7/20 - Montevideo, MN to Hutchinson, MN - Day 35
 

The theme for today is: "Rain rain go away, come back another day".

Woke up to the sound of raindrops on my tent at 5AM this morning. So far in this trip we've been luck and haven't had any rain. Today the rain caught up with us. By the time I finished packing my bags, it was pouring outside. I dragged my bags to the baggage truck and went inside the school building for breakfast. No use in taking down the tent in the pouring rain. By the time breakfast was done, the rain subsided enough for us to get ready to leave. I took the tent down and several of us took off in the heavy drizzle at 7:45.

At least the temperature was cooler that yesterday. The headwinds were not as kind. We were heading directly into the winds, which kept our speed down. By 9AM we pulled into the town of Clara City. We had covered only 17 miles. We almost an hour sipping coffee and eating cinnamon rolls at a café. The café was filled with the locals who wanted to know what we were up to.

Shortly after the coffee stop, it started to clear but the headwinds was still working against us. The picnic stop was at 38 miles. We hit it by 11:30 and by then the sun had come out. After lunch we encountered more incredible crosswinds. At times we were leaning the bikes into the wind to just keep going straight down the road. Late in the afternoon we came across a Dairy Queen and just had to stop.

During the final miles into Hutchinson, the road bent and curved and sometimes we could catch a tailwind. By the time we got into town it was 95 degrees. It's a bit strange, but while you're on the bicycle and moving, the heat is ok, but as soon as you stop you can feel how hot it really is.

The national tractor pull was being held only a couple of blocks away at the fair grounds, I didn't  make it but I know some folks that did. Maybe I should have gone. I've never seen huge specially made machines trying to drag heavy weighted sleds across the ground before.

By 10PM it was so hot that the lifeguards at the pool came back and opened it up just of us. After splashing around for 30 minutes or so, we were cooled off enough to get a sound sleep. Thanks lifeguards