Another remarkable day

Saturday, June 21 (Day 36)

Distance: 68.5 miles

Average speed: 10.1 mph

Max: 22.1 mph

Total: 2133 miles

Weather: sunny and warm, 7-12 mph headwind 

Michael left the Honey Hub before Duane and I, and we didn't see him today. I don't think I'll run into him any more because he likes to ride a lot more miles per day than I do. Marty was still there, and I took a picture of his recumbent bike setup.

Duane and I had decided to ride together again, so we set off on the rolling hills and farmland. It was pretty much all fields other than the occasional lake or pond and we could see towns and trees from five or six miles away.

There was an interesting collection of "dinosaurs".

We tried our best to find produce for lunch, but were unsuccessful. We were both really missing fresh things.

We saw something kind of typical for these areas: a demolition derby car, post demolition.

We ran into three eastbound riders and had a nice 5 minute encounter.

We pulled into our campground in the early afternoon to find out that this sleepy town of population 200 was having their one party of the year on this exact day, with music until 1 am. It was our only option, so we set up in a far corner and prepared to wear earplugs.

After setting up and showering, we went in search of fruits and veggies. The only grocery store was closed and we were wistfully peering through the windows when a woman in her car called us over and asked what we were looking for, then offered to drive us around to find something. We ended up running into a very chatty man whose wife ran the grocery store, and he went and got her to open it up for us, so we feasted!

The man (whose name I never learned) has a son with cerebral palsy who is very enthusiastic about sports and was even featured on espn. He said his son wakes up with a smile, goes to sleep with a smile, and laughs in between!

We spent a lovely afternoon munching and lounging on the grass. Duane told me about his kayaking ventures and showed me pictures-- he circumnavigated Lake Superior in 29 days in a kayak.

Around 8 pm, a couple came over and started talking to us. They were soon shocked when they learned what we were doing, and invited us to spend the night away from noise and bugs in their shop, which we happily accepted.

Laura and Mike are farmers, and they farm 20,000-30,000 acres. Mike said his goal is to make the product, package it, and put it straight into the producer's hands. Their shop was not what you might expect-- it had a kitchen (stocked with food), couches, wifi, and a bathroom with a shower. They also had three adult cats and uncountable kittens. I was in heaven!

Mike showed us is drone for monitoring crops.

I was in amazement at their generosity and bewildered, as I always am when such things happen. It left me giddy! Duane and I settled in and didn't get into bed until 11:30, and happily missed loud rounds of polka and chicken dance in the park.