The adventures of Curtis: Day 15 – Dalbo, MN to Osceola, WI

Distance 55

Total Distance 850

Kind of an uneventful last day. We had kind of a cool night and the daytime temperatures were just supposed to barely hit 70 and it did feel cool all day. Scenery hasn’t changed much over the last few days. The wind did blow all day from the northeast which was pretty much in my face all day. I was determined to not let it bother me in that it was my last day.

It did turn out to be a nice day of riding. The roads were nice with little traffic. I didn’t take a lunch with me, thinking that I would just stop at some diner. However, when it came lunch time, the little town I had chosen to eat at didn’t have any restaurants that were open so I ended up having a couple Cliff bars for lunch. When I did arrive in Osceola, I stopped at the Dairy Queen and had a nice chocolate shake with chicken strips and fries.

Lyle arrived not too long after I finished eating and we loaded up the bike and took off toward home. I was planning on going home through South Dakota, but must have set the GPS wrong as it is taking us back pretty close to the route we have come. It is the closest way to get home and now that we have traveled as far north as we have, we will just continue.

We are in Casselton, North Dakota, it is 10:30 and the wind is blowing hard outside. It never stops blowing around here. Crazy.

One thing about ending my ride. I was riding across the bridge over the Saint Croix River into Wisconsin and I was thinking I have been here before. I parked the bike on the east side of the bridge to take a picture of the Welcome to Wisconsin sign and remembered parking it there last August as Tim, Nancy and I rode over that same bridge into Wisconsin. Anyway, I figured I had to hit a particular street in town but was surprised to remember that the road into Wisconsin was the same.

Here are some things about riding in Minnesota:

1. I probably wouldn’t have said this without all the rumble strips in North Dakota, But Minnesota had very few and when they had them, there was plenty of room for the bike on the right side of the strips.

2. Lots of small towns and many have one little bar & grill in them.

3. The wind still blows in Minnesota, but the further east you go, there are more trees to block the wind. (Not as bad as in ND)

4. Pretty flat. Not very many hills.

5. Lots of lakes and they are very pretty. A lot of wetlands with ducks, geese and pelicans. I enjoyed seeing these areas.

6. I enjoyed the 120 miles of trails. It was pretty nice riding and I enjoyed getting away from the cars.

7. Overall, I enjoyed Minnesota much more than North Dakota.

Well, this is the end of another great trip. It will be interesting to see how and when I can finish this cross-continent goal. I appreciate Lyle in helping me do what I’ve done and my sweet Carey for encouraging me before and during these trips to keep me going. Grateful to our Father in Heaven for creating such a wonderful world and great people that are in it. It is fun to see the world and meet the people.