Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
Day 30 - June 26 - Brownsville, MN to Wabasha, MN - 77miAfter a lovely breakfast prepared by Barb, we set off on our 77mi day. Turns out, Minnesota is stunningly beautiful. It was foggy this morning, and we literally biked through a cloud. We stopped about 10mi in to visit Sara, Barb and Dan's daughter, and then started biking the climb Barb had warned us about. It was a decent climb, but the view was well worth it. The descent was also amazing, and I hit 43mph on the way down. The day was long, but the scenery was nice, and the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. When we got to the church in Wabasha, we were able to shower at the pool across the street, and then a bunch of us walked to town for Mexican food. Trailer/cubby clean out came next, and involved Ethan auctioning off unclaimed items that people had left in the trailer. After clean up, Grant, Eddie, Catherine, Ethan, Megan and I went out for bowling, which was an absolute blast. On the way there, we all tried out each other's bikes. Seeing Grant ride Catherine's bike was pretty hilarious. At the bowling alley, We ended up in a wager where the losing team would set up the winners tents for two days. We then proceeded to lose pretty badly. We stayed out pretty late, and ended up biking back at around 10:30. The guys had walked, and left the alley a bit earlier so that they could hide along our route and then jump out and scare us. We may or may not have retaliated by temporarily locking them out of the church. Day 31 - June 27 - Wabasha, MN to Prescott, WI - 69.2miGot to sleep in a little this morning! We didn't leave until 7:30am, so I got a whole extra hour to sleep in. The guys all got up really early so that they could make it to Minneapolis in one day instead of two. Megan rode with us today, which was really nice. More stunning views all day long. A bit hilly in parts, especially the last segment, but as per usual, the descents made up for the climbs. I rode with Megan until the second rest stop, 45mi in, and then did the last segment on my own. We crossed over the Mississippi River and into Wisconsin, our tenth state. Looking forward to biking into Minneapolis tomorrow! Day 32 - June 28 - Prescott, WI to Minneapolis, MN - 52miGreat ride today! We left early again to try and get to the city as early as possible. We crossed back over into Minnesota, and had an easy ride to R1 that took us through some pretty scenic little towns. Because it is Catherine's birthday, we recorded a quick happy birthday video to send to her. After R1, we hopped on an amazing bike path that got us basically into the city. At rest stop 2, we arrived just in time to see animal control jack up a car to free a stuck snapping turtle. From there, it was a quick 6mi through the city to the dorms. Minneapolis is so bike friendly, it's insane! We're staying at the U of Minnesota dorms tonight - Middlebrook Hall. So strange being back in residence! After a shower, Vikki and I went out for lunch and grabbed some amazing Thai food at Sober Fish. We wandered around for a little bit after, and checked out some cute shops. I took a nap in the afternoon, and then we went out for dinner at a Japanese place. Afterwards, Vikki and I got some great ice cream at a place called Izzy's, and got mistaken as mother and daughter. Day 33 - June 29 - Minneapolis, MN - Rest DayI love rest days. This morning we split up into two groups to tackle two different service projects. I went with Megan, Cassie, Eddie, Luke, Ethan, and Vikki to Stephanie's house, where we helped her clean up, and fix some things around the house. Ethan and I patched two holes in the wall, and mixed cement to fix a broken step. Stephanie's almost 2-year-old daughter Stella was adorable, especially when she pickpocketed my phone and pretended to make a phone call. After the service project, we headed back to the dorms and I got some laundry done. We also met Andrea, a segment cyclist who will be with us for the rest of the trip. At around 4:30 I headed out and met up with Carlos from HGSE. We grabbed a drink at Black Forest and caught up for a bit, and then I met up with the BTUSFMS group at Matt's Bar for Juicy Lucys. Apparently, Juicy Lucys are a famous Minneapolis dish. It's a cheese stuffed hamburger, and it is absolutely delicious. Possibly one of the best burgers I have ever had. After dinner, Eddie, Megan, and I went to the airport to pick up Catherine, who was coming back from her conference. We headed out to celebrate with the group, and ended up going out for karaoke at the recommendation of our waitress. Pretty fun night! Day 34 - June 30 - Minneapolis, MN - Rest DayRest day number 2! Slept in a bit, and then went to the St. Paul MS Achievement Center to make a donation. This visit was so moving, and I could barely hold myself together when we walked in and everyone started cheering. We all had a lunch buddy, and I was partnered with Cat. It was really nice having lunch with Cat, and I learned that she has been to Toronto many times. Paul, another MA patient at the center, gave us all buffs that say "Paul's People", and John wrote a song for us. Absolutely incredible place. We gave them a cheque for $15,000, which will help fund the center. Moments like this really remind me why we are doing this, and how much this money that we are raising is needed. After leaving the center, Megan, Andrea, Ethan, Chandler, Eddie, and I took the train to the Mall of America. We grabbed Mexican food, wandered around for a bit, I got a massage, and then we all saw Finding Dory. Later in the night, Catherine, Chandler, and I went out for ice cream at Izzy's again. So good! Day 35 - July 1 - Minneapolis, MN to Dalbo, MN - 58.1mi - Happy Canada Day!While I could have used another couple days to explore Minneapolis, today was a great day on the road. I wore my Canada jersey in honour of Canada Day, and we grabbed breakfast at Hard Times Cafe before leaving. It was a nice ride along the Minneapolis bike trails into Anoka, the first rest stop. The weather was a little chilly in the morning, but was pretty perfect for cycling. It was smooth sailing until about 3mi from camp, when Catherine's back tire blew out. When we stopped to fix it, we also got news that Andrea had had a pretty nasty fall, and was going to urgent care to get a cut on her leg cleaned up. Unfortunately, Catherine had to get in the van because the spare tires were in the van that was with Andrea. When we got closer to camp though, Catherine came out to meet us and sat on the back of Jen's bike for the last few meters. We are staying at the Adventure Cyclist Bunkhouse tonight, which is an old farm and silo that has been converted into a cyclist only bunkhouse. I'm sleeping in a grain silo tonight! We chilled for a bit, and Ethan ended up doing a barn photoshoot which was hilarious. The owner of the bunkhouse, Donn, made a delicious dinner for us, and Catherine brought out some maple candy that she had bought in Niagara Falls in order to celebrate Canada Day. Day 36 - July 2 - Dalbo, MN to Royalton, MN - 58miWoke up in the silo this morning, and headed into the kitchen where I was met by breakfast prepared by Jen. The ride this morning was fantastic, and probably one of my fastest. Can't tell if it was because of the new tires I put on, or because I was simply well rested. Either way, we were cruising. Today's theme, as decided by Sharon, was horses, so we stopped and took a selfie whenever we saw a field of horses. This lead to us meeting a lady and her daughter, and taking a picture with their horse Clyde. We got to Royalton early enough to have lunch there, and stopped at a bar called Scottie's to eat. After that, it was only 3 miles to camp. The last 3 miles were slow, but not for the usual reasons - headwinds, heat, or hills. It was slow because I had to stop every 200m to take pictures of the motivational signs people from the town had put out for us. It really made my day seeing these on the way into camp! We're camping along the Mississippi River tonight, and got invited to go out tubing. We all piled up into a hay bale trailer with our tubes, and were driven a little ways up stream and then floated all the way back to camp in the current. It was an absolute blast! We all tied our tubes together, and even enjoyed a drink provided by some locals. Definitely a highlight of the trip. When we got back to camp, dinner had already been prepared by the owners of the campsite, and some members of the MS society. During dinner, we all stood up and said who we were, and why we were here. Not gonna lie, it was pretty emotional. After dinner, we presented an award to the two ladies who hosted us. Day 37 - July 3 - Royalton, MN to Osakis, MNAnother beautiful day on the Northern Tier! I slept in the hammock last night, bundled in all the layers I had, plus Vikki's blanket and Catherine's sleeping bag liner, convinced I would not get cold this time. It worked pretty well, although I was slightly on the chilly side for one part of the night. A breakfast of donuts and muffins was provided by the same group that cooked dinner last night. After eating and putting everything in the trailer, we set off, only to stop less than 10 minutes due to Frank getting a flat tire. We were on a bike trail for most of the day, which was gorgeously scenic, flat, and free of cars - a winning combo. Today's theme was playgrounds, and there was plenty of opportunities to stop for photos. Now that we're at the halfway point, we keep running into cross-country cyclists who are going east, and it's always really cool to stop and chat with them. At rest stop two, Catherine, Frank, and I stopped at DQ for blizzards, then rode the final stretch together. The combination of flat trails, good conversations, and a slight tail wind made the last 15mi pass very quickly, and we were in town in no time. At this point though, we discovered that our plans for camp had fallen through, and we had nowhere to sleep. Thanks to Luke and Grant, who struck up a conversation with locals at the restaurant we went to for lunch, we are able to sleep in the high school. We hung around town for the afternoon, did laundry, and walked down to the lake. In the evening, we went to the grocery store and then got some ice cream. Day 38 - July 4 - Osakis, MN to Fergus Falls, MN - Happy Fourth of July!Back on the bike path today! We started out as a big group, almost the entire team, but eventually broke into smaller groups. I rode with Luke, Ethan, Catherine, Chandler, Frank, and Sharon today, which was nice because I rarely ride with the guys. We cruised along at a pretty fast pace, and discussed a variety of math problems, including "how many pedal strokes will we take to get across the country?" and "how many extra miles will we ride because of slightly wobbling?". At around 12:30, we pulled into camp and decided to go into town for lunch, which was about 3mi further. Because it is the Fourth of July, the entire town was basically closed, and the only things open were the fast food places. We ended up going to Applebee's, which was another 2mi further. On the way back from Applebee's, we happened to pass a movies theatre, and stopped to see what was playing. In a spur of the moment decision, we decided to see Central Intelligence. We missed the first 20min, but it was still pretty great. Upon returning to camp, we hung out, and ate the BBQ dinner provided by our super amazing route leaders. We then played a charades-like game, and made s'mores. Later, we closed out the night with sparklers and fireworks. Pretty great way to celebrate my first Fourth of July in the states!
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katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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