Day 28:

This was a day off. My foster daughter came up to visit from Council Bluffs, Iowa. We went to Minneapolis and spent the day at Mall of America. Took us half a day to tour the first level only, then we spent the other half day at the amusement park inside the mall.

I visited Lego-Land in the mall. This is a shop that specializes in legos. What is fantastic are the models, most six feet tall or better of objects made out of lego’s. They even had a full size motorcycle, complete with a person riding it. The detail of these lego models is phenominal.

Day 29:

These Minnesotans are sure talkative. Everywhere I went today, I’d stop and talk with them. I would spend 15 – 30 minutes at a time. Took me all day to make the ride because the breaks were so long.

I met one guy about 40 miles out of New Ulm. He lives in New Ulm right next to the glockenspiel. For the last 30 years, he has been hand making concertinas. He sells them for $7,000 each. He gave me a cassette tape of his concertina band, then told me that I had to write him a letter after I arrived in D.C. and let him know how the ride turned out. These people are really interested in what we’re doing.

During the last few days, my body as been reacting less to the heat. I first noticed that even at 92 degrees, if I was in the shade, and if there was a little breeze, then I was not too hot. Today, I was riding in 96 degrees, and as long as I rode fast enough to keep a breeze about me, I was okay. I suppose that now, when I get back to Anchorage, I’ll be cold until next spring.

Day 30:

I missed a turn today. I got about a mile down the road and I knew that something was wrong. There were no "Bicycles On The Road" warning signs. There were no other riders. It is very rare that you can’t see someone either ahead or behind your. Fortunately, I was able to figure out what I had done wrong and get back on track.

This is our last night in Minnesota at Winona.

Day 31:

A very nice ride along the Upper Mississippi River this morning. Crossed the Mississippi River. That’s some kind of mile-stone. Toward the last part of the ride, we began some serious rolling hills. The scenery is beautiful. Very lush and green. Trees, hills, lakes, and lots of mosquitos.

Arrived in Viroqua for the evening.

Day 32:

What a nice ride today. 105 miles without any of the evil H’s. Okay, there were a few hills today, but they were nothing, and the temperature was 10 degrees cooler than it has been. This has to have been the most pleasant ride of them all, so far. Nice scenery, places to visit, and an hour of early morning fog to make it interesting.

105 miles, and still I had time to tour and spend money at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor’s Center. 105 miles, and I didn’t feel like I was in a hurry. What a difference between now and the first few weeks, when after 100 miles, I was exhausted.