Day 41: Saturday, 11th August. Destination: Grand Inn, Moorhead, Minnesota

Of all the States I've cycled though, Minnesota was the one I had least idea of what to expect, and has been the most surprising. But what I really want to say about Minnesota is just how kind and friendly everyone has been. I'm going to miss it. Heading NW, I cycled through an area of lakes that became increasingly barren till arriving here in Fargo, my official half-way point, but more of that in the next post... for now, back to those cyclists I met up with yesterday.

So, who are they? Bill Robertson & Jim Wallace, both a bit older than myself and cycling on recumbents. They've been abandoning their wives/girlfriends for many a year to go off on epic cycle trips round America. Going a more direct route than me, they'd settled in to the hotel before I arrived - it was good to have a friendly note waiting for me at the reception. I hung out in their room chatting while Bill cleaned his bike and Jim offered me several vodka tonics, and later we went out to a Chinese buffet to celebrate my half-way. Bill's son works for the Adventure Cycle Association researching these very routes, so I'm now hooked up with a direct line in case I get lost! And more importantly, Bill gave me an alternative map across Western Montana that cuts off a huge detour, shaving off 289 miles. I'm back down to a grand total of 4386. Nice guys, and I'm hoping to meet up with them again, somewhere further down the line (they left early this morning, as I settled in to my 5th rest day).