Day 18: Fergus Falls to Holdingford

Wes and Will departed around 7am along with Tom. I got to sleep in a little bit. The route today was a bit different than previous days. The entire time, the bikers would stay on a bike trail. The trail was asphalt and while it passed through some towns, for the most part it was removed from the roadways. Therefore, Wes decided that it would be fine to go the entire day self supported. 

While at first I objected, I did think it would be nice to have a day to relax a little bit. I drove around town for a bit shopping for groceries and even stopped at a thrift store. I scored a sweet deal on a vinyl record of the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack. I can't wait to play in on the turntable. I also got a cool running hat. 

I was headed to lunch with the bikers when all of a sudden I saw something beautiful. An animal sanctuary with a grassy trail. Now, this trail was the epitome of a cross country course. It had a few inch tall grass, hills, some gravel, and windy conditions. On top of that there was a visitor center with air conditioning. I quickly pulled a U turn and headed to the entrance. 

It was everything I had dreamt it would be. Soft ground, challenging terrain, and nice conditions. It was so nice that I decided to do a ladder tempo on it. After the 3rd rep, I didn't like the hills as much and the wind was really getting annoying. Nevertheless, I finished my workout strong and headed to the visitor center to stretch and cool off. When I arrived the woman working there recognized the New Trier running singlet I was wearing and said she was from Glen Elyn. I didn't know how to respond so I just said "nice" and left. My people skills seemed to take a vacation on this trip.

By the time I grabbed lunch, the bikers had picked out a stopping point down the trail about 10 miles away. I was still over an hour from their location and quickly zipped over to Holdingford. 

The campground was situated right outside of town next to a skate park and baseball diamond. A creek was behind the camp sight and across the creek was a cow pasture. When I went to fill up my water bottle, the water coming from the faucets had a strong yellow tint. I didn't want to chance it, so I fed the flowers with it. 

At around 9pm, I decided to hit the sack. Tom, Will and Wes followed shortly after. In the middle of the night I was awoken by the sound of a nearby factory. I checked my watch: 1am. The pounding didn't stop until 2.