How to start today's blog... I'm running out of new ways to describe the day. We started half an hour earlier, but I woke even earlier thanks to a 50mile trail run that was happening from Carlton to Duluth and back. They started at the school we were staying at and were walking around from 4am to 6am when the race started. We were on the road at about 6:45. We began on a very nice bike path and then continued on to a road but it quickly became very foggy. I was really regretting forgetting to charge my bike lights, but Sara's tail light was working so she went behind me and we rode very close to the edge of the road. It was a little tense, especially with the recent tragedy involving Clarence Doornbos, where fog was a factor. We passed some cyclists riding side by side and with no lights and you just worry for them. Thankfully the lady at the next rest stop was checking that everyone had lights and were being safe. She even gave me a dollar store front light for my bike. The fog was even causing our helmets to drip with moisture. Soon after leaving the rest stop, the fog lifted, or we climbed above it 😜. We had a lot of rolling hills, er, ravines I mean. The difference being hills begin with a climb and ravines begin with a downhill. At the 2nd rest stop, we got to see a historic windmill. I made sure to eat plenty because of the large gap until the 3rd rest stop. It definitely helped, which was nice because if you burn through all your energy it is very difficult to get it back. We ate lunch at the 3rd rest stop. Today had a very special event, the halfway point for distance: 3490km done ✅ 3490km to go!!!! This point was marked at the 5th rest stop, at the Delta Diner. They had spray painted it in the gravel beside the road. We waited for everyone to get there which was at 1:20pm. Meanwhile we got ice cream, I had salted caramel with a homemade waffle cone. Then we took pictures and were treated with strawberry shortcake and blueberries and whipped cream. We left right after to finish the day. We travelled past many, many fields with farmers raking, and baling. I pictured my family doing the same this summer and it made me a little homesick. Dad, you would have loved to drive the road we biked today. It was rolling fields, old barns, old tractors, trees; the only thing missing were the mountains. The temperature was very warm and humid today. We were swearing a lot and then when we got to camp and there wasn't a breeze, we were dripping with sweat and felt gross. We are camping at Prentice park in Ashland Wisconsin. Which is a walk away from Lake Superior. After arriving in camp and setting up our tent, we were given a ride to the lake by Diane. We had been told that this was a very cold lake and was the deepest lake in North America; however, when we got in, it was a pleasant temperature and we walked out for what seemed like forever before I wasn't able to touch!!!! We enjoyed it for a quite a while. We then crammed 9 people into a 5 person vehicle to go back. Dinner was provided by The Brick Ministry (Believers Reaching Individuals for Christ the King). They even gave us dessert- ice cream and cake!!! We were all exhausted after eating dinner that it was a struggle to stay focused for the short peloton meeting. A few of us lay on the ground to stretch while waiting, it felt really good. I'm amazed that we have made it to the halfway km mark. We have made it through the Rockies and their big climbs, we have made it through the prairies and their never empty wind, I feel like we can do anything, which is good because next week is our longest week km wise, with our biggest ride of 171km!!!! But first - a day of rest tomorrow!!! Now I'm in my tent relaxing.
159.1 km
6H 55min
22.9 Km/h
779M elevation