Day 21: Red Wing to La Crescent

I don't know if I expected to feel good waking up at 4:15, but it definitely didn't feel all that great. Surprisingly, Will got up easier than most mornings. Wes, as usual, was up and at em, putting his and Will's extra clothes into their luggage. By 4:25, we hit the road. At 5am precisely, the duo rolled out for their final day West of the Mississippi.

So why 5am? Why this absurdly early time? Will had cousins visiting him from San Diego. After the ride to La Crescent, we were set to drive back to Chicagoland to meet them. This had been the plan since day 1. But in addition now, Will had an orthodontist appointment scheduled for 5pm. Not wanting to ruin the 20 day century streak, 5am was a must do to keep the streak alive.

Back to the hotel I returned to load up. I laid down for a few minutes to catch up on some sleep, but that turned into a full blown rest stop. I awoke at 8am, car still not packed, and the bikers even further away. Quickly, I loaded everything in the car, and drove to meet them in Winona.

I figured now was going to be the only time to go for a run. I found a nice loop around the city lake. A solid 3.5 mile loop. I ran past a few fishing derbies, a leather back turtle as well as plenty of ducks and geese, which seemed unfazed by the closeness to the human activity.

I returned to the car to a text from Wes that they didn't see me in Winona. The old mill town of Pickwick was the final stop at this point to refuel. I zipped up and located them at the top of a small climb, but besides a water refill and a granola bar, the stop was quick. Wes urged me to get to the end location, load up the fuel tank and clear out the back of the car for the ride back to Chicago.

The duo arrived in La Crescent at 12:24pm. The century had taken them 7 hours 24 minutes with rest stops and all. Not wanting to miss the doctors appointment, we hopped in the car and sped towards Chicago.

Three weeks to the day it's been since the biking madness has begun. The bikers have covered 2774 miles. Earlier the summer, Will and Wes completed a portion of the ride from La Crescent, MN to Rensselaer, IN. Tonight, I'd get to return to Wilmette to spend the evening with my family and relax. 

I had one errand to run before I departed for Rensselaer, and that was to pickup break cables. I zipped on over to Higher Gear, where they were having the pre party for their annual fundraiser, the Grand Fondo Hundo. I said hi to the crew and talked about the trip so far. Brandon gave me the new Higher Gear jersey for Will to wear on the ride. After a few final handshakes, I took headed out the door, back home and to a nice home cooked meal before heading to bed.