July 16, 1998 - Otter Tail Lake - Long Prarie

DISTANCE TRAVELED: 69.17 Miles

TIME: 6 Hours

AVERAGE SPEED: 18.1 Miles/Hour

TRAVEL CONDITIONS: Cool and sunny in the morning and warm in the afternoon. Wind from all directions but mostly from the side and back.

ROAD CONDITIONS: Mostly good roads although there were some areas that had many cracks in the road.

TERRAIN/DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Small rolling hills which were generally easy. The tailwinds helped a lot and made the trip much easier.

DAILY JOURNAL COMMENTS:
I woke up at 8:00 and got out of my tent to find fresh orange juice along and homemade cinnamon rolls with an almond frosting. After quickly eating I sat out in the sun to warm up since the morning was unusually cool. Then I went back to change into my biking clothes and pack up my tent. I found that there was tons of sand inside so I dumped it out and threw it into the bag. I was finally able to leave around 9:30 after writing down the directions. I left by myself and rode alone for the entire day which was kind of nice for a change. As soon as I came to the first town, I was very hungry and bought a ham and cheese sandwich along with some candy and a Snickers ice cream cone. I got back on the road and at the next convenience store I bought a Strawberry Passion Fruitopia which was really good. I also found out about a shortcut to a town that I was supposed to go through. Because of this, I was able to make up some of my lost time. A few hours later, I arrived in Long Prarie and found that only four people had arrived before me and there was cold drinking water waiting. About 5:00 the SAG finally came, about an hour and a half after I had arrived. We unpacked it and after playing a quick game of horseshoes, I took a shower. After another game, dinner was ready. We had another potluck with lots of different pastas, fruit, salads, and desert. It tasted great and was very filling. After this, we sat around for a little while before deciding to go bowling at 10:00. Unfortunately after walking about a mile, we found that the bowling alley was closed and most likely wouldn't be opening for a while. We walked back and, after eating a little more food and talking for a little while, I finally went to bed around 12:30.

TRIP ROUTE:
Take 78 south L onto 38. Take 38 to Urbank(38 will veer). @ Urbank pick up 235 to Parlrers Prarie. Go straight on 46 and then take a right on 71. Make a left onto 14 through Rose City. Take a right on 1. Get off 1 and go to clotho. Take 38 and follow into Long Prarie. First Traffic Light in Long Prarie go left. Follow through town and for one more mile to campground on left.