The owners of Ashby Resort gave us the weather forecast for today: headwinds at 17 mph and a thunderstorm that's predicted to arrive between 3-5 pm. It was going to be a 50+ mile day so I left before dawn.
It's chilly and there's no one on the trail
until Susan from Alexandria pulled up for a chat. She highly recommended Jan's Place in Alexandria for breakfast and gave me great directions. By the time I returned to the trail, there was a bicycle-race taking place in Alexandria along with many other recreational users.
At the Todd County line, the trail became
I arrived in Sauk Centre with lots of time to spare and waited for Dick to arrive. He'd gone to a different campground and had to backtrack adding an extra 20 miles for him today. Meanwhile, I watched the gathering dark clouds to the west. Shortly after he got there, we decided to take our bikes to the storm shelter. At about 3 pm, the tornado sirens went off and many other campers headed for the shelter. Looking up, the clouds weren't moving in any particular direction but rather roiling in place. At one point someone said, "They're going rotational," but no funnel ever appeared.
So many of the men stood outside looking up at the sky
while others got comfortable inside.
Then the rain came down in buckets, everyone came inside but the doors were open to let air circulate. I asked someone how long these kinds of storms typically lasted. "As long as it takes to drink one beer." Several guys had brought coolers of beer and freely shared with others. That's how long the storm lasted, too. Then it was over, and everyone went back to their usual activities.
This weekend was Sinclair Lewis Days. The 7 o'clock parade was canceled due to another rainstorm which "blew through." But the street dance went on as planned. This is the house where Sinclair Lewis was born.
Miles completed = 2247
It's chilly and there's no one on the trail
until Susan from Alexandria pulled up for a chat. She highly recommended Jan's Place in Alexandria for breakfast and gave me great directions. By the time I returned to the trail, there was a bicycle-race taking place in Alexandria along with many other recreational users.
At the Todd County line, the trail became
I arrived in Sauk Centre with lots of time to spare and waited for Dick to arrive. He'd gone to a different campground and had to backtrack adding an extra 20 miles for him today. Meanwhile, I watched the gathering dark clouds to the west. Shortly after he got there, we decided to take our bikes to the storm shelter. At about 3 pm, the tornado sirens went off and many other campers headed for the shelter. Looking up, the clouds weren't moving in any particular direction but rather roiling in place. At one point someone said, "They're going rotational," but no funnel ever appeared.
So many of the men stood outside looking up at the sky 
while others got comfortable inside. 
Then the rain came down in buckets, everyone came inside but the doors were open to let air circulate. I asked someone how long these kinds of storms typically lasted. "As long as it takes to drink one beer." Several guys had brought coolers of beer and freely shared with others. That's how long the storm lasted, too. Then it was over, and everyone went back to their usual activities. 
This weekend was Sinclair Lewis Days. The 7 o'clock parade was canceled due to another rainstorm which "blew through." But the street dance went on as planned. This is the house where Sinclair Lewis was born.
Miles completed = 2247
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