Blowing in the Wind

Winona via Stockton: 65.58 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 5 hours 15 minutes, average speed 12.4

We were blessed with another beautiful mid-October biking day. There was no fog this morning so we decided to bike to Winona along the country roads winding past Utica, Lewiston, Stockton and Minnesota City. Our greatest challenge of the day was the 14 mph winds blowing out of the southeast which is the direction we started out so that we could enjoy the wind at our back on the return trip. The flags along our route are a continual reminder of just how strong the winds are blowing.

Just out of Stockton, Dennis noticed a flatbed trailer for sale and slowed to check it out. I noticed an unusual wooded bridge so took advantage of this break to get some photos. As I returned to the bike, I noticed Dennis on the phone and heard him say, “We’ll take it”. We just purchased a two-up snowmobile trailer. We made plans for the exchange to take place later in the evening but as we continued on towards Winona, a truck pulled up in front of us and the owner of the trailer jumped out to introduce himself. He recognized us from the description Dennis gave over the phone. We were now close to our lunch stop—our choice was Mexican today. We enjoyed the extended rest while we waited for our food.

Our rest was now over and we had to face another climb to get out of Winona. There would also be wind to contend with. We were trucking along just fine and nearing the end of this exhausting climb when a truck full of youths decided it would be fun to lay on their horn as they sped past us. My heart skipped a beat but there was no stopping now, we were so close to the top. It took us 20 minutes of cranking to pedal the two miles along this hilly stretch of road which required another pedal break once we reached the top.

The pumpkin and corn fields will soon be gone for the season and they will be missed. The fall colors add much enjoyment as we slowly pedal along. We are now only 115 miles from our 3000 goal—one more good riding weekend should do it. Let’s get ‘er done!