Day 34

JULY 12 Minneapolis MN to Elk Mound WI

The first 30 miles of our day out of Minneapolis, through St. Paul and into Stillwater on the Wisconsin boarder, Chris and Steve led us along bike paths winding through the Twin Cities. In Stillwater, we stopped in the Daily Grind coffee shop, for a second breakfast. Steve's breakfast burrito came first, and with it, 4 bottles of hot sauce, "This one's mild," the server/cook told us, "These two are hot, and this one is hurt-your-friends." He gestured last to what appeared to a be a glass bottle full of water.
"Oooh, I'm gonna have to try this!" dad said, taking the clear bottle, as Steve selected one of the hot sauces for himself. Dad poured a drop on his finger and stuck it in his mouth. At first he shrugged, but then a minute or two later his eyes widened a little, "That stuff sort of grows on you." He said casually, "You have to try it, Seth!"
Dad still seemed fine, so I figured it couldn't be that bad, and poured a little more than a drop on my finger. Gingerly, I touched it to the tip of my tongue. At first it wasn't that bad, but then I swallowed, and a burning sensation swept through my entire mouth; the tip of my tongue felt like it had been dipped in molten metal! My lips were stinging too, and I gulped down all of my drink, "Maybe you should just stick your tongue in your juice." Chris suggested.
"Or just cut it off!" I moaned. After five minutes of agony, I finally gave in and went up to the counter to order a large glass of milk.
"Two-percent work? Or do you want skim?"
"I don't care!" I managed, then realized that that sounded awfully rude. Painfully, I explained my predicament, to the amusement of those behind the counter. It was only after the entire cup of milk that the pain shrunk to a more manageable level.

Our ride that day was easy, with a strong tail wind, but since it was our first day back to riding after 3 days off, we took a while to get back into the swing of it all. Still, we covered about 95 miles, more than we had planned, and arrived in Elk Mound just in time to end the day. Luckily, we had a contact in Elk Mound through the breed of dog Skipper has, a Leonberger. (Very few people have leos, so those that do form a rather tight-knit community. Skipper asked around for families with Leos along the way who would be willing to take us in.)

Since we hadn't planned to make it to Elk Mound until about noon the next day, we had told Ann (our contact) that we probably wouldn't stay with her; when we called to ask if we could, she agreed to have us, but warned us that she was also having a little party with a couple of friends. As we arrived at the small, white duplex, the screen door edged open, and out popped a round friendly face, "Hello, you must be Chip and Seth!" Ann called, bustling out the door. As we walked over, she stepped to one side, revealing her large, golden leo (all leos are large and golden!), standing shyly in the living room, tail between his legs, "This is Flynn. He warms up to women faster than to men, but I'm sure he'll get used to you." Ann opened the garage for our bikes, and told us where the shower and towels were. She seems to know what's important to cyclists! As we were stashing our bikes, a car drove up, the first of Ann's guests, "This is my cousin-friend Mary." Ann introduced the figure who emerged from the car, "Mary, this is Chip and Seth."
"We're crashing your party." dad told her. Mary just laughed.

Ann's second guest, Deb, arrived, bringing with her an adorable kitten she had found on the road on the 4th of July. She hadn't named it, since she didn't plan on keeping it (this is her 33 rescue/foster cat), but she wanted all of us to hold it so that it got used to people. "If it weren't for the bike, I think the kitten would have a new home!" Mary joked as she watched me play with it. Deb also brought with her some stalks of rhubarb out of her garden; I jumped at the opportunity to use them in a Rhubarb crisp (baking is one of the things I've been missing most while on the road.) Mary chopped up the rhubarb while I made the crumbly topping, and we threw it in the oven to add to the barbecued peaches Deb had already brought for dessert.