Not quite a century— 96 miles if you don’t get lost. But I think it’s close enough, and everyone has now already done a century at least once before. This morning we planned to push back our rest stops to every 25 miles, so that we might out-bike the storm and beat the thunder and lightning to the stayover. Shuttling is tedious, so we wanted to avoid that if we could. With rain jackets and bike shoe booties in hand, we set out for a long day!

I was van driving the first century, but according to the rest of the team today’s was much easier in comparison. The weather (around 70, compared to around 90) and the landscape (partly forested with bike path compared to agricultural land) were likely contributors to the better mood; of course, along with our totally awesome, ever-increasing cycling abilities. Plus, today is Gibby’s birthday! Happy birthday, Gibby!

We managed to get to mile 88 or so before the rain came pouring down, but no weather shuttling was required! We even had a bit of unexpected sunshine for some parts of the ride. We got to the stayover at around 3, and had time to really relax before getting dinner, ice cream and a bit of exploring for those who were up to it. Minnesota is 2 for 2 on great rides so far, and I hope it stays this way. Tomorrow is looking very promising with cooler temps and a simple 60 miles, but headwinds are coming in at a strong 15 mph, so that will give us some delay!

— Marielle