June 28

Day 22:
After waking up early, the crew enjoyed a light breakfast at our motel. Unfortunately this was the last thing we ate for a while. We loaded the bikes and headed out around 9 AM. We reached the first set of lights and came upon a man pedaling alone and heading in the same direction as us, even to the same campground. His name is Steve and he ended up joining us for the day. Steve, who is familiar with the Minneapolis, MN area, was able to shed some light on the safest and most efficient way to meet up with Mom later this week. He even offered to let us use his house/car while in the city. Thank you Steve, it was great meeting you! Immediately Wisconsin blessed us with 25+ mph headwinds from the West, and we were forced to ride right into the wind. As we rode by farm after farm, we could see the wheat blowing in the exact opposite direction we were headed. This made it very hard to keep a good pace and it felt as if we were going up hill the entire time. Pedaling very hard and making little distance can be quite discouraging. Aside from the wind the weather today was perfect, great temperatures and sunny skies all day….if only the wind was blowing the other direction! Our maps had told us that Potter, WI (25 miles from our motel) has somewhere to eat. If it did, we certainly couldn’t find it. By that point, we were all very hungry and more than ready for a break from the wind. With the help of a few locals we were able to change our route slightly and navigate Hilbert, where we found lunch at Kraggy’s Family Restaurant. A good meal, friendly staff, and delicious ice cream got us ready for the afternoon. Considering the 30 miles under our belt and the fact that we were pretty exhausted from the high winds, we decided that our destination would be the Apple Creek Campground in Freedom, WI. While still encountering high winds we managed to push our way through the last 22 miles and arrive at the campground around 3:30. We enjoyed a swim and reasonably priced showers (unlike Temple, MI). Right now it is approaching 7pm CST and we once again hungry. Time for dinner….

All in all not a bad day, considering we logged 52 miles straight into the wind (our first real struggle with the headwind) and finished reasonably early. It was nice to have some new company and such a gorgeous day for ridding. We can only hope for more of the same tomorrow …minus the wind of course!

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