I rode 61 miles today, the last four on a flat rear tire–my first flat on this trip. Today’s route took me from Hill City to our family cabin near Hackensack, MN, on Ten Mile Lake. I got started not long after dawn, which is now at 6:45 a.m., and after two stops for meals and one for a snack, arrived at our cabin around 4:30 p.m.

But let’s start with the beginning of the day, in Hill City. My motel had no coffee available in the room or otherwise, but thankfully, the Cozy Cove Coffee Co. was open in Hill City. I had a great cup of coffee and a breakfast croissant there, and for the first time since I left home in late June, was able to read a paper copy of the Star Tribune.

I also got to meet Sean, the owner (nice guy!), who was interested in my trip. He knows something about road hazards (his other job is as a paramedic), and he wished me a safe journey. If you are ever in Hill City and need a great cup of coffee, I recommend you stop in to see him!

My next food break was about 2 1/2 hours and 20 miles down the road, in Remer, MN (pop. 390), where I stopped at the Woodsman Cafe for some chili and some fresh peach pie. I would have gotten the Woody (two eggs; sausage, bacon, or ham; hash browns, toast), but I had already eaten breakfast at the Cozy Cove.

I crossed the Boy River west of Remer. The Boy River flows into Boy Lake and then into Leech Lake.

My route today took me through parts of the Leech Lake Reservation (population 11,456), home of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Most of my route was on Highway 200, which runs along the south shore of Leech Lake, depicted here. Leech Lake is the third largest lake entirely within Minnesota (Red Lake and Mille Lacs are first and second largest). As I got closer to Walker (pop. 941) east of Remer, I had to contend with more traffic, but there was a decent shoulder.

I stopped at the Leech Lake Express Marathon Service Station/Convenience Store next to the Northern Lights Casino for a snack. Eva was working behind the counter and asked how far I was riding. I told her about starting on the east coast, and she and her co-worker Allejandro seemed quite delighted by that and leaned in to hear more. We talked about how slowing down to see things from a bike gives you more opportunities to notice things and connect with people, and they thought that sounded like a great idea.

As I headed toward our cabin, I had a stretch of about seven miles on the Paul Bunyan Trail, which is a trail I ride on often. Here are a couple of views along that trail.

Just as I was getting off the trail and onto Lower Ten Mile Lake Road, about five miles from my destination, my rear tire went flat. It wasn’t clear exactly where or how this happened. I managed to ride slowly on the flattened tire to get to the cabin.

This weekend I will again have a chance to reunite with Trudi, and also our sons Billy and Joe, and daughter-in-law Kelsey and our grandchildren Jenny, JoJo, and Tilly. It will be a nice break and very fun to see them and enjoy some time together before I continue my journey west on Monday.