Day 52

Thick woods
I stayed in my tent for quite a while this morning. I planned on staying in Rochester, MN, which was only 50 miles away. I contacted a few warm showers people to see if they were available. I hoped I would get a positive response before I left, but once 11am rolled around, I decided I might as well get a move on. I got to ride on the nice pavement for a while, but I knew that eventually I would have to ride on a dirt road for a bit. Just before this, I stopped and got donuts and icecream. It wasn't particularly hot outside, but I really wanted icecream. I felt kinda silly with a box of donuts in my front basket. Finally I got to the dirt road. It sucked. Halfway through, I checked my email and another warm showers person said they weren't available- that's 5 total now. I realized I needed to really figure this out. I could break my goal of not using a motel. Or I could charge my phone somewhere and just live with the stink for a bit. Or I could start calling people. I decided on the last option. I called Ed. "Hello, this is Ed's wife." Something about her tone through me off. "Hello, my name is Tyler, I found you on warmshowers.org?" She replied, "Uh, you've got the wrong number buddy. And don't you ever call this number again, got it?" And then she hung up. I just stood there, like what the heck just happened? I checked the name listed again- Ed. So I'm pretty sure it was the right number. Despite her ominous command at the end of out conversation, I figured it would be best to call back and make sure they get the number removed from the website or else others would inevidibly call. While I was thinking, my phone rang again- the same number I had dialed before. It was Ed this time, apologizing for his wife- he hadn't told her he had signed up for the site and what it was about. He said they would be happy to host me for the night. This was such a major relief. I cranked up my pace after this. I wanted to get there before it got too dark. I decided to take my chances and try the separated highway- nope. Way too much traffic. I planned for this though. There was a faster way to get where I was going, I just had to cross the highway like 3 times. I took my time, only crossing when there was a big gap in the cars. I got a nice surprise too- part of the route had pavement that Google hadn't showed. Unfortunately it didn't connect back up with the highway like it was supposed to. I had to push my bike through what I believe must have been soil for new grass, but it kinda smelled like manure. Finally I made it ino town. Google told me there was a trail here- I was nervous that it would be a hiking trail or something. But it was a glorious paved bike path! This was really lucky too, because I was running a bit late- contacting people and the dirt roads had slowed me down. I should have started earlier. Oh well. I had a great pace and soon made it to Rochester. I could already tell that I would love this city- every time I took a bridge that went over other roads, I could see bike bike paths on both sides. Super bike friendly! I went on the longest bike bridge of my life. It went accross the freeway, the railroad beside it, and a storage place. It even forked in the middle. Crazy. I was able to stay on the bike paths for quite a while, but the last few miles to Ed's house had only shoulders, so still awesome. I kept seeing a weird flickering off to my right. I figured maybe it was the fence reflecting something, the lights of cars passing by, or maybe I was just going crazy. Then I realized they must be freaking lightning bugs. I was pretty much extatic as I watched the sparks flash in and out of existence. This was the first time I had ever seen them. It seemed like magic to me, and I bet that a lot of magic (like special effects and graphics) is based off of them. Finally I arrived. There was one paved path and one dirt. I called Ed to ask which one to take. "Uh, we don't have any dirt roads here." Shit. The address I used was just a zip code. I got the real address from him. Google said it was 85 miles away. "Ed, what city do you live?" "Rochester." Thank God, that's means I just had the wrong address again. I just misheard him. We decided it would be easiest to meet near the Walmart closest to his house- he'd guide me the rest of the way. It was 4.5 miles away, and it was already pretty dark out. I peddled vigorously. The bike paths that I saw before were inconveniently nonexistent along the path to Safeway. Luckily there wasn't many cars on the road. I peddled up this small hill, and that's when I saw the monster. It looked like the street went down and then straight up- almost cliff status. Unfortunately, there was no other way around. I tried to build up as much downhill momentum as possible. It was rough, but I finally got to the top. The main street was next. No sidewalk. I waited until no one was coming, and I peddled hard to get past the no shoulder zone. I stopped and the next stoplight, to check where I needed to go, when I heard my name being called. Ed was accros the street. Fantastic, I made it. He peddled over and then we rode to his house. I finally made it. I took a shower, plugged in my electronics, and then dinner was ready, just for me. I had two delicious burgers. While I ate, they told me about themselves. They really got into biking about 10 years ago. Ed belongs to a group of people who are drinkers with a biking problem. He works for a company that sells vaccuum packers- which is crazy, because we have one that we use to package fish. Ed's wife knew someone who lived in Alaska. It's amazing, the random connections you can find with people you just met. It was getting late. I stayed up for a bit though. Their wifi was crazy fast, so I was able to finally update my phone, download some podcasts, and add some days to my blog. Enjoy!