Day 35 – July 8 – Sauk Centre, MN – to Dalbo, MN – 90 Miles

The trip to Dalbo, MN has been anticipated for several months.  My daughter Meg learned about the Bicycle Bunkhouse in Dalbo  during her trip to Argentina last January.  Owner Donn Olsen, has converted an old dairy barn on his farm near Dalbo, to a cyclist bunkhouse.  It has three bedrooms for up to six people as well as a commons area.  It has a solar heated shower.  He keeps two refrigerators stocked with a variety of food and drinks.  All Donn asks is that you make suggested donations to cover the cost of the food.

We decide to try for our earliest start of our trip to get in mileage before the heat of the day.  The alarm went off at 4 and we were on the road before 5:oo AM.  It was a beautiful morning, cool enough to require our rain jackets.  We were back on a rail trail, this one, the Lake Wobegon trail, named after Minnesota native, Garrison Keilor’s, fictional hometown.  After the first fifteen miles we stopped in Freeport, for breakfast.  Even a hearty breakfast and three cups of coffee could not make me fully awake.  We were both feeling the results of the early morning. We decided to take a nap and found a convenient location at the trail pavilion in Albany.  Refreshed after a 45 minute nap on what Joe determined to be the best sleeping picnic tables on the trip, we continued toward St. Cloud.

In St Cloud, traffic was fairly light being a Sunday morning. We made a stop for Subway sandwiches to go, and to top off our Camelbacks with water and ice.  Between St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids we crossed the Mississippi River.  We will make our way back and forth across several times before entering Illinois.  We followed Minnesota highways 23 and 95 east to highway 47 before turning north toward Dablo.  Along the way we targeted one fruit stand for its peaches and plumbs, always a welcome stop during a day’s ride.

Donn Olsen and his Bicycle Bunkhouse met every expectation, another inspiring example of grace in action.  Donn didn’t have to do this for anyone, yet he does it for everyone who stops by. We sat and talked with Donn for a while getting acquainted and learning the history of the bunkhouse.  Donn likes to get photos of the visitors, but no one has to “check-in” to stay. If there is an overflow, people are welcome to set up tents in his yard.  Donn enjoys meeting his visitors and learning their stories.

Two other cyclists are staying with us at the bunkhouse.  Nick Mattson, is from Bellingham, Washington.  We talked with Nick about the cause of our ride and the importance of safe drinking water sources in Africa, and he was inspired to make a donation.  Thank you Nick!

We met a real milestone today, mile number 2,150.  This is half of our anticipated 4, 300 mile trip.  That along with crossing the Mississippi river made me reflect about how far we have actually ridden.  Sometimes I recall very specific things, other times it seems like one continuous blur of time and of places.  One of the things that especially stand out are the people we have met.

Tomorrow we head south toward the Twin Cities.  We will meet up with Barb’s cousin Matt  Smelser and his family.  We plan to take a rest day Tuesday.  With the change of plans to go toward Illinois, I will spend some time going over the maps and planning the next several days of our journey.