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.