Pedaling Pilgrim Blog Home

Miles to date: 2,217.9

What great hosts Shootman and Jen were. I don’t know why, but this was the most recuperative 24 hour break I’ve had. Maybe because the wind let up and I wasn’t under continual subliminal harassment. Maybe it was the easy familiarity of old friends. Maybe it was singer in the Waylon Jennings cover band at the White Squirrel tavern with the DeKalb Ag belt buckle. The mood of the rest day was to take it easy, and not let the sound of our own wheels drive us crazy… and that worked to near perfection.

After our REI excursion and lunch yesterday, I went to my temporary basement home for a nap. I never really slept, but closed my eyes in meditation for 40 minutes. At some point I heard someone come down the stairs and rustle around a bit, but I never heard them return back upstairs. When I got up several minutes later, I was surprised to see I had entered an Agatha Christie story as Lecy had been killed next to my mattress. There was no obvious murder weapon, so I came closer to discover, much to my surprise, he was breathing. I think he must have been drugged or had a narcoleptic fit; unsure how to deal with him, I went upstairs for a beer.

We had a fun evening at the White Squirrel and corned beef sandwiches in the Minneapolis Irish neighborhood to follow, then I was in bed by 10 to rest for our next onslaught with the bikes.

In the morning Lecy’s wife Deana brought him back from the hotel; and she completed her assignment as “Drug Mule Deana” in delivering an insulin supplement to me. I had miscalculated on the amount of insulin I would need for 5 weeks, and the complications with medical practitioner, pharmacist, and insurance became overly complicated, so Deana’s visit worked nicely to serve my needs and avoid what I expected to be immense hassle and waiting at a Walgreens. Thanks again Deana! I can’t imagine a better drug mule.

Today’s riding was relatively simple, though we did have some appreciable steep climbs of 1-2 miles. The first 12 miles leaving the Twin Cities were perhaps the easiest 12 mile stretch to date. Much of the day was along the Mississippi River, though at times we climbed bluffs in movements away from the river. For Lecy and I, it was also somewhat of a walk down memory lane: 3 years and one week ago, Lecy launched out on the Mississippi as my third side dish in my kayak adventure from the headwaters to New Orleans. About halfway into our 75 mile ride from Minneapolis, we reached Prescott WI where our kayak partnership began. We were excited to revisit the dock where we launched and revisit stories from those days. We were also excited to exit Minnesota and get to our next state; I know we didn’t see the best of Minnesota, and our experience was tainted by hideous headwinds that left little room for enjoyment, but entering Wisco seemed a very significant milestone as Illinois is the next border crossing.

Several miles after our Wisco border crossing, we stopped for lunch in… Hager City! With a population around 350, there wasn’t a big “Welcome to Hager City” sign, but the Marathon station where we provisioned some snack was attached to the tavern, and I got a photon of the guy at the cash register to prove I was in Hager City,

A few miles after lunch, we came upon Lake Pepin. When Lecy and I kayaked this stretch 3 years ago, it was more miserable than biking in the North Dakota headwinds. We had headwinds then that were 15-25 MPH; it took us nearly two full days to complete the 22 miles. It was both physically and mentally challenging; at one point Lecy said to me then, “You have no idea what you’re doing! We have no f@€#ing business being out here!” Today, riding next to Lake Pepin with a tailwind was much less emotional.

We arrived without any incidents to Stockholm Village campground. It’s a small but lovely place right on the banks of Lake Pepin. We were greeted by the campground host, Pam, who explained some of the campground basics, and informed us that there was no place in Stockholm Village that was open today; we would have to travel another 6 miles to the city of Pepin. Thankfully, Pam also loaned us her car so we could make the round trip trek. Talk about Midwest nice! I hadn’t been behind the wheel since returning the UHaul in Corvallis… thankfully I remembered how to drive (though it did feel very unfamiliar).

Pam’s husband Larry was a 3rd generation firefighter and paramedic in Red Wing MN. His grandfather was on the Red Wing Fire department until the diesel engines replaced the horses, when he got frustrated, jumped off the truck and quit the job.

As we recapped our day, we recognized that Leg 5 seems will be a cakewalk compared to Leg 4. We did 75 miles today; tomorrow we’re planning for 58! These are the “vacation” days we’ve been awaiting. Day 30: Stockholm to Trempeleau

For the playlist tonight… we crossed the mighty Mississippi today. It happened within a few miles of Shootman’s house, and it felt significant. I’ve gained quite an appreciation for this river, and every time I cross it I think about the many lives that are blessed and cursed by this most important US waterway. This song makes me think of the journey we still have ahead; though we’ve now crossed the wide river: I’ve come a long long road, but still I’ve got some miles to go. I’ve got a wide wide river to cross. Wide River to Cross

Also… we had a conversation with Pam that led to beards and our physical transformations. We agreed that if Geeto can keep his beard going, he’s got potential to be cast as a live action Papa Smurf.

Also 2: The Reali Family wine orders shipped! 2-Pan Chew may drink the whole order with Krista Rachiele before Geeto is home in 5 days!

Also 3: Cari Jerdee sent this video from their Big Sky backyard! We missed the big chonker by a few weeks. I hope he’s not licking Cari’s rocks.