Alas, it has happened. I took no photos today. Why, you ask? Well, the day started out sunny (granted, a bit headwindy), but just when I got down to my minimal riding attire, the clouds rolled in.
I stopped at the only convenience store I came to today, got a snack, and saw there was some big black cloudy nastiness coming my way. I stowed that which had been drying on the rear rack, and pulled out my rain shorts. My rain jacket was already tucked in the pocket of my pannier.
Not even a quarter mile down the road I had to stop and don my rain gear. I could hear thunder in the distance. I wish I had looked closer at my map because there was definitely a section of gratuitous miles. Although, who knows, with the rain, it might have been better to go the way I went instead of the County road I had been on, then returned to. I'm sure there was less traffic.
The rain continued with prolonged periods of downpouring. It brought to mind my ride along the Soulange Canal my last day in Quebec, only instead of a bike path, I was on the road. It finally stopped, and I was able to remove my rain shorts (they are just not very comfortable to ride in after 40 miles), only to have to put them back on a few miles later (yep, still not comfortable).
Although I had planned a different destination today, I had decided to stop in Edgewater at my original planned campground. That was a good choice because as I was riding along, I came to a Road Closed Ahead sign. Ah crap! I hate those! I could see that the road ahead was indeed quite torn up, so I followed the detour signs. I could kind of guess where it was going to take me by looking at my map (ACA does have some side roads as long as they are not too far off the route, or the route is in the middle of the map panel).
The detour started on chip seal, but soon changed to dirt and gravel. Thankfully, I have my trusty Tilmann with his 2" tires. He handled the dirt (becoming slightly muddy) with no problems. The detour added about 2 miles.
I returned to the road I was supposed to be on just before Edgewater. I couldn't remember the name of the campground, but I saw a sign for North Star Resort, and that rang a bell. Yep, that was it.
I paid the guy, and set up my wet tent. Usually, I inflate my sleeping pad, and put my sleeping bag in before I go shower. However, since the tent was wet, I waited. After my shower, I even went to the local bar and grill for lunch before finishing setting up camp.
When I came out, the sun was shining, and everything was almost dry (the shoes are getting there)! Hallelujah!!!
In looking ahead, I think I will actually push a bit to get back to Minneapolis on Friday instead of Saturday. It seems ridiculous to do two low 30 mile days, when I have been doing 60+ mile days. So, that means just two more days of riding (because really it would have been 2 1/2 after today). The route back into Minneapolis will be mostly the same as when I left, so no reason to dilly dally.
Sorry for no photos today, but there just wasn't anything to take a photo of.
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