This morning we were up at 6:15 am to fetch coffee from Gerry, the motel proprietor. We dined on granola, yogurt, and milk in our warm room. It was again 37 degrees outside, same as yesterday morning. After packing our gear, we offered Gerry $10 to drive us and our bikes along the remaining 5 miles of gravel road in his pickup to avoid damaging our tires. He agreed. Soon we were riding east on paved US Hwy 2 for 29 miles toward Chester. This was cool riding under heavy overcast skies.
We were well bundled up with warm clothing. At Chester we split an omelet at Spud’s Cafe and chatted with an amiable summer resident, Don. Now refueled and warm, we resumed our ride - aided by a mild tail wind. Our route ran past - or through - 7 small farm towns, each with a huge grain elevator. We liked the sign for Joplin that highlighted wheat and the town’s grain elevator (see photo). Eastward we biked, past Inverness and Rudyard. Along the way, a brief rain prompted us to don our rain gear, mainly to keep warm, sort of.
We ate a lunch of cheese and crackers on a picnic table, outside a bar in Hingham. Onward we rode, past omnipresent wheat fields: past Gildford and Kremlin. The last 10 miles of the day warmed a little. Our day’s destination, Havre, is the biggest town for a long ways with nearly 10,000 inhabitants. We wanted to pump up our tires at a bike shop (closed) and buy stove fuel (none to be had). Betsy bought food and we rode a few blocks to the Havre RV park but found it undesirable. We called the local police to see if we could camp in Pepin City Park a few blocks away. We stopped by the police station then went to the park two blocks away. The park featured stately American elms. We camped under one of them. After an early dinner, we got in our warm clothes. At about 7 pm the sun made a brief appearance. We’re happy to be here; tomorrow is forecast to be warmer. Total distance today : 77 miles.
