Days 25, 26, & 27--Got Corn and Lakes? You betcha.

On Day 25, we left DeSmet, SD for Tyler, MN. Happiness is South Dakota in my rear-view mirror--(as the country song sorta goes). Aside from the Black Hills and some wonderful people, it was time to mosey on down the road--to Minnesota. Before we leave SD, I must mention the great folks at Sioux River Cycle in Brookings (home of South Dakota State University) who provided us with ice cream and other goodies at our lunch stop at their shop.

Now...on to Minnesota..the mythical land of Lake Wobegon and Frostbite Falls. We crossed the Minnesota State Line (pictured) at mile 61 of the day. For some reason many of us were fantasizing that as soon as we crossed the state line, the winds would suddenly reverse direction--to blow out of the west--or at least stop. Au contrare. Right at the border in Minnesota we saw hundreds of gigantic, wind generator machines. Not a good sign. The wind continued. But, the temperatures were much cooler, and the scenery was much improved--lots of corn and lakes.

We rolled into Tyler, MN wrapping up our 80-mile day. Our camp was at Danebod Folk School, steeped in Danish history. A very homey place to hang out for the evening.

The next morning (Friday) marked the start of the last of our 6-day riding stretch from Rapid City. It has been a tough week. Everyone was greatly looking forward to the rest day in New Ulm starting Friday evening. Today was a glorious 90-mile ride. Temperatures were in the high-70's to low-80's. The topography became benignly midwestern with scenic rolling hills through the corn fields. The last major town on the day's trek before New Ulm was Sleepy Eye, MN.

Aside from its great name, Sleepy Eye has another claim to fame. One of its favorite sons, Linus Maurer (son of Nick and Ella), born and raised in Sleepy Eye, was close friends with Charles Shultz the creator of the Peanuts comic strip. Linus Maurer became the namesake of the character "Linus" in Peanuts [this is a true story]. A statue (pictured) and a plaque sit in front of the Sleepy Eye Public Library for all to view. Maurer's blanket is preserved in formaldehyde at the Brown County Historical Society [this fact may need some validation].

As if that weren't enough, outside of Sleepy Eye was the site of the first RFBD household--Rural Free Bass Delivery (pictured). You may recall their slogan "for people too busy to fish." Unfortunately, UPS, Federal Express, and the Internet have greatly contibuted to the demise of the RFBD service that has been so popular in Minnesota since the advent of refrigerated mailboxes.

We wrapped up the day's 90 miles in New Ulm, MN, staying at Martin Luther College at one of the dorms-- a nice change from sleeping on the ground. New Ulm is a neatly-ordered German community, with much Bavarian architecture. Not being a Teutonic kind of guy, it's not a place I would want to spend alot of time in, but the town was quite interesting to wander around.

Good friends Doug and Chris Allen from Dallas-Ft. Worth, and son Michael, were in Minneapolis today and drove to New Ulm to meet up with me. It was wonderful seeing them. We had a great lunch and walked some around the downtown. They left to catch a ball game in Minneapolis tonight (Twins and Angels)--and will then spend a week in Iowa visiting their families. Starting tomorrow, Michael will be riding in RAGBRAI--the Des Moines Register's Great Annual Bicycle Ride Across Iowa--Go Michael!

On another note, today (July 21st) is our wonderful daughter Becca's 24th birthday! Happy Birthday Becca!!

Tomorrow (Day 28), we are back in the saddle heading for Owatonna, MN (hometown of our team mate Vern); this will start a 7 Day stretch until the next rest day in Valparaiso, IN.

Throughout the ride, each of us continues to hear to from people along the way who have a connection to what we are doing--regularly reminding us of what the Big Ride is really all about. It may be a waitress in Wyoming who has lost parents to lung cancer, or a rural Minnesota couple with an asthmatic son--people who know the value of the programs of the American Lung Association and not taking lung health and clean air for granted. Again, many thanks to my wonderful sponsors and supporters! Your generosity and encouragement continues to be an inspiration to me, and helping me buck the the 4 H's.

Thanks for visiting. More later.

Marty