Day 29!

Owatonna, MN to Winona, MN - 94.6 miles, 6:36

There was a really beautiful sunrise this morning in Owatonna, but by the time I thought about getting my camera, it was gone. I kept thinking of that poem, "red sky at morning, sailor's warning." I figured that meant rain was coming, but at least for our route today, the prediction was incorrect.

Not far from Owatonna we saw a hot air balloon. By the time I took the picture and was pedaling past it, it was being deflated.

Minnesotans don't only grow corn in their fields.

Our first water stop was about 25 miles from the start of today's ride, and when I was about 10 feet from pulling in, I felt that dreaded funny feeling from my bike. I stopped, felt my back tire, and walked my bike to the rest stop. Yep. I had my first flat of the ride. A sharp piece of metal had cut a gash in my back tire.

My flat tire couldn't have happened at a better time. I was near a supported stop, and Nick, our mechanic was there. I got the tire off my bike, but then he took over from there. Once it was fixed, I was on my way again.

The next stop was a snack stop put on by some riders from 2007! They had cookies, fruit, and a few doughnuts left by the time I got there. It was great to hear their stories of what it's like after the ride. "Your muscles are screaming to get on your bike!"

We rode through a "big" city today: Rochester, MN, home of the Mayo Clinic. Here's a picture I took quickly while waiting at an intersection for the light to turn green. (I'm sure it's not the best picture of Rochester that I could've gotten, but . . . oh well.)

Kathleen and Janet like butterfly jerseys!

Today we passed the 2,000 mile mark on our trip!! We left Seattle just four weeks ago today, and I can't believe I've ridden over 2,000 miles since then.

This part of southeastern Minnesota STILL has a lot of corn fields, but there are more trees and woods and a few more hills.


On our way into Winona and the Mississippi River Valley, the landscape changed even more. Here are limestone or sandstone cliffs. (I guessed the kind of rock just by eyeballing it from the road. I didn't do a real test, sorry!)

More of the scenery near the Minnesota/Wisconsin border.


This is Lake Winona, looking north from the road to Winona State University.

This is the view looking south from that same road.

Tonight we are staying in a dorm at Winona State University. Just east of Winona is the Mississippi River and beyond that, our seventh state. Tomorrow we'll be singing "On Wisconsin."