Bike Across America: Tracy, MN to New Ulm, MN

July 25, 2010
62 miles

Some folks who prepared dinner and ate with us in Tracy, MN last night

Our home last night in Tracy, MN

Tracy, MN- not a lot going on

The weather looked excellent when we woke up at the church soI was eager to get on the road and enjoy light Sunday traffic. I took off from Tracy by myself around 7:30 a.m. The conditions were prefect. No wind and temps about 65 degrees. I could hear birds and a few types of bugs making noise. Since the road was relatively smooth my road bike was wonderful to ride. I was up to 20 mph without really trying. I thought this is so different from the bumpy sections in Montana and S. Dakota were there was either road construction or just expansion joints to bounce you around. I couldn't help but ride fairly fast.

Today we would continue to follow on US 14

Early morning with the road to myself

We had no wind at all today. The towns came quickly on Hwy 14. I saw mostly large fields of soybeans or corn along the route.

I got to the first town on today's route within 20 minutes

Clearing 2,000 miles

Soybean fields

Lots of corn too

Our lunch stop was in Sleepy Eye and I arrived there first. I hung out with Blaine, the support driver while I ate a sandwich in a park by a lake. Half an hour later I was heading to New Ulm, our home for tonight. I had to slow down here because the rumble strips were either in the shoulder forcing you to ride out in traffic or leaving you about 12 inches of shoulder. Needless to say, I slowed down but I couldn't look around at the scenery as I had to watch carefully where my tires were.

Rumble strips that force you to ride in traffic taken after the lunch stop

Reflection in Sleepy Eye

Got to New Ulm around 1:30 p.m. A lady (Bobbie) in the B & B next door let us use the showers there to clean off. In the church there was large room with recreational tables. Blaine and I played a lot of table tennis. After dinner, Tom Ed and I walked downtown to a pub. I stayed at the pub for one beer and then walked to the nearest wi fi signal in a laundromat. While there Greg and Susie stopped in to wi fi too. In the evening Ed and I slept in an area near the organ in the church.

This town was settled by German immigrants in 1864. (This is a more authentic German town than Levenworth, WA that we rode through quite a while ago.) The downtown has a German flavor but most shops were closed today, Sunday. New Ulm sits just west of the Minnesota river and the nearby Cottonwood River. The population is about 14,000.

Downtown New Ulm