Day 26

56 Miles
I woke without the tooth pain of the night before. I was however starving. I looked ahead on my maps to find a place to get breakfast. After I packed and left finding food was more difficult than I had anticipated. It took me quite some time. And when I did, I was struck again with that dread of going on another day. I tried to push ahead. Minneapolis was in reach. I could make it by night if I pushed myself.
I rode on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi the entire morning. It was quite hilly and my spirits were growing weary. I oddly thought I heard drums randomly in a mostly forested area. I don't know where it was coming from. I didn't see any houses or buildings. But then again, there were hills and bluffs. The noise could have been echoing from anywhere.
I ate lunch at a Dairy Queen and charged my phone. I was having a hard time eating. I think it was because I was feeling so down. After lunch, I crossed back to the Minnesota side of the river. As I pedaled up and down more hills I saw a fully loaded bicycle ahead of me. The girl on the bike had stopped. Kelly was looking at her map. She asked where we were exactly. I told her and said the next town was another 8 or so miles. We rode and talked for a bit. She told me of how she started in Connecticut and was heading to Oregon as well. She asked if I was riding alone. She asked if I was going crazy. I said I often thought so. She told me how she rode solo all the way to Cleveland before meeting up with a group of Boy Scouts. She hated riding on her own. She told me how she enjoyed riding with people much better. She'd been riding with the Boy Scouts and was much happier. She suggested that I could ride with them as well. I told her I'd think about it and we exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up in Minneapolis. I stopped at a state park to relax. Kelly rode on. The socialization felt good. The prospect of company felt good.
The rest of my day was fairly easy. The hills became more rolling and I handled them much better. I passed some of the Boy Scouts along the way, although I didn't talk to them as they were stopped and I wanted to push on.
I debated carrying on to Minneapolis that evening, but came to the conclusion that resting up would be a better option. Stillwater Minnesota was a beautiful town, very rich from the looks of it. I opted for a hotel room. But this proved a stupid mistake. There were only two available hotel rooms available in the town. I overpaid for my accommodation. But the hotel bed was warm. And the sleep felt nice. Only 25ish miles to Minneapolis/St. Paul.