2 On a Tandem: Day 27 - June 20, Moorhead to Perham

DAY 27, JUNE 20, MOORHEAD TO PERHAM, MN
73.3 miles
433.58 st
16 avg
TTD-1634.40

We left Larry and Karen's just after 7:00. We were at a stoplight a few blocks from their home when a guy pulled up next to us on his bicycle. "Are you guys riding cross country?" "Yes." "Oh man, that's been my dream for years. Wow, I can't believe it. I have dreamed of doing that for a long time."

We stopped at the gas station across the street and promptly got a flat tire. At least it was on the front this time, so only took a few minutes to change.

We made our way to highway 10 and cruised away. This is a four lane, much like an interstate, but it’s not controlled access. It has a nice wide shoulder and, for the most part, is smooth. The landscape is changing a little from eastern ND in that there are more trees and a few gentle rises in the road.

When we came into Detroit Lakes, there was about four miles of construction right through town. They're building a whole new four land road and have funneled the traffic down to two lanes, which made for slow going through town.

We saw a mailbox so stopped to mail a card. I asked at the gas station across the street if there was a park nearby or on the way out where we could eat our lunch. The girl said not that she knew of. She also said the lake was to the back of us. So we just ate on a little patch of grass under a tree right there. Well, about a mile and half down the road, there was a picnic table in shade – right on the lake – and it wasn’t in the back of us, it was right along our way. Go figure.

This is one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes. Look at this one and you've seen them all.

In Frazee we had to get a picture of "the world's largest turkey". I don't know why one would want to have that particular distinction, but there it is. We saw a couple of older ladies walking their bikes along the street on their way out of town. We stopped and Gerry said, “It’s nice to see more bikers.” We talked with them for a few minutes. They were on their last day of a 7 day loop ride. The one lady, Jeannie, said this is the 34^th year of the ride and her 22^nd.

We got back on highway 10 and the wind was at our backs, so we sped right along to Perham. Today is Turtle Fest here and the business are having sidewalk sales, one street is closed off for festivities, there are inflatables for the kids, an all-day scavenger hunt (the prize is $20 in Perham Bucks), a parade and street dance this evening. This is a big day in Perham.

There is no place to camp here so we had to get a motel room. The only Non-smoking rooms available were on the second floor, so we carried the bike up, then BOB. After taking off our shoes, we literally flopped onto the bed and it wasn’t long before we were both asleep. We woke up three hours later at 5:00. This was the 8th straight day of riding and I guess we were tired.

We had talked earlier of walking downtown for the parade and street dance at 7:00. We opted instead for a two block jaunt over to Dairy Queen for dessert. Thanks, Mom!