74 miles

I used up the last of my chain lube today. After yesterday’s deluge, it was bone dry and creaking. I dipped out of the campsite early this morning. The landscape today was mostly uninspiring—corn, soy, and deciduous forests. I stopped for coffee twice. The weather was perfect—a high of 82 degrees, and not too windy.

As the day wore on, I started to realize that this area is…weird. The small towns here have resorts and wine bars, and almost nothing else. I stopped in Balsam Lake and got an espresso at a gift shop just so I could charge my phone. The only other establishment was a Subway.

I decided to take a gravely, ill-advised shortcut on the Tuscobia State trail, hoping to skip a bit of mileage and hills. As it turns out, it’s quite accurately described on the ACA maps (and every other source I cross referenced and still neglected to heed) as “only suitable for unloaded mountain bikes”. It was “flat”, so not a mountain trail per se, but it was basically a rough horse path—rocky and uneven, with huge ruts and mounds of dirt. An actual Amish horse and buggy carrying four women appeared from the opposite direction at one point. I pulled off the trail to let them pass, which was difficult to do with my heavy, awkward bike. The trail in this section was largely just a crude ditch. As soon as I stopped moving, a nasty cloud of deer flies that had been gathering behind me while I rode began divebombing me, so there I was, violently waving my arms in desperate self protection while trying to offer a friendly greeting. I was met with stony, unsmiling stares from three out of the four. I must have looked insane.

Later, I did stop at an Amish roadside farm stand after exiting the hellish trail. The flies continued to hound me literally for miles, even after I reached a paved road. I bought two dozen cookies for $6. 

Eventually I arrived at Doolittle Campground and set up my hammock. The couple next to me was very inquisitive and I was glad to have bought too many cookies because I had some to share. I wonder what it’s like to grow up Amish.