As we hit our halfway mark, Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi was the tune that we sang a capella since neither one of us has the classic on our iPods. Let's look at some stats shall we:
- Miles traveled: 2,240
- States/Countries: Washington, Canada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin
- Days on the bike: 42
- Number of flat tires: Hannah-5, Chloe-0
- Number of broken spokes: Hannah-0, Chloe-1
- Jars of Peanut Butter: 7, Papa Rice helped us with two of those.
- Tubes of Butt Butt'r: 1...why bother anymore.
- Number of ice cream cones: 42...that's one for each.
We didn't leave the comforts of Jan and Jen's house until around 3 o'clock. I tell you what, these late days are starting to become a bad habit. We had a good reason this time though, I promise it wasn't because of food either.
We have to go back a couple of weeks to Shelby, MT...Hannah and I spent around five hours in a library there proof reading, formatting, and correcting resumes, cover letters, and pieces of original work. Why on Earth would we be doing this? Not for sheer pleasure that's for sure. Hannah was recommended to a job opening on the Sustainability Committee at Weber State University, a perfect fit for what she has been looking for. So we worked (I say 'we' but I mean mostly Hannah, I was just the proof reader. I ended up reading, napping, and walking around town in search for goodies...none were found.) all day until our brains hurt and our vision was blurred from the constant stare at a computer screen. She finally sent in the application and we hoped for the best. A little less than a week later Hannah got a phone call from an unfamiliar 801 number. Turns out they were very impressed with her application and scheduled an over the phone interview in a week at 1 o'clock. She couldn't have been more ecstatic and thrilled...until she realized she wouldn't be able to make the person-to-person impression she had hoped for. However, she took this opportunity to prepare so that she could be just as impressionable over the phone as she is in person. Which, for me, meant more napping, reading, and roaming around town.
We tried to plan to be in a quiet place with adequate cell phone service for her interview. That place just so happened to be Jan and Jen's house. Jan and Jen were so kind to leave their house open for us when they left for work and it was sad saying good bye. When one o'clock rolled around and Hannah had yet to receive a phone call we couldn't help but wonder what the hold up was. Duh...they meant one o'clock Utah time, not Minnesota time. I know I'm biased but I personally think Hannah nailed the interview and the questions she was asked weren't easy. What does sustainability mean to you? Uhh...what? They said they'd call back in a few days with their decision. After the interview we quickly finished packing and cranked out 60+ miles to Don's Bycicle Bunkhouse .
Since that movie he has added a kitchen and two fridges filled with all kinds of goodies including homemade strawberry preserves! You can guess where Hannah and I spent most of our time. It was a real treat to stay at Don's and we highly recommend staying there if you're in the area. He has so many maps and knows about a lot of bike routes throughout Minnesota that he helped us figure out the way we should take into Minneapolis. "Are you early risers?" Don asked, we glanced at each other and replied "yeah...we usually try to head out around 8:30/9." he said "well okay I'll see you then and get a picture before you leave". Well to have the luxury of a T.V., two stocked refrigerators, and a comfy bunk, we didn't end up going to bed until 1 a.m. Don checked on us twice the next morning hoping he didn't miss us and each time he found a dark room with one of us in the bunk and the other in the recliner. Why Hannah chooses to sleep on a couch instead of a real bed is beyond me, but if you know Hannah you know this isn't an uncommon thing. That chica can fall asleep anywhere.
We finally woke up at 9 and were out on the road by 11. We stopped at the golden arches in St. Francis for some wi-fi to find a warm shower for the night. It's a good thing we stopped when we did because not too long after, Hannah got a call back...she got the job! It couldn't have come at a better time too because Honey Boo Boo gotta have some money to do her bikin' with! And as the wise one says "that dolla make me holla, honey boo boo". Holla we did in the Mickey Dees. Nothing could get our psych level down until we entered the big city of Minneapolis.
Now Minneapolis is ranked the second most biker friendly state in the U.S., Seattle being first, but it was hard navigating through their bike trails and streets. Maybe it was just us. Luckily our warm showers host Jenny called when she did and another biker came to our rescue and was kind enough to personally take us to our destination. We were so happy to see Jenny and she welcomed us with open arms. We decided to live the big city life and take a rest day which consisted of walking around to local bakeries and co-ops. We had an amazing salad with Jenny and Dean later with greens grown from their very own organic garden. There was talk about the new Wes Anderson film Moonrise Kingdom and how it was done so well. So Hannah and I along with Dean rode our bikes to the local theater and caught the late night showing. It is now one of my favorites. Go see it!
After relishing in our rest day we set out for a campground a little outside of Afton. We went through Stillwater. Cute town with an amazing library. We found it though...the hill that made me get off my bike and push. We biked into camp and checked in with the host where he told us "y'all better hide your food well 'cause them damn racoons will sure as hell get it". Well at 4 a.m. I woke up and spotlighted a few rumaging through my snacks! After a minute of yelling "hey, get out of there, hey!" Hannah finally awoke from her slumber, fumbled out of the tent, took her "Stick" and slammed it on the picnic table. We went back to sleep laughing at my helplessness.
We cut over to Wisconsin for a bit and experienced some mid-day heat. It was a scorcher! The humidity made our sunscreen useless too. In fact it was so hot Hannah had to frequently stop to pick up the pounds I was dropping. Ha! We went through the awesome town of Red Wing and ended the day in Wabasha with a double scoop to share.
The question now is...do we go off route and cut through Wisconsin, America's Dairyland (that has ice cream written all over it) or stay on route through Iowa?
Cheers!
Chloe
