Northern Transcon Day 19 - Worthington to Albert Lea MN

Forewarned last night about the likelihood of thunderstorms in southern Minnesota today, I prepped for rain - waterproof shoe covers, helmet cover, saddle cover, and rain jacket.  As soon as I went outside with the jacket on, I knew it would be too hot.  There was a brief shower before we got going at 7:00, but all we had to deal with was wet streets with a few puddles to avoid.  The big storm front held off until almost all riders were in around 4 pm, so just a couple were caught in it for the last few minutes.

We continued to have a bit of a headwind this morning, but by the time we left the second rest stop at 60 miles, the wind had shifted in our favor and we finally were able to enjoy a good tailwind.  However, the road left something to be desired, as it had bone jarring cracks every 20 or 30 feet.  This went on before and after lunch, but the road improved for the final 20 miles to the finish motel.

Tonight was a good night for laundry, as tomorrow is another 140+ mile day.  Climbing will be pretty moderate, and hopefully the wind will blow easterly.

Preparing to leave Worthington

Wet pavement and clouds promise more rain, but it held off until late afternoon

There were a lot of these giant wind power turbines

Typical scenery in southern MN

An old combination store and service station, where we enjoyed an ice cream treat courtesy of PAC Tour

Jack and I enduring some more pavement cracks