Sauk Rapids to Henning
I'll see your 100 and raise you 7! Our first century day!! All the conditions played out perfectly to allow the long ride to happen. Started out with comfortable beds and a great breakfast (Thanks again Pam, Gunther, Sharon, and kids). The sky was overcast for 90% of the day and kept the temperature at a cool 60 to 70 degrees. The road we started out on was flat and smooth, so we were riding at a very fast pace. It all added up to our first century ride.
Now that we've gone about half way across the United States I've got a good feeling for the types of dogs who pester us. First of all you have your run of the mill mutt, about medium size, who barks a lot and runs after you, but really isn't that scary. Than we have the little ankle biter who also barks and runs fast, but doesn't have much endurance. Today I was faced with a new type. The silent runner. He never barked at me, so I didn't have much of a warning to pedal faster. All I heard is his nails scrapping the pavement as he chased me down and than his breathing when he got next to me. With the late notice it took me a while to get going faster. I never got a full view of the "silent runner", but as I looked in my rearview mirror I could see a white fluff ball heading back home. Something tells me I might come across Cujo in North Dakota or Montana.
Tonight we are staying out at the fairgrounds in Henning. We don't really have official permission, but were too tired and hungry to continue our search. Plus, they have bathrooms. What happened was we asked the minister at the first church we passed and instead of giving us permission to use the large church grounds, he told us to come out here. We think we are supposed to pay, but with it being Sunday, goodluck finding anything open in a town with a population of 900. We might get kicked out by Officer Bob, but it's worth the chance.
Tomorrow we check Minnesota off the list and begin plugging away at North Dakota. We might go out to dinner to celebrate making it halfway.
