Northern Tier Day #30 Dalbo, MN to Royalton, MN
Northern Tier Day #30
June 19, 2019
Dalbo, MN to Royalton, MN 58 Miles
Ride Time 3:58
Tour Total 2395 Miles
I slept great last night at the Bicycle Bunkhouse in Dalbo. It was great to have a shower and a place to spread out and sleep. I enjoyed having it to myself but it would have been more special to share it with others. My bunk mat was a little hard but I slept great regardless. In the middle of the night, when I got up to use the bathroom, I hit my head on my room’s low door frame.
The bunkhouse was over-the-top handmade, and definitely a creation of love. On the photo wall were pictures of individual cyclists, a cyclist with their dog, and ACA groups. There was another photo gallery inside the old-fashioned silo out front. I admire these silos from the road and it was a treat to enter into one.
I had an early start. The plan was to meet Sam at Royalton, a small town 56 miles to the west. Before leaving, I took a selfie with the bunkhouse camera to be part of the 2019 cyclist wall. I regret not meeting Donn or his wife. It seemed like they were out of town. Donn and I had played phone tag yesterday. I will definitely be sending him a thank you.
The sky was crystal clear when I started. It was bright and sunny and the air was cool. I was wearing my cycling shorts, my short sleeve jersey, and my Bouré sweater. It seemed like it was going to be a hot one.
I found myself stair-stepping north and west through the center of Minnesota. I had more or less been going north since Muscatine, and it was nice to be headed west once again. I rode past fields, trees, and a lot of lakes. There was less agricultural production in this region.
I entered Mille Lacs County, which means thousand lakes in French. I passed a warning sign for Amish horses and buggies, but didn’t see any.
I’ve noticed that a lot of rural mailboxes here have a swinging mechanism. I reckoned later that it was a protective measure against snow plows. The mailbox posts are far away from the road and the box is cantilevered as close to the shoulder as possible.
Highway 16 did the staircase curves for me, without intersections and me having to keep track of where to turn. This made my navigation easier. I had the road virtually to myself, and I was in my highest gears cycling gentle ups and downs. The temperature and conditions were perfect.
I was spacing out enjoying the tar calligraphy and I missed a turn. I screwed it up again when I tried to correct it. I hope no one looks at my GPS data. I saw a lot of robins in the fields today. I also saw a deer in the distance running away from me on the other side of the road.
I stopped at the Holiday station in Milaca (thousand lakes) and got myself a sausage egg and cheese muffin, a banana, a Starbucks Frappuccino, and an orange juice.
The Twins game was on TV last night at the Dusty Eagle Bar & Grill. Because I had been to the game the night before, I was interested and invested in the outcome. The Twins had been behind and caught up and tied in the ninth inning. As I left the bar to go back to the bunkhouse, the game was going into extra endings. I learned today that the Twins had won the game in the 17th inning. The game wasn’t over until 1am. That’s basically a double length baseball game.
Highway 23 between Milaca and Foreston was not as nice, and there was a lot more traffic. I had a wide shoulder but it was bumpy. I took a right on County Road 14 and lost both the traffic and the shoulder. The road surface was smooth. I passed several Trump 2020 signs. I thought Minnesota was a blue state.
At a certain point I got a nice wide shoulder. I was out enjoying beautiful rolling countryside with no traffic, a bright blue sky, a perfect temperature, and no traffic. It was smooth sailing! When I turned north on County Highway 7 I realized that I had a tail wind. The wind was coming from the east. As I was going north I could feel the crosswind, but it didn’t slow me down much.
I noticed a second beer mug icon on ACA paper map panel 78 at the intersection of County Highway 22 and County Highway seven. The beer mug icons are for bars that serve food. After the intersection I had an amazing tailwind plus a brand new asphalt surface. I stair-stepped until I got on Highway 26 which took me to my destination. The wind was at my back and I made great time. Puffy clouds appeared and filled the sky.
Outside of Little Rock two brown dogs barked at me but didn’t leave their yard. There were no services in Little Rock. The shoulder narrowed to 40” with a continuous rumble strip to the left, directly underneath the white line where it should be.
I made incredible time the final 18 mile stretch into Royalton. I was pedaling 20 miles an hour and, at one point, a deer ran across the road in front of me.
I’ve been noticing a few ranch-style entrance gates here in Minnesota. I know the real stuff is yet to come out in Montana. I passed fields with soy bean, corn, and hay cultivation. I saw a tractor on the road hauling a wagon full of rocks
I could see the Royalton water tower from 2 miles out. It was an old-style lollipop type that I prefer. There were no breaks in the rumble strips and I felt trapped on the shoulder. It was a nice smooth shoulder, but it felt claustrophobic.
I got to Royalton before Sam and went to Scottie’s Log Bar. I ordered a Starry-Eyed Blonde and noticed the TV weekend weather forecast calling for thunderstorms and an inch to an inch and a half of rain. Not good! Sam showed up and Rosie the cook treated us to awesome rhubarb pie.
I took my bike apart and fit it into Sam’s car. We drove into St. Cloud and Sam showed me his law office. We went looking for post cards and ended up at Seven West Taproom where I had a flight of four local beers and an avocado burger.
We went to a grocery store where I restocked my toothpaste, dental floss, razors, and sunscreen. Later at Sam’s house I did two loads of laundry. I'm halfway across the continent and my clothing and sleeping bag liner is clean and my provisions are restocked.
Sam and I had a beer at House of Pizza before going back to his place for grilled steak and halibut with Scarlett and Sam’s daughter Ella. It was a very good day!
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