Minnesota River Ramble 7/15

I slept okay, given the circumstances. The weather did cool down somewhat, to the upper 60s, which helped greatly. Unfortunately, I finished the last of the hotel water overnight. The campsite I was at was pretty remote, and I could hear quite a bit of animal activity. In particular, there was a raccoon that woke me up three times in its increasingly-bold attempts to investigate the bag with my food in it. The third time I could see the sky getting lighter so I stayed awake and started packing up.

Listening to the radio, patchy smoke was in the forecast for the next morning (i.e. the 16th), so I decided I would cut the trip short. Instead of taking two days for the return trip, I would have to make it in one. Because I took a more direct route, this worked out to about 47 miles, roughly the same length as Day 1.

Unlike Day 1, however, I left at sunrise and got to ride several hours in normal temperatures. The initial couple hours were mostly shaded, as well. After a stop in Morton to refuel and get some better water, I was feeling good and decided to just go for it. This was definitely the prettiest day of riding; it basically all followed the Sioux Trail, which is a scenic byway with great views of the river. At some point, the road switched to being paved, which sort of compensated for the rising heat.

I had ridden 30 miles by 10:30, but the last stretch (predictably) proved the most tiring, as the heat kept climbing into the low 90s, and the roads got busier too. Right as you enter New Ulm there is a hill, which is not especially bad as far as hills go, but proved really brutal coming at the end. As I was passing a lemonade stand a woman there gave me some for free, which was much appreciated.

I arrived back at the car not too long after noon, and sat in the AC for a while before heading home.

Route Map

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