Reader's Digest: Amie and Dan's past week on the road.

Hey friends, here's a quick account of what has transpired in the lives of Amie and Danielle since our split in Sioux Falls -

After our friends rolled out after 2 nights in Sioux Falls, Dan and I decided to spend an extra night with Liz Evans and use the day to gather the gear we now needed to acquire (a new stove, some bike tools, map, etc.).

The next morning, after another luxurious evening and cozy beds, we finally packed up, had an unbelievable pancake breakfast, and made our sad goodbyes. We bike a fast 68 miles that day, up to a small town called Lake Benton. We went out for burgers and then found a small campground just outside the city. We even discovered an old, one-room cabin, apparently from 1882 and belonging to a pioneer named John Snyder... all-in-all a very eventful day?

From Lake Benton we headed east to Redwood Falls. We managed to crank out the day's 78 miles before 2 pm, so Dan and I spent the afternoon wandering around town, looking for a movie, eating ice cream, and playing frisbee. That evening our friend Kenzie, who also goes to Bowdoin, was driven down to Redwood Falls from St. Cloud by her mom to join us biking for a few days!! We got her gear all situated, and pitched our tents behind the bathrooms at a baseball field.

With Kenzie in tow the next morning we set off for Henderson, MN, only about 60 miles away. The day was scorching, almost 100 degrees and incredibly humid. We took frequent breaks, had lunch at Dairy Queen, swung into a library, and finally made it to Henderson, a tiny town with a cute main street next to a river. We tried to swim in the river but it was silty and disgusting, so we settled for a spigot bath. Then we spent the evening/afternoon wandering up and down the streets. Apparently every Tuesday here there is an old/awesome car show, and people park their old/awesome cars along the main street and everybody comes outside. After seeing the sights we settled ourselves under a pavillion in a park, since the weather looked like it was about to get nasty. A short while later the city cop, Chester, pulls up to us and tells us that we shouldn't camp there because there has been a tornado warning issued. Luckily, we had been offered house space by a woman I met earlier in town. We rode up to her house and got beds, showers, and safety from the massive storm that passed through shortly afterward.

From Henderson, we said goodbye to our hosts and made a break for the state border. It was an 86 mile day to Red Wing, and along the way we stopped in Northfield to visit Kenzie's aunt briefly. Otherwise it was decently uneventful. The last 20 miles of our ride into town we rode on a bike path that connects Cannon Falls and Red Wing. Getting off the highway and into a green tunnel was amazing. Red Wing is also a cute city on the river, though we didn't manage to find downtown that evening. Instead we had some pizza for dinner, and then found a city park to loiter in until dark. Somehow we got away with camping there, possibly our stealthiest yet.

From Red Wing we headed north into Wisconsin, making the requisite stop at the border sign. Wisconsin was beautiful right from the start - incredibly green, with rolling hills and rivers absolutely everywhere. We took our time this day, tired from our long day the day before. We made it to camp around 4:30 after doing only 60 miles. We found a campground called Twin Bridges just a little northeast of Menomonie, WI. We stealth-camped again there, cooked some burritos, made a fire, and passed out before 9 pm.

We got an early start this morning, because I didn't tell Dan or Kenzie that the alarm was set for 6... Then we headed north. Apart from a cute baby in a bar and some beautiful riding, the day itself was uneventful. So uneventful, actually, that we made it to Ladysmith, WI by 3:30 pm in the hopes of seeing a movie. The theater wasn't open, however, so we had dinner instead, found a city park, and sat there bitching about how bored we were getting with biking and being dirty and tired all day. Seemingly in response to our complaints, we ended up having one of the most memorable nights of the trip. As we sat there complaining, we noticed a group of highschool kids and younger swimming in the river we were sitting near. One of their number was incredibly intoxicated, and the others were taking care of him and laughing at him. A short while later we heard someone yell, "You don't fucking hit a girl!!" Then the drunk kid was attacked by some of the other boys. He was too drunk to function, and they were kicking him as he lay in the grass. The fight stopped quickly, but we thought about calling the police. I went to the bathroom, and a short while later Kenzie came inside suggesting we call, because the kid was now sitting at our pavillion and being harrassed further. I called 911 from the bathrooms and the cops said they would come check it out. As we left the bathroom, we watched the drunk kid be picked up by an older boy, carried away to the foot of a tree, punched in the face repeatedly, and then left there. The cops showed up just as the older boy and his sister drove away. Eventually, the boy was taken away on a stretcher, and we wrote police statements.
Later, we realized that it was clear that we were the ones who had called the cops, and that those involved in the crime were still hanging around the park.... We decided not to sleep there, and Jennifer Willey paid for a hotel night for us.

The next day we loitered at the hotel stealing continental breakfast until about 11 am. Once finally on the road, we made a sprint to our friend Kim's cabin in Tomahawk, WI. We biked really, really fast. Google maps gave us bad directions, added 10 miles. FINALLY at the cabin, Kim's boyfriend cooked us a delicious dinner, and we had fun around the fire pit for the rest of the night.

August 1st we spent entirely at the cabin, fishing, swimming, frisbeeing, eating, shopping, etc. Our good friend Kayte even showed up that afternoon! It was a perfect, lazy rest day, and we topped it off with more food, drink, and fire pits, ultimately crashing in beds.

So obviously the next morning we didn't get out before about 12 noon. Kenzie headed home at this point, but Dan and I spent the ENTIRE day riding. We pulled into Norway, MI after 110 miles, the last 10 of which were in the dark.
I think we're just about in Eastern Time! about to head east on highway 2. More updates to come