hilly and wide shouldered. I thanked him and turned back toward the way I'd come.
I began wishing I had risked going through the construction about 12 miles into the detour the worker had pointed out. I was low on water and starving. I ate the last of my food. To be fair the scenery was gorgeous, but my 7-8 miles had turned into 21 miles. By car 14 miles isn't a horrible tax on a journey. But by bicycle, 14 miles of hills or wind is two extra hours. I was low on fuel. I rolled into the first gas station I saw and bought junk food and beverage. I consumed them rapidly. I sat exhausted and mentally drained. I called friends looking for encouragement. I received enough to carry on. But I rested almost a full hour.
I liked Lake City. Apparently it was the birthplace of waterskiing. I took my time leaving and enjoyed the views of the Mississippi that I rode along. I did more off my map trekking. I found it cut out miles. I didn't mind the highways so much. Traffic didn't really scare me.
The rest of my ride was moderately hilly but bearable. I rolled into Red Wing Minnesota near 7 pm. I ate again before finding a campground. It was on an island in the Mississippi. I wasn't sure whether I was in Minnesota or Wisconsin. I found the campground attendant very helpful. I showered off the days frustration and curled up in my tent when the sun set. My tooth pain was almost unbearable again. I had taken painkillers with a sleep aid. I was glad. The campers next me waited until the wee hours of the morning to get to sleep. I slept through most of their noise.

Day 24

40 Miles
I woke up and decided I would take my time and make it a short day. I treated myself to a sit down breakfast of waffles and eggs, oh and sausage. I washed it down with my sports drink of choice, chocolate milk. After breakfast I headed to Target to look for some bike gloves and shorts. My cargo shorts had ripped and my gloves were wearing through. The shorts were getting too big anyway, or rather, I was getting too small for them. I didn't find gloves, but I did find a really great pair of lightweight all purpose shorts. I also found a great shirt I could ride comfortably. I used a gift card to make my purchases. (Thanks Meg. You're the best, most supportive boss ever.) I did a load of laundry before I headed out into a sun filled day.
My ride was easy and mostly flat. The wind was at my back. I enjoyed the river view and the rolling hills and farmland that I was riding through. I also enjoyed the turtle crossing sign. Surprising to me, I saw more dead turtles than any one kind of mammal on my trip. There weren't any dead turtles near the sign. I guess maybe the sign worked.
I found a nice campground by early evening after just a few hours of riding. I set up camp. The campground had quite a few people there. The campers were curious and asked me about where I was coming from and where I was going. Being a good way into my trip now, they seemed more than impressed. Two guys from Wisconsin talked to me for quite awhile. They offered me a beer and, as I don't and have never consumed alcohol, I declined. They offered me coffee in the morning before they headed out fishing. I felt bad declining again, but I don't like coffee. They probably thought I was blowing them off. I wasn't, I just didn't need anything they offered. Nice guys though.
I further secluded myself after dinner. While eating I bit down too hard on something and ended up with a terrible tooth/headache. I took several painkillers and retired to my tent long before the sun had set. It took ages before the pain subsided enough that I could sleep.

Day 23

68 Miles
I hit snooze when my alarm went off. I was comfortable. Sleeping on the ground was beginning to feel natural. When my alarm went off again, I heard thunder with it. I grumbled and got up immediately. I began to pack up, but the rain beat me. It started slow. It began to increase. I unstaked my tent and carried it still assembled in full to a pavilion. I packed my gear up under its shelter. I felt clever. I waited for a bit to see if the rain would slow. After about 35 minutes I resolved that I was stuck with it. I had a 60 mile day planned. I donned my rain gear, which I had only worn twice before. Normally I skipped the rain pants and just wore the jacket. But it was near torrential when I took off. I didn't want to start my day off like that.
My route followed the Mississippi. The road was lined with hundreds of dead frogs. They lay splayed out on the pavement. Most were weren't even squished. I wondered how those ones met their demise. I rolled into a small town and sat in the rain for a bit. I was hoping for cell service. I had none. I moved on to my delight, directly after the town was the Minnesota border. Six states down, six to go.
This part of the river was home to a wildlife refuge. I stopped at the wildlife viewing area. I didn't see much wildlife. The only cranes I saw were moving dirt along with bulldozers and trucks. It was some project to help restore the river to its natural state.

The humidity hit quickly after the skies cleared. I finally had cell coverage and contacted my usual bunch before heading on. I stripped off the rain gear. It wasn't meant for physical activity and created a personal sauna. I wasn't into that.
The ride was much flatter than the previous day. When there was a climb, it was lofty, followed by lofty inspiring views and ridges to cruise along on. I strapped my wet shoes to the sides of my panniers to dry. I thought it made me look the part of hobo much more to have a shoe dangling off each side of my bike. They dried quite quickly in the hot sun.
As my day was coming to an end I accidentally passed by my intended campsite. I was rolling into Winona Minnesota by the time I realized it. As it turned out I was happy with this accident. Winona brought McDonalds and a super cheap hotel room. And thanks to Melissa who had given me a little extra money to "do something nice" I could afford the food and motel.
The motel was just as nice as the one I had stayed at a few nights prior but half the price. I could live with this.

Day 22

  

61 Miles
I woke up early, well, early for me. I packed up all my gear. Most of it had dried out. Even my shoes were slosh-free. I set out by 9. I ate a big breakfast and partook in the forbidden energy drink (I am hypersensitive to caffeine). I set off with a good pace. The hills didn't seem to phase me. I couldn't tell if it was the energy drink or if I was just kickass. I pretended the latter. I rode several miles along the ridges of the hills. I found that I liked this. I noticed the wind was at my back. I was pumping out comfortably at 18-19 mph. I felt amazing. I whipped out 30 miles within a short while.. I ate again. I stocked up on water.
I enjoyed some good fast downhills. I pedaled along the Mississippi River. The towering bluffs both intimidated me and put me in awe. I enjoyed thinking about Wisconsin on the other side of the river. I saw the trains in Wisconsin and pretended to race against them. It kept me entertained for a bit.
The road pulled in away from the river. I had some really big climbs and the sun climbed with me. It pulled the moisture from the ground and into the air. The humidity kept thickening. I found myself climbing the biggest of these hills in the afternoon. The temperatures were in the 90s. The sun shone directly on me. The bluffs offered little to no shade. Every pore in my body seeped sweat. I was dripping wet with water from my own body. I tried to ration my water, but was still drinking it down a litre at a time. I had to stop every quarter mile or so to wipe my brow, my arms, my neck.
I finally finished the biggest of the climbs.
I was looking forward to the downhill, but my front rack was angling dangerously close to my tire's spokes. I needed to take it all off and reassemble it entirely. However, without a knife, I had to wait. As I coasted down the hill at much slower than I would have liked pace, I saw a woman walking up the hill. She was using a walking stick and looked as though she was hiking or some such outdoor activity. I stopped and asked her if she had a knife I could use. She did. She helped me cut the zip ties. We chatted as I tore down the rack. She had been fishing, with no luck, and was on her way back to her cabin just up the road. After a bit when she seemed sure I'd be able to move along fine she went to leave. She turned around and gave me a multi-tool with a knife on it. She told me to keep it because she had other knives and tools. I thanked her and asked her name. It was Kristi. We both laughed when I said my name with a "k" and she said hers too. It's a common question, followed by the exchange of y, i, ie, or just e. I thanked her again and she hiked up the hill.
My repair of my rack was extensive. I had to strip off the rubber around the U-bolt. It had been bunching up and hitting the spokes. I wrapped it with electric tape to cushion it against the front fork. I had to find new ways to zip tie the rack on so it would hold more securely. I used about 8 zip ties in the process. No super glue was needed in this repair. I packed back up and cleaned up the many zip ties. During this whole process 15 cars must have stopped to make sure I was okay. I assured all of them I was fine.
Finally, I carried on ascending into a small town where I rehydrated and ate. I rested for a good hour outside a small store. I rode on another 14 miles along some moderately hilly forests. It was easy compared to the days earlier climbs.
I ascended for the last time this day. I rode along the Mississippi into a tourist area. House and fishing boats lined the river. The train tracks ran between me and the river. The  views made me feel good about my day. Also making me feel good about my day was the convenience store clerk who asked where I had ridden from. I responded wanting to know whether he meant today or for my trip. He said both. I told him where I had started and how many miles I'd done. He was impressed and commented on the big climbs I would have had to completed to make it there that day. I felt hardcore awesome. When he asked why I was biking across the country I said just because I want to. His reply "That's what I like to hear." The admiration felt good. Without cell service I could not get my daily encouragement from friends and family, so it was doubly appreciated.
 I found a campground outside of Lansing Iowa. I ended up with a grassy spot along a creek. The campground was quiet. I got some writing done. I showered. The showers took quarters. I spent a few dollars just to enjoy the hot water and wash the layers of salt that I had accumulated in the day. I went to bed as soon as the sun was down. I slept well.

Day 21

42 Miles
The rain was persistent throughout the night.There were two tiny spots where water dripped through the zipper of my tent. But my gear stayed dry. The rain was still quite heavy. I laid listening to it for some time. I looked at my day's route. I planned out a 60-70 mile day. I had hoped the rain would stop so I could pack up without the inconvenience of getting my gear soaking wet. I wasn't so lucky. I packed up as quickly as I could. My gear stayed relatively dry considering. I messed around doing nothing for a bit. I ate breakfast and called my mom. Then rain finally started to dissipate as I set off for the day. It was after 10 when I started pedaling.
I chose to make my own route again. I found that this pleased me for several reasons. First, I liked the not having to backtrack. Backtracking is a huge pet peeve for me. Anything over a mile, and I'd rather find an alternate route. The second reason my chosen route pleased me was the scenery. It was mostly farmlands, which I suppose should be expected in the region. The rolling hills and freshly paved road proved enough to make me smile.
I connected back to my Adventure Cycling route. I encountered some incredible views. I could hear trains echoing back onto itself creating an eerie chorus in the hills. I liked the song. I smiled. The hills were bigger than I had anticipated. The wind had picked up and I felt like I was making no progress. My efforts were hampered even more as the rain again began to fall.
The rain met me at the top of a big hill. The next town was only 7 or so miles away, but the next listed camping after that town was 30 some miles beyondt. I wasn't feeling up to that battle. I resolved to find lodging in town. I had several miles of downhill. The rain increased with my speed. As I rolled into town it was an all out downpour. My shoes sloshed with each push of my pedal. I was soaked to the bone. I found a Dollar General and bought some food. My shoes squeaked on the floor. People looked at me but didn't speak to me. I climbed back on my bike. I just wanted to find somewhere to sleep. A man in a truck offered me a ride, but I declined. I was already so wet that I didn't see the point of trying to get dry until I was ready to settle in.
I found a small motel. It was very overpriced. But they didn't want to come down on price. I reluctantly put my card on the counter. I was too wet and tired to find somewhere else.

I went to my room. As I was pushing my bike into the room my front right rack fell off. Awesome. Just what I needed. I began the now ridiculous task of removing all the zip ties from the bag and rack. It was then that I realized I no longer had my knife. I must have lost it somewhere along the way. I borrowed scissors from the front desk. I managed to get the rack and pannier back on. It was tedious.
I finally showered and ate. I crawled into bed. I checked email on my phone and watched television. I got excited when I saw the weather. Not only was it supposed to be much nicer but the weather map showed me just how close I was to Minneapolis. Looking forward to the big city.