Day 10 complete WE ARE IN MINNESOTA

 Day 10 started with a huge thunderstorm in Cherokee, Iowa. We delayed leaving until the radar showed the storm had passed, so it was later than planned, with a start at 10:00 AM. Immediately, there was an issue with the trailer. Somehow, the support was bent, and we were not able to connect to the bike. After the panic settled, we took out the tools and could bend them to a proper shape. 

About 2 miles out of Cherokee, Iowa, Londell's bike was having what seemed to be a significant issue, and Jordan could not find his glove.  After much work, we finally found his glove and got Londell's bike operating freely, as it was just a minor issue with the chain and rear sprocket.  Strangely, the cows would follow us in Iowa with a look like, "What the hell is that!."   If we stopped, they all huddled up and watched us.

It was strange how the cows followed us...

We hoped this would be a day of little wind, but we were wrong.  We had a side wind of about 10 to 15 mph for the first 25 miles.  Our ride was also extremely dangerous.  There were at least 300 cars per hour and no shoulder.  It was a 65 MPH road. 

It was a lovely day, except for the wind!!!

As usual, I needed a clearer look...

The best choice was to take another detour.  We found a road that was very narrow but seldom traveled.  However, this meant we had the side wind again for several miles.  Finally, after 43 miles, we were able to head north.  To our surprise, the wind was very strong, averaging about 22 mph to our delight.  The following 30 miles were fantastic.  The miles just ticked away at an amazing pace!

When we turned east, we once again encountered a very dangerous Iowa road. Again, there were about 400 cars per hour, and there was no shoulder. The sheriff even stopped and discouraged riding on that road, especially with the holiday traffic. 

Fortunately for us, this was near the location where Shelley was going to meet us. She met us and picked us up no later than 15 minutes after we had left when the storm came roaring through. What luck!!!! Shelley got us safely to the motel in Fairmont, MN. Yes, it is so nice to say Minnesota!!!!  

Shelley had GREAT timing!

We had to stop...

MINNESOTA - YES!!!! (Note: Jordan no longer has that huge smile as Londell Grimaces

It will be so nice not to have the trailer and all the gear. The trailer was about 60 pounds, and Jordan had another 20 on his panniers. We will still carry about 15 pounds of gear, but I expect a huge difference. Shelley was an angel today, assuring us we were safe and rid us of significant baggage. Her ride was still less than all the detour miles we had taken. It was not SAFE and the best possible decision.

As we rest and eat, we pray for good weather tomorrow.  At this time, we can make Faribault.  That means we would have 40 miles on Wednesday to finish the ride.  I do not want to look ahead as we still have much to do.  Nevertheless, after completing 796 miles with about 130 to go, I think we are over the hump?

SUMMARY OF DAY 10:  A total of 70 miles and 16.2 MPH (riding time only) and a total on-bike time of 4 hours and 19 minutes.  It was 5 hours and 40 minutes for the day with a temperature range of 66 F to almost 86 F.  Total ascent (according to Garmin Connect) was 1,047 feet with a decent of 932 feet.  We had a net elevation increase of 72 feet, from 1,388 feet to 1,460 feet overall.

Our 10 miles splits from MapMyRide (time includes breaks, and mph is based only on riding time) were:

  0-10 in 0:53:31 - 14.2 mph
10-20 in 0:43:57 - 15.6 mph
20-30 in 0:41:17 - 17.1 mph
30-40 in 1:00:58 - 14.4 mph
40-50 in 1:06:01 - 16.1 mph
50-60 in 0:28:52 - 20.7 mph
60-70 in 0:45:16 - 17.0 mph