Date:
03.06.2018
Altitude:
2713.3 ft (827 m)
Distance:
96.13 mi (154.71 km)
Total
Altitude: 63946.9 ft (19491 m)
Total
Distance: 2394.71 mi (3853.92 km)
After
I was going north for the last couple of days, I went southwest
today. Why did I even go so far north, if I just gonna go south again
afterwards? First of of all the scenery and the way to Bemidji was
great and I wouldn't have wanted to miss that. Secondly, I really
wanted to see the headwaters of the Mississippi in Itasca state park.
Sure I didn't need to go all the way up to Bemidji to see this, but
it was still worth it. Also, my originally planed route wouldn't have
gone all the way down to Detroit Lakes,MN Today I started to divert a
bit from my route and will continue to do so during the next few
days. As I mentioned two days ago, since I'm making such good
progress and I'm ahead on schedule I will make my way down to
Montevideo,MN, where I did spend my year as an exchange student. I
will not go on the most direct route to Montevideo, but rather do a
small loop and follow a few nice trails. I will return to the
original route through South Dakota, after I have been to Montevideo.
The
day started out with a decent breakfast at the hotel in Bemidji.
After breakfast I got an early start into the day, because I already
knew it is going to be a tough one. The weather forecast showed
strong winds from the west/northwest and since I was going west this
meant headwinds during the day. In addition to the wind, the route
today was again quite a long one, but I didn't really find a place to
stay that was closer to Bemidji in the direction I wanted to go. The
temperatures at the start of he day were still cold and the wind made
it feel even colder, but at at least it didn't rain. It stayed quite
cold until the clouds started to clear and the sun came out. So the
temperatures in the second half of the day were really comfortable to
ride in. As I already feared in the morning the ride got tough,
whenever I had to go against the wind. Sometimes it felt like I
wasn't getting anywhere, although I was pedaling. So I was thankful
for every tree or house, that shielded me from the wind or when the
route went straight south and the wind came from the side or even
from behind. Still I managed to go the distance, but didn't arrive
before 6pm in Detroit Lakes,MN. I checked in a really nice hotel
there, and the guy at check in even gave me a nicer room for the
price of a standard room. So I could relax in the evening, perfect
after such a long day on the bike.
After
a whole day on bike trails yesterday, I had to go back to riding on
the road today. But for the most part I stayed on less frequented
county roads, with the exception of the last couple miles going into
Detroit Lakes. In general it was still a pretty good ride. For a few
miles I could even use a bike trail going through Itasca state park,
where the Mississippi headwaters are located. The scenery was again
beautiful throughout the day and not only in the state park. I was
surrounded by forest areas, lakes, rivers and also the occasional
farmland. Not for nothing is Minnesota nicknamed Land of 10,000
Lakes, I passed by so many lakes today that I lost count. I really
enjoy cycling through Minnesota so far and even with the wind it was
a great ride again today.
Conclusion
for the day:
It
is the worst feeling when you are going downhill and still have to pedal
to keep the speed, because of the wind.
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