September 22, 2017. Red Wing to Winona, MN. 42 miles.

When we got downstairs for breakfast there was a sudden downpour--no rain was expected, so we were quite surprised. It passed very quickly; by the time we were done breakfast it  was hot and steamy outside, but not raining.

Today was club jersey day and the only one I brought is long sleeved and very warm--this is Minnesota after all! Dianne gave me hers to wear for today, since she is not a DCC member.

We stopped at the Red Wing store and Museum on the way out of town to see the big boot--it is indeed very big!

It was about 10 AM by the time we really got started. Dianne took our photo to post on the DCC website, and then we crossed the bridge into Wisconsin.

During the first half of the ride Bill and Doris were everywhere! There was a historical marker or scenic turnout about every 2 miles on our route, and we stopped at all of them.

We rode on highway WI 35, and there was a nice wide shoulder. The traffic did not slow down much, but we felt fairly safe there.

We stopped at Pepin Lake scenic overlook right before lunch.

There was serious road construction coming into Stockholm. We had lunch there and the locals told me that the construction went on for 12 miles and that the main lanes had received their first coat of asphalt but that the shoulders were scarified and not suitable for riding.

After lunch at Lena's Lucky Star we loaded the bikes in the trailer and drove through the construction zone.

When it was time to get back on the bikes there were only 4 of us. And it was very hot!

Dennis, Diana, Tom and I rode another 15 miles, and it was a tough ride! It was extremely hot and windy. The wind had a cooling effect, but it increased in intensity as the day went on. We saw Bill and Doris in Alma and I told my fellow riders that the next time I saw them I was getting in the truck. Of course we did not see them again until the end of the ride at Merrick State Park! By that time I was so overheated that I had to dump water on myself to cool down.

We loaded the bikes and drove to Winona. We are at the Carriage House tonight. It is on campus at Winona State University and the only restaurants within walking distance are pizza places, and we did not want to move the truck and trailer, having gotten 3 parking places right in front of the inn, so Fred shuttled us to a restaurant about 6 miles away.