Day 30 – Winona,MN to Red Wing,MN

Date: 28.05.2018

Altitude: 2539.4 ft (774 m)

Distance: 81.20 mi (130.68 km)

Total Altitude: 53956.7 ft (16446 m)

Total Distance: 1955.65 mi (3147.33 km)

Today I started into my 5^th week on the road. Last week was the warmest week so far. I cycled in three states, Illinois, Iowa & Minnesota, and met quite a few interesting and nice people along the way. It was a great week, although it was a bit too hot for my taste, at the end of the week.

After two shorter days, today I had to cover a longer distance. The plan was to start early to have an hour or two before it gets really hot. Unfortunately my start this morning got delayed a bit, due to a thunderstorm over Winona with heavy rain. I finally got on the road around 8am. It was still raining, but this was actually quite nice, so it stayed cooler for a while. The sun came out after an hour or so into the trip and it got hot really fast. The temperatures reached again the high 90s but it felt more like 105°F or even more (around 41°C). Being on the bike in these temperatures for hours with almost no shade is tough, and I really need to take care that I always have enough to drink. But even the water is not really refreshing, since it will be warm after only a short time.

Besides the temperatures, the scenery on the route today was again really nice. The route followed the Mississippi river or stayed at least in the vicinity of the rive throughout the day. The route stayed again on Highway 61 for a while. Not the nicest road for being on a bicycle, but at least there was a wide shoulder to ride on. But the route deviated from US61 a few times, which in general meant extra miles, but also a nicer ride. Each time I left the Highway and moved away from the Mississippi, I had to go up the bluffs eventually. As soon as I reached the top of the bluffs, the scenery changed completely, from the forest areas down by the river to farmland on top of the bluffs. It was quite nice to have this mix in scenery during the day. But I could have done without the climbs.

Conclusion for the day:

Some days a bit of rain feels actually quite nice.

Day 29 – Lansing,IA to Winona,MN

Date: 27.05.2018

Altitude: 1108.9 ft (338 m)

Distance: 64.62 mi (104.00 km)

Total Altitude: 51417.3 ft (15672 m)

Total Distance: 1874.45 mi (3016.65 km)

Today was again a fairly short day and my last day in Iowa. After four really warm and sunny days in Iowa, I entered Minnesota today. But the temperatures were still similar to the last few days, if not even higher. That is why I was quite happy, that the day wasn't too long today.

I got a really late start into the day, I didn't hit the road before 10:30am. But since I didn't had to cover too much of a distance, that was okay. After a great nights sleep at the wonderful B&B in Lansing, I started the day with a really good breakfast, prepared by Frank the owner of the B&B. Over breakfast I got to meet the other guests at the B&B and we had some nice conversations. It was a really nice group of people. Because I had a good time at breakfast, I decided for myself it's okay to leave a bit later. It was nice not to be in a hurry in morning and trying to leave as early as possible. The B&B was a nice change from the Motel chains, and I hope I will have more accommodations like this one along the way. If you are ever in Lansing,IA you should check this B&B out, it is really nice.

Today I had a really good day out on the road. Although there was still quite a bit of traffic, there was always a shoulder I could use, so the ride was not as uncomfortable as yesterday. The scenery along the way was just beautiful. The route stayed almost the whole time close or right next to the Mississippi river and there were trees along the whole route. Just as yesterday, the railroad tracks weree still running between the river and the road but this didn't bother me too much. The Mississippi was still impressive. The route followed in general the Great River Road. For a short time after I exited La Cresent,MN the route went off the road, on a separate bike path for a while. It was nice to get of the road for a while. Afterwards I stayed on US 61 (a four lane road) all the way to Winona,MN, which wasn't too nice, but the scenery made up for it. All in all a wonderful day.

Conclusion for the day:

Some times it is nice to have a late start into the day.

Day 28 – Elkader,IA to Lansing,IA

Date: 26.05.2018

Altitude: 2516.4 ft (767 m)

Distance: 57.62 mi (92.73 km)

Total Altitude: 50308.4 ft (15334 m)

Total Distance: 1809.83 mi (2912.65 km)

Today was a really short day for me, I reached my destination Lansing,IA after not even 60 miles. Nonetheless it was a demanding day, due to the heat and quite a few climbs on my route. Today the temperatures climbed again over the 90°F mark. My bike computer showed temperatures of up to 104°F (40°C) in the sun. But it was still a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky, after a heavy storm last night. I wouldn't have liked to be on the bike in this kind of storm.

Because I didn't had to go too far, I started a little bit later today. But I actually should have started earlier, to enjoy the cooler morning temperatures for a bit. The ride today, went through a beautiful scenery. The first half of the route was similar to yesterday and went again with a slight up and down through farmland. After about 30 miles the scenery changed when I went down to the Mississippi River and the town of Marquette,IA. From now on, I had the Mississippi to my right and the route went through a forest area. Just as in Muscatine, there where always railroad tracks between the river and the road. So there were only a few spots where I could access the riverfront. I didn't stay right by the Mississippi the whole time, a few times the route moved away from the river and that usually meant I had to go uphill for a while. After a few of those climbs I reached Lansing around 1:30pm. So I still had some time until I could check into the B&B. So I set down at a restaurant, got something to eat and some ice cold mountain dew and waited there until I could check in. The B&B is really nice, it is a shame that I have to leave again tomorrow.

Although the scenery was really nice today and the weather was great, I didn't really enjoy the ride. Almost for the whole day there was lots of traffic, probably because of the holiday weekend, and the roads had for the most part no shoulder or only an unpaved shoulder. So I had to stay on the road and most cars passed me quite narrowly, because there was so much traffic in both directions. I constantly felt like I'm in the way, especially on the climbs where I was going really slow. I hope after the weekend the traffic will get better again.

Today I met for the third time a fellow bike traveler. I met Paolo (I'm not sure if the spelling is correct) from Italy, at one of the spots where you could actually access the riverfront. We talked a bit, although that wasn't so easy, because he spoke only some English. It was still nice meting him. I was quite impressed by his journey, he started in Seattle and want's to go all the way to New York in just 42 days.

Conclusion for the day:

The traffic on holiday weekends is terrible.