Nine more days. That seems to be the mantra of the team as we progress to the halfway point of our journey. Those nine days are what separate us from our next event day in Rapid City and a promise of sleeping in just a bit longer. The sunny, breezy weather that greeted us with open arms last week has all but vanished, and every morning for the last couple of days we’ve been followed by booming thunder clouds and howling winds. As we left Albert Lea this morning, we couldn’t even see the sun, but we could clearly see that a storm was brewing on the horizon. Luckily, the first 20 miles flew by and we raced along tail winds to our first unorthodox stop at the Jolly Green Giant. Yes, THAT Jolly Green Giant. You’ve seen him in your local supermarket providing only the best frozen vegetables and we met his likeness in all his 60 foot glory.With the threat of being drenched still looming, we sought shelter at a local Kwik Trip where we not only relived the sweet, glorious taste of 1600 calorie bagged milk, but were also featured on a local radio show “Welcome Travelers”. Several riders were interviewed and had an opportunity to explain our journey and what we rode for. Surprisingly enough, even though the clouds over our heads were as black as night, we did not receive a downpour. As we cautiously rode to our next rest stop, we kept hoping that the rain would not grace our presence. Our last a final stop landed us at an I4K favorite: Larry’s Bike Shoppe, 25 miles from our stayover. We were not only treated to tacos and bike advice, but we also gathered an interesting portrait. With our stomachs full and the sun starting to peak through the clouds, we finally arrived at our stayover fashionably late, but more importantly, dry. Tomorrow proves to be one of the more challenging days of the trip as we’ll exceed 90 miles and enter South Dakota, but our donated potluck generously provided by Burger King, Dairy Queen, and New China will surely help us on our journey.