Donn Olson's Barn

Friday, June 13 (Day 28)

Distance: 50 miles (+3 mile bump?)

Average speed: 11.7 mph

Max: 27.2 mph

Total: 1669 miles

Weather: sunny with a tiny headwind 

Today was a great day to be on tour.

I woke up leisurely and talked with Warren while he made a delicious pancake breakfast. He asked me how long it takes me to get lonely. I told him it only takes one day, but luckily I tend to meet enough people and have good enough cell phone service that it doesn't happen often.

Warren is a Rotary youth exchange officer, and I went on a Rotary exchange in high school, so we had a lot to talk about! He told me I could take their cat (he was their daughter's cat) but I didn't think he would like being strapped onto my rear rack very much.

As Mary was leaving, she hugged me and told me she was hugging me for my family. Warren gave me and my bike a short ride over the Minnesota state line and up a huge hill. We hugged twice! He was so kind and generous, I'm really lucky to have met him and had the opportunity to talk to him. Meeting people like Warren and Mary is reason enough to tour across the country!

I had a lovely ride and didn't think about mileage all day! 

I like to see cows, because they always look at me with their dopey expressions and they're quite cute. As Laura from a Traverse City told me, they seem to notice cyclists more than they do cars.

And of course I can't miss the witty church signs.

I arrived to my destination pretty early because I didn't really stop all day. I was at Donn Olson's barn, converted to a bunkhouse for touring cyclists! I was pretty nervous to meet Donn Olson himself because he's a bit of a celebrity in the world of touring cyclists. He has everything in this bunkhouse that a touring cyclist could want-- bunks, warms showers, an outhouse, electricity, heat, a tv for weather and news, cheap packaged food, and lots and lots of pictures and stories from people who have come through.

He gets a hundred or so touring cyclists a year through here, and it's easy to see why! He and his wife are incredibly nice, welcoming, and interesting. He takes pictures of all the cyclists that come through and I saw pictures of the three girls who stayed at the same host as I did in upstate New York. He's got pictures of some pretty crazy setups. 

A little while after I arrived, another touring cyclist arrived. His name is Michael and he's going from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Seattle, Washington, and started just about the same time I did. He moves much more quickly than I do! He's from Australia and lives in Portland, Oregon. He works making computer chips (I think) and took a leave of absence to take this trip. He does all sorts of crazy adventuring and has pretty much done it all.

All in all, today was a really great day!