This isn't England...

Fri. June 29th - One thing that was certain about today was the heat. I mean, when Mac and I walked out of the hotel at 9:00 AM to begin riding it was 90 degrees. We knew that we were in for a scalding day. We then proceeded riding under an already hot sun out of St. Cloud on a makeshift route that Neal put together the night before. Although it was a highly confusing route, it would ensure that we would bike to Minneapolis with the greatest ease. I honestly don't remember much about the first 20 miles because it was really terrible and I tried my best to zone out; we were all feeling the same way - after all we rode 110 miles the day before. We decided when we reached the town of Monticello that we needed to get a cold drink from a local convenience store. It was a great choice, as I got the most delicious Starbucks double shot, and I drank the shot as quickly as I could. With ginseng, B vitamins, and caffeine charging through our vessels we were able to overcome the next 20 miles much easier than the first. We decided that at mile 40 that we would get another quick drink, because it was already 95 degrees out. The most interesting part of our day occurred at this point. Mac, Ty, and I were preparing to turn left into a parking lot on a busy road, when all of a sudden, an old man driving a black Cadillac drove straight through his left hand turn lane, went into our lane, which had an obvious lane divider separating our lane and the lane adjacent to ours, glared at us as he drove by, and narrowly missed hitting two cars as he continued on his way on the opposite side of the road he was supposed to be driving on. Naturally our reaction was that of absolute shock at first and then laughter as Mac and I couldn't help but crack up at the ridiculousness of the situation. After we bought another Starbucks double shot, we continued on our way into the outskirts of Minneapolis. Minneapolis is by far my favorite city we have visited so far. The city has bike paths EVERYWHERE. There is literally no street without a bike path adjacent to it. On top of that, Minneapolis has a TON of trees, has a TON of lakes, and really friendly people with funny Minnesota accents. We rode 20 miles in Minneapolis mostly on bike paths with our guide John McAfee, who lives in St. Paul. He was excellent as we got through the city with no mishaps. Mac, Ty, and I finally arrived at our hosts house, the brother-in-law of the Quality Bike Parts Owner, at 7:00 after 90 exhausting miles of riding.
WRITTEN BY: DREW GOTTMAN