Altitude:
1033.5 ft (315 m)
Distance:
73.43 mi (118.17 km)
Total
Altitude: 61233.6 ft (18664 m)
Total
Distance: 2298.58 mi (3699.21 km)
Today
my route was going to Bemidji,MN. I continued my progress northwards,
but from tomorrow onward I will go westwards again. Starting into the
day, this morning I already knew that it is probably going to be a
wet day. All the weather forecasts predicted rain and possible
thunderstorms throughout the day. Still I was hopeful, that it
wouldn't be too bad, especially after it wasn't raining this morning.
But just after an hour into the trip it started raining and continued
raining for the whole day. The rain by itself wouldn't have been so
bad, but the temperatures went down too. After temperatures of about
100°F during the week, the temperatures today stayed between 43-50°F
(6-10°C). This made the ride today really tough, the low
temperatures plus the rain made it feel so cold. Especially my hands
and feet were getting really cold. I tried to warm up a bit during
lunch, but that didn't really help. My hands were so cold that, when
I arrived at the hotel in Bemidji, I couldn't really sign my name at
the check-in. It took me a while after I arrived to warm up again.
My
route to Bemidji stayed on a separate bike path (Paul Bunyan trail)
almost the whole day. I only had to leave the bike path for a short
time going through Walker,MN and at the end of the day to get to the
hotel in Bemidji. Without the rain this would have been an great
ride. The bike path was for the most part in perfect condition and
the terrain was almost completely flat, so it was a perfect trail to
bike on. The scenery along the way was beautiful. The trail went
through forest areas and go by quite a few lakes along the way. One
could say I was surrounded by water and trees the whole day, except
for the short stints in some towns along the way. Unfortunately I was
not only surrounded by the water of the lakes and rivers, but I was
also soaked by the rain. Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures
of this beautiful scenery, because I didn't want to get my camera
out in this pouring rain. Nonetheless I have to say this area of
Minnesota is really beautiful and great for bike riding.
After
I have seen so many people out and about yesterday and so many people
riding their bike, I haven't seen a single other person on the trail
today. Although it was a Saturday, I didn't see anyone on their bike
or on foot on the trail today. I guess the other people were smarter
than me and stayed home on this rainy day. Tomorrow the weather
should be better, so perhaps I will see a few more people along the
way.
Conclusion
for the day:
Cold
temperatures and rain are not a good combination for bike riding.
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