Day Twenty-Eight: Early Morning Climb

This morning I awoke with 12 other riders at 4 in the morning. We didn't have to get up this early today, but we were on a mission. The goal was to reach the top of a hill, a point overlooking the Mississippi. A local told us last night about the location, and that it was a sunrise that we shouldn't miss.

How could we say no to that?

We left later than we wanted to--4:45 am to be exact, and pedaled swiftly over bridges, across state lines (officially crossing into Minnesota) and down streets. After a wrong turn (we soon realized we had gone the wrong way) we found ourselves at the base of the climb.

Prior to this excursion I had never rode my felt before sunrise, nor had I climbed an ascent at such speed. The clock was quickly ticking as color began to appear in the sky and the hour of sunrise--5:20am, loomed over our heads. Pushing as fast as we could we reached the top with 6 minutes to spare. Our efforts were rewarded:

The rest of the day did not go as planned. We didn't get to meet up with the other half of the riders until lunch, and we were forced to stop and get breakfast, which was about 50 miles from the sunrise spot because, as we have found, the towns out Midwest are far and few between. One could argue that there's a reason for the way the day unfolded, though. In Utica, MN we came across the first open place that we had spotted for miles. It was a curious building, with giant stuffed animals tacked to the roof and a cat to greet us on the porch. As we pulled up the gravel driveway to the door, a wonderful, boisterous woman appeared in the doorway, warmly greeting us with open arms and an exclamatory "Welcome!"

The result of our early-morning excursion--a lunchtime nap!

Mary was one of the owners of That Place in Utica, a second hand shop where all clothing and shoes are only $00.25! The shop, which recently opened this year, is entirely non-profit, and donates all profits back to the community, choosing a new event or organization to sponsor every month. We loved That Place in Utica, we loved Mary, and (if I do say so myself) she also loved us. If you ever have a chance to go, do stop in at That Place in Utica.

After a long day, finally arriving in Rochester.

Who Knows What You'll Find,
James

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Today was dedicated to Earl Jones, my step-mother's father who I was never blessed to meet. He was an amazing man, retired 1st Sargent from the military after serving for 23 years through Vietnam. Earl was intelligent, having skipped two grades in his younger years, and everyone's favorite uncle. He suffered from colon cancer. I think my step-mom sums up his cooking best: "if I could, I would resurrect that man just to ask him for his mac-n-cheese recipe." Today's early rise, military-like push to the top of the hill was for him.