Day 30: Detroit Lakes, Minnesota!

I left the house about 08:00 this morning riding into a fresh headwind and with low, threatening clouds. About 10 minutes into the ride, I rode into Minnesota- my 5th state! Initially it didn’t look any different- but then I saw sugar beets! Now I just need to see the elusive canola/rapeseed to complete my agricultural grand slam. Note, I am blessed with a weak mind which allows me to get excited by whatever is around me (granite, sandstone, corn, wheat- anything!) I will say that Minnesota has some beautiful farmland and the healthiest and most uniform looking cornfields I have seen- and I have seen quite a few cornfields in the last couple of weeks…  BUT, 21 miles into Minnesota I had not seen a single one of the alleged 10,000 lakes! Obviously the 10,000 lakes is a figure of exaggeration to attract fishermen and other gullible sportsmen. I arrived in Detroit Lakes and discovered my WS hosts lived about 8 miles south on hwy 59 (if I stayed on 59, I’d end up in Houston!). Since the sky was looking worse, I pedaled on and arrived at my WS house just as it started to rain. Perfect timing! By the way, from about 30 miles into Minnesota on, there are quite a few lakes. I am still skeptical as to whether there are 10,000 lakes or not, so I will keep a careful count. Daily mileage: 52, trip miles: 1,806.

The obligatory Welcome to Minnesota sign:

Sugar beets!

Beautiful farmland:

Look at how uniform the corn is in these huge cornfields. It’s amazimg! 

A Minnesota lake. I took the photo while riding so it is nothing special- just a photo filler: