Day 29: A Bountiful Bunkhouse!

North St. Paul, MN to Dalbo, MN

Stats!
Miles biked today: 68.7
Total miles biked on trip so far: 1086.5
Max speed: 26 mph
# of frozen pizzas consumed: 2
# of miles saved by going off-route: 55
# of near-death experiences: 3

Today we decided to once again go off the ACA route to save some miles. The standard route would have us backtrack to Stillwater, and then go back into Wisconsin and around in a half-moon shape to get us to Dalbo, which is directly north of Minneapolis. So, we got a Minnesota road map and planned out our own way to Dalbo.

Most of the trip was to take place on county highway 47. The plan started out well enough, until 47 merged with an interstate! We were riding on an interstate shoulder that turned into exits off and ramps onto the road, with cars zooming on and off at 60 mph. It was terrifying! We exited and planned an alternate route.

Dean was having some tire trouble today, so when we chanced by a bike shop, he stopped in and bought a new tire. It didn't seem to fix the problem, but his old tire was bald anyway.

Most of the ride was flat today, and I think we passed all 10,000 lakes.

The ACA maps indicated that there was "bicyclist only lodging" in Dalbo, at an Adventure Bicycling Bunkhouse. We called and left a voicemail while Dean was changing his tire, but I worried that maybe they weren't around anymore, and we'd have to bike another 15 miles to the next town.

When we got near Dalbo, Dean's phone rang, and it was the bunkhouse owner calling back. Hooray! We were only a few miles away, and when we got there, he greeted us in the driveway. His name is Donn, and the bunkhouse is by far the coolest place we've stayed.

Donn owns a farm in Dalbo, and he converted his barn into a bunkhouse for adventure cyclists. It has everything we need -- beds, shelter, food, electricity, showers, and even wireless internet! Apparently, several years back some guys were caught along this road during some kind of road work and they had to walk their bikes, and they asked Donn if they could camp in his yard. He said yes, and was surprised to learn that he was right on the ACA Northern Tier route! He was interested in the tours and tourists. He called up ACA, had his house added to the maps, and gradually added all the things bicyclists want! He and his wife (who is away, traveling with their daughter right now) enjoy the company and he really liked doing all the woodworking required to convert the barn into a bunkhouse and build the showers, etc. He also gave us some great tips on where to bike for the upcoming 120 miles or so, putting us on a beautiful bike path, rather than crazy county highways. I am looking forward!

Actually, he's an ex-Army member (helicopter pilot who also flew chinooks in Alaska) who used to work at the Pentagon, so he knows our area really well. This farm is the farm he grew up on.

Dean and Donn

There are also several very sweet farm cats -- Speedy, Little Guy (who is fat), Sandy and Fluffy. We haven't met Fluffy yet, but the others are cute and friendly.

That's the main news of the day. Other than that, I can just recommend against eating tacos at an Irish pub (especially one called "Beefy O'Brady's").

Here are some pics we took today, that don't really fit into the story...

And I thought the Governor's School Diplomats weren't intimidating....

We see a lot of random displays of patriotism like this.

I found a real beaut of a fixer-upper for Dad.

A pretty field of flowers

I guess if you adopt the highway, they have to print what you tell them to...

Asparagus from Donn's garden that we had with dinner. It was delicious!

See you tomorrow! Tomorrow's goal town is Bowlus, MN.