Northern Tier Day #29 Stillwater, MN to Dalbo, MN
Northern Tier Day #29
June 18, 2019
Stillwater, MN to Dalbo, MN 89 Miles
Ride Time 7:10
Tour Total 2335 Miles
I had a little too much fun last night with Sam and Scarlet, and I got off to a late start this morning. I woke up early, but spent about 90 minutes getting yesterday‘s report together. The field notes were in shambles. I got all my gear packed, and almost forgot my ground cloth. I had a crappy hotel breakfast, the worst one yet. There was really only Fruit Loops and Raisin Bran, and the cheap dispenser was impossible to operate. I adjusted my front brake cable before I left the hotel.
I was anxious about State Trunk Highway 36 and the bridge over the Saint Croix River. It was basically an expressway. I went the wrong way from the hotel and had to turn around and backtrack. Because the highway was divided, it was easier to use an overpass as a motor vehicle would do.
The temperature was in the mid 60’s. The sun was hot, but the air was cool. I wore my cycling pants with a short-sleeve jersey and sweater. I’ve ridden my bike on Interstates. I don’t like it, but I can do it. The bridge and river crossing was intense, but there was a sufficient shoulder. After 4-1/2 miles screwing around on the crazy busy highway and bridge, I finally made it back to the ACA route. What a pain!
I found myself back in Wisconsin, again! I took another picture of the over-the-top border sign. All of the Wisconsin County roads were lettered. I took County Road E to County Road V to County Road I.
The ACA route had me zigzagging all over the place and it was difficult to follow. I have no idea why I was even back in Wisconsin. I thought I was going west! With the exception of being back on highway 36 for a mile, the roads were nice.
The clouds were puffy and dark but rain was not forecast. The winds were out of the north. The breeze wasn’t bad but it was there.
Abdullah Zeinab finished the Trans Am race today. He did it in 16 days, 10 hours. Absolutely incredible!http://trackleaders.com/transam19f.php
Sam and Scarlet pointed out a weird red sore on the bridge of my nose last night. They thought it was from my goggles but I reckon that a gnat bit me there. They tend to find nooks and crannies to burrow into, and that’s where they bite. They go in through the holes on my helmet and try to get into my ears. My sore doesn’t look very good, and I’m happy to not be in the vicinity of any mirrors.
I was on tiny country roads riding through fields. There was a little bit of gravel, but hardly any traffic. I stopped at the BP station in Oceola. There hadn’t been any services in 30 miles. Many gas stations have kitchens that cook to order. Today I totally scored. They were making burritos! I patiently watched the order being made for the customer ahead of me. I chose the same thing, a beef burrito. I also got a Gatorade. There was a day cyclist there finishing up his meal, and the clerk asked me if there was a bike thing going on.
While eating I looked at my emails and holy crap! My credit card had been compromised. I spent the next 30 minutes dealing with it. There was a charge on my credit card from Enterprise for $2999.44. I first thought I had been scammed by my rental car company, like what had happened last summer. Then I realized it was a different Enterprise. I called my credit card company and they wanted to cancel my card. I told them that I was traveling and I needed it. I have two credit cards but I need redundancy. I don’t want to get down to one. They’re going to keep it active for 21 days, at which point a new one will be mailed to my house in Brooklyn. Ugh.
After my stop, I missed the turn to the bridge and rode into town. It was a quaint little touristy town. I quickly realized my mistake and headed back across the bridge. The St. Croix was smaller and less spectacular than what I’d seen downstream. The river was no longer navigable to large boats. I crossed back into Minnesota for my final time. The border sign returned to its high standard with a stone column and wooden sign.
I rode up the hill and took a right on Minnesota Highway 95, also known as the St. Croix Trail. I could’ve taken this highway straight out of St. Croix and not follow the ACA route, but it was a busy heavily trafficked road. I was only on it for a mile. I noticed a lot of people towing canoes today.
Pleasant Valley Road was indeed pleasant. There were fields to my left and right, in addition to groves of trees. The clouds remained gray and puffy. It was 2pm and I had only gone 40 miles. Woah! I had it figured as an 85 mile day.
I can always tell when I’m coming close to town when I see the water tower. Shafer had the newer 60's-style and I prefer the old 40's-type. There were several taverns and bars. Folks were sitting on a patio drinking beer and I envied them. I passed the Swedish Immigrant Bike Trail and was disappointed that I wasn’t riding on it.
Numerous 18-wheel trucks passed me with containers full of heavy loose material. I’d never seen trucks like this before and figured they were carrying gravel. Whatever they had, it was loose and heavy.
The sun was only out briefly today. It was mostly overcast and cool, and I left my sweater on. Many of the fields haven’t been planted, and a lot of the barns and silos are dilapidated. I saw two wild turkeys frolicking on the side of the road.
At the junction of County Road 9 road workers were installing a new stop sign. They had a big pneumatic jackhammering tool to hammer in the sign posts. Two German Shepherds quarreled about who was going to park the loudest and chase me. I quickly had my spray out, but didn’t need it.
Coming into Sunrise I passed a large solar farm on my right. I passed a plethora of wild turkey feathers on the side of the road and I stopped. I promised Steve H some feathers from the road. It’s a joke that goes back to last year’s tour.
Sunrise is the hometown of Hollywood legend Richard Widmark. I have no idea who he was. There was a river tubing outfit where I stopped and got a pizza and a Gatorade. I had no cell phone reception there. I learned that the Sunrise river was currently too cold for tubing.
I passed the 2,300 mile mark on my odometer. The Northern Tier is supposed to be 4600 miles in total. That would make this the halfway point. I have a feeling the total mileage is going to be longer than 4,600.
I’ve noticed that a lot of the lawn cutting in Minnesota is done by women, and that folks listen to music while they drive around on their lawn tractors. The town of Harris, population 1132, also had a new-fangled water tower. I stopped at the post office, and the feathers were now in the mail. I crossed over I-35, and then rode alongside Fish Lake, the tour’s second of 10,000 Minnesota lakes.
The town of Stark had a population of 50, but it had two nice bars. I’ve been noticing a lot of pottery studios and I saw stained glass studio. I passed a winery as well. I saw a raccoon in a cornfield. I tried to get a little closer to take a photo, but he ran away. At that instant a deer ran across the road. Wildlife Two-for-Tuesday!
In Grandy I passed a cafe that boasted that it had world’s best chicken. I could smell it, and perhaps verify their claim. It was tempting but I had another 12-1/2 miles to go. I was on County Highway 6. On the ACA paper map there’s a beer mug icon in Dalbo. I’ve never seen the beer mug icon before on an ACA map. I tried looking for other information but couldn’t find anything.
At Long Lake everybody was out fishing. There were anglers alongside the road casting into the water. A boat was out on the lake with poles extended. I even passed two boys riding their bikes to the lake precariously carrying long poles. At Little Stanchfield Lake there were more folks fishing.
There was nothing in Springdale but I saw a bunny and a chipmunk hanging out together in the grass, in front of somebody’s house. Towards the end of the day the puffy clouds had flattened out. The sun was still trying to peek through, but it remained cloudy.
In Dalbo, I stopped at the Dusty Eagle Grill & Bar. Two guys out front wanted to know how far I’d ridden. Following my response one of them replied, “You’re in God’s Country now.” It was Taco Tuesday and I ordered two. I drained the Finnegans Irish Ale keg.
I cycled over to the Bicycle Bunk House, an ACA legend and gem. Farmer Donn Olson has beautifully converted his barn into a cyclist hostel. There were four rooms on the ground level, each with two beds/cots. There was a large living area, a kitchen, shower and outhouse, along with food and supplies. I only wish that there had been other cyclists to share it with it. Kudos to Donn Olson. It’s people like him that make this a good world.
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