October 12: Iron Man

Jeremy H, the uncle of two of the boys, helped me out in an incredible way: he loaded me up with an extra jacket, donuts, canned food, a pair of tennis shoes for cycling, and all the cash in his wallet: $12.  I decided to leave the gopher trap the boys wanted me to have.  I pedaled out hoping for a 50 mile day; the leaves and grasses glowed in the rain, more golden than the sun.

Every crank of the pedals was harder than the rest.  I blamed the wind, which angrily shook trees at me and shoved bugs in my face.  I'll admit in retrospect the wind was blameless at this time... Anyway, only 32 miles later in Newfolden, I found another Wayside Rest that had a little dry patch of earth.  I still don't really know what these are; most are little more than a rest stop on the side of the road, but this one was pretty nice.  Inside it had lights and a fan that worked, running water, and on the exterior wall there was even an outlet I could use to recharge my camera.

I had hardly been there a jiffy before local pastor Phil Rokke showed up, insisting I spend the night inside.  I did think about it, and my two thoughts ended up being it's raining and I need a shower.  Phil biked with me back to his house and introduced me to his wife Marlene and their friends Jessica and Darin.  I ended up getting not only a shower, but a wonderful pancake dinner, Iron Man on DVD, and a "Minnesota Mom" or two to worry about me on my way.

The next day Jessica and her 3 kids started out on their bikes with me on the way to Thief River Falls.  One of them, Ruby, spent weeks making canoes out of newspaper in my honor.

Day 113 ended: Newfolden, MN