Pedal Day 26 - Surprise!

"No man is big enough to be independent of others." 

-Dr. W.W. Mayo, from Summer Anders' comments

"You have a package at the front desk!"

-Manager at Super 8 Motel, Long Prairie. It wasn't a package, it was our daughter, Carey, with five grandkids and Lydia Parham (one of the family)

Is this National Walk in the Park Saturday? That's pretty much what it seemed like! We began pedaling around 8:00 A.M. and arrived in Long Prairie, 75.16 miles away, a little before 3:00 P.M. The weather was sunny and windy. The roads were good with little to no traffic. Not one eighteen-wheeler passed us today, mainly because we rode on routes that are not even found on the GPS system! And . . . to make the day even better, we only had to pedal 75 miles instead of 89!

Our daughters did a CARE Package for our trip. One of the items in the package was Good-N-Plenty. Good-N-Plenty is a licorice candy covered with a pink or white coating, probably mostly sugar! I poured one box into a Ziplock bag and, to my surprise, there were only two pink candies! I had never seen that before and thought you'd like to see it for yourself. Also, I didn't want you to think that I was on some kind of performance enhancing drug! 

When we pulled out of Thumper Pond (That's really the name!) this morning I knew it would be a day for signs. Speed Limit 18! Where did 18 mph come from?

And then there are the barns! If I stop to take photos of all the interesting barns in Minnesota we will not get out of the state until 2012! Barns are everywhere and with silos as well. It seemed like in North Dakota we saw all grain elevators. Now in Minnesota, its silos!

Around 11 this morning, Jonathan and I stopped at The Dipper Family Diner in Parkers Prairie. The Dipper is a clean little place to sit, relax, and enjoy some good food. Megan took our orders and Jewel (owner and cook) made them into the real thing. Everything was great! The burgers are big, big, big! Everything else was great too. so . . . if you're ever pedaling  (or driving) through Parkers Prairie, stop in The Dipper Family Diner. 

IMMEDIATE NEWS FLASH!

The manager just called and told us we had a package at the front desk. Margaret went out there and I could hear her shock and surprise. When she came back to the room, behind her were Carey, Chris, Ryan, Trey, Drew, Maddie, and Lydia. What a surprise! Carey told me, "Dad, we won't see you in Maine! We're seeing you now! Surprise!" Some package! 

Let me finish this and get with the crew. We've been pedaling for some time now and I've decided that things have changed about my riding. I'm thinking differently now. I've decided that you know you've been pedaling a long time when:

1.  you look at the speedometer and odometer two or three times a day instead of two or three times a minute.

2.  you ride by roadkill and don't hold your breath.

3.  you don't care whether you're going uphill or downhill as long as you're going forward.

4.  you know what kind of vehicle, make, model, weight, and the number of tires it has by the sound it makes coming up behind you.

5.  you pedal by houses and call, "Here doggy, doggy."

6.  your tan goes from mid-ankle to mid-thigh, wrist to somewhere on your biceps, and from your neck to mid-way up your forehead!

7.  you look forward to uphills so you don't have to sit as much.

8.  the amount of miles you have traveled is not as important as the amount of miles you have to go.

9.  you use chain lube for sun-screen.

10.  you hear the Weather Channel forecast high winds and think, "Get over it! Will ya?" We've learned how to deal with the winds. Know they are coming, stop complaining, put your head down, pedal, and say, "I'm going to Maine and you're not stopping me!"

One ship drives east and one ship drives west

By the self-same wind that blows;

Yet the set of the sails and not the gale

Determines the way they go.

"Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had" (Philippians 2:5).

It's all about attitude!