Day 30 - 110 Miles of Tailwind, Pace Lines, and Downhill!

The day started with a motel fiasco that went quickly from lemons to lemonade.  The 5:30 am breakfast was not to be.....the motel manager changed it to 6:30 without informing anyone from our group, so there were close to 50 people waiting in line for .......nothing.  Several of us decided to ride our bikes to a nearby Perkins, so we treated ourselves to blueberry pancakes, eggs, fresh fruit, skillet potatoes and more instead.  What a great decision!  On the road by 7 am, and we were off to start another century day.

Highs were predicted to be in the upper 90's by the afternoon, so we latched together with another group or two to start with a long pace line of about 11 people, traveling the first 23 miles together at about 23 mph on average.  One of our foursome then had a flat tire, so the pace slowed quite a bit for the change of tube. Here's a shot of Greg during this early morning road ride.

One of the best things about being in Minnesota was traveling through so many small and welcoming farm towns on the road from Worthington to our final destination of Mankato, MN.  One town, Madelia, made me stop in my tracks to snap the following mural of the capture of the James Gang and the Younger Brothers during a major Wild West shootout.  The side of this brick building showed the law enforcement on the left, bringing down the outlaws on the right.  My non-panorama lens of the I-Phone did not allow the the outlaws to be shown, so imagine a flip-side of this shot, only the outlaws are in a prone position.  I guess you had to be there.......but the mural was huge and covered the entire side of the building.  

Through many miles of beautiful farmland, the horizon seemed to stretch on forever, at times defined by the number of telephone poles one could count along the side of the roadway.  The puffy clouds against the blue sky was the beauty that beckoned us onward.  Here's an action shot taken of Don while riding.

The first 100 miles went smoothly due to a mostly flat or downhill topography and lovely winds at our backs.  Yesterday, while stopped at the local DQ, a gentleman wished that the winds may always be at our backs.  Today, his wish worked!

The last 10 miles found us on a bicycle path that lead us to Mankato and to our hotel.  After being in the now 90-plus degree heat, the shade of the trees and the lack of traffic were certainly a gift.  Here's Drew leading us onward while obeying the cardinal rule of hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Lastly, what would the end of the trail be without a noteworthy shot from our local area?  Here's a pic of the gallant buffalo who was standing guard just across from our hotel.  We knew buffalo were a part of the landscape in Wyoming and South Dakota.  Now we know their claim as a landmark of Mankato, Minnesota, too.

Tomorrow - Mankato to Rochester, MN.  99 miles and hopefully continued favorable winds!