I have a lot of scenic photos from today!

Our short time in Wisconsin has come to an end as we ride into Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes! So far we’ve only counted 8 in our 83 miles, but I’m sure we’ll reach 10,000 before South Dakota. To some surprise, Minnesota has been stunning. The majority of the day was spent going up and down “mountains;” hills that are big enough to call a mountain, only because we’ve not reached the real mountains yet! The valley fog shrouded the landscape and made cycling through a real adventure, with new cool views at every turn and after every climb.

The ride this morning started out with some big hills, and two of three major climbs were before lunch. I think the general consensus is that the pre-lunch climbs are much better than post-lunch climbs; we have more energy, aren’t sleepy from big lunches, and are still feeling good from the sleep the night before. But sometimes, like today, we have a climb right after lunch— which is grueling. In the end, though, we all get to feel proud of the elevation and muscle gains from the day’s climb!

Things did eventually flatten out as we approached the area surrounding Rochester, but then the wind picked up. I have the feeling this is just a small preview of the wind that we’re going to experience in a few days once we reach South Dakota. For now, though, we’re happy to have a rest day tomorrow before our second century. Dinner supplied by the Mayo Clinic Civic Center was fantastic, and we’re all going to sleep in tomorrow before doing some laundry and checking out the local bike shops. I’ll be back with updates on Sunday!

— Marielle