Today's ride was going to be a mere 57 miles. Due to the morning rain, we were in no rush to get out on the road; especially when the forecast called for the rain to conclude around 9:00am. We ended up hitting the road around 10:45am, which was nice for a change. Our route for the day was, for the most part, entirely flat. Here and there, we encountered short rolling hills that were more enjoyable than laboring. Prior to leaving Moorhead, a host in Fergus Falls said that he would be happy to host us. Shortly after arriving in Fergus Falls, we were stopped at a crosswalk at a busy intersection. As we waited to cross, a cyclist whizzed by and said, "I bet you guys are staying at my place!" Sure enough, it was our host! I got a kick out of this brief exchange. Our host had recently gotten back to town from a journey of his own, and was in the process of running a few errands before meeting up with us. After having some outstanding malts at a local cafe, we moved on to a local pizza/microbrewery establishment a few blocks away. While here, we met a fellow whose son had cycled across the world! Hearing about some of the logistics of this trip made my head spin! Shortly afterward, our host met us and we spent another hour or so chatting with him and one of his running friends. Afterwards, our host led us on a short ride to his residence, which took us by the gorgeous shoreline of Lake Alice. We then cleaned up and all had a wonderful dinner together at Mabel Murphy's. We had a great time talking about a variety of things. Our host had gone touring before and through donations raised over $70,000 which he donated the majority of to a nonprofit organization in his hometown of Fergus Falls. With the remaining funds, he purchased copies of a Christian devotional book titled, "Jesus Calling", and he was generous in giving both of us a copy. One of the interesting things we learned about our host is that in addition to cycling, he runs in ultramarathons! This fellow was truly one of the most interesting, kindest, and neat individuals that we've met during this trip. The following day, we would ride 110+ miles to St Cloud.
