Sunday 4 July 2010

Day 46 Willmar to Marshall


Sunday 4th July
Daily mileage 69miles Average Speed 12.3mph Ride Time 5hr38min
Total Mileage 1684

After a thunderstorm last night we were pleased to see that the sky was more cloudy today and more importantly the wind had died down to a mere 6mph from the West. This meant that after breakfast we hit the road at 9.30am and headed SW on highway 23. It felt good to be going in the right direction again and we clocked up 20 miles before stopping in Clara City for a rest.

We carried on through Maynard and stopped in Granite Falls a further 17 miles later. Here we were pretty tired and it was time for a power nap on a bench by the Minnesota River. Again we cycled for 15 miles for a short stop in Cottonwood but we took some smaller county roads which were practically empty traffic wise. The towns are ghostly as independence day has taken priority and most of the shops are shut.

As the land is so flat you can see for miles all around and each town has a high water tower that you can see for a good 5 miles before reaching it which makes the last 5 miles before each rest feel like forever. We continued on the back roads into Marshall where after 70 miles I was seriously flaking and an exhausted tear may well have escaped. I don’t know what it is at the moment but its tough to get focused.

Looking confused on the corner of a junction not sure which way to head for a campsite we met Wally who was out on a short cycle ride. We got chatting and he invited us to stay in his basement for the night so that we could walk the 10 short minutes to the park to watch the fireworks tonight! Excellent!

We followed him back to his house just around the corner and met Kim his wife and their daughter Courtney. We showered and enjoyed grilled chicken and baked potato dinner with fresh fruit pudding including watermelon, delicious! Courtney tried out hair clippers on Kris for the first time and together with Kim they made Kris look handsome again! With a laundry on, we relaxed until walking to the park for 10pm fireworks to celebrate USA being independent from us! It was a fabulous night which we would have missed out on if we had camped as we intended, so thanks Wally and Kim for showing us such kind hospitality!




For all you tech/stat heads the following link outlines all the details about todays ride.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/39255578

5 comments:

  1. fanflippintastic !!! u got to see the fireworks AND got to have watermelon...lol ...awesome

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  2. your serendipity continues to amaze me! Helen

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  3. Alison keep looking for the poppies and you will be fine.

    Kris you must be more stream lined now courtney has worked her magic

    Love you both marge xxxxxx

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  4. Hi Guys, Enjoying the read, paul said it will take more than a haircut to make you hansome!!! :-) All is well with us. You're doing so well, take care.
    Lots a luv Mandy, Brov and T.J xxx

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  5. The alternative is sitting in your car or at your desk for hours every day and there will be plenty of time for that in September, enjoy the rest of your pedal plodding. Sam

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