Day 24 – Erskine, Minnesota (Monday, May 25, 2015)
Memorial Day!
As I was eating my lunch in Grand Forks I met a nice group of people who were curious about my bike. It turns out they just came back from a memorial day service. One of the men with a perpetual smile stopped by as he was leaving and gave me an American flag. He talked about his brother, a gym teacher who lived in Perth, Australia, and biked 10 miles to work everyday. He continued “he’s been in a lot of accidents”,”his helmet has saved him”,”he was hit by a car mirror and had to get his hip replaced”. He introduced himself as Winston, proceeded to spontaneously pray for me then left. I get that he thought cycling was dangerous but he was a selfless pastor’s soul. What would become of the likes of him if there was no Christianity?
I gave my flag to Ralph the Trek (as you can see in the picture). I was told he was made in America like Lance Armstrong.
For the record; the wind was mostly in my favour today until I approached Mentor.
When I arrived at Erskine I met a gentleman who was struggling to embed memorial plaques in a brick sidewalk. He looked old enough to have retired so I assume he was a volunteer. I enquired about places to stay. He enquired about my trip. I told him that I was crossing the country going east. He said “then you’ve gone through North Dakota?” with a smile, slightly derisively. I asked what’s wrong with North Dakota and he said “it’s flat.” I guess he figured I would have noticed the difference between Minnesota and North Dakota but I didn’t. I told him I had seen “flat” since Calgary and hadn’t noticed a big difference in North Dakota. He claimed that Minnesota has forests and told me I should see them in the 200 miles or so. I guess there will always be rivalries.
As a result of the conversation I was satisfied that Erskine was as good a town as any to settle for the evening.
I had an early supper at a pub where everyone was singing along with the jukebox including the bar tender. I did my laundry and met a elderly lady preoccupied in her cleaning. We chatted a bit, she complained about people leaving their clothes in the dryer, and I told her I was travelling to St. John’s. I think she got it confused with some place with a similar name in Minnesota. She ended up helping me push the right buttons on the dryer as I attempted to explain Canadian geography.
I set up my tent at the campground by the lake aptly named “Lakeside Campground”.
