This will be brief because we’re tired and in our tent which is cozy so we’ll be sleeping soon. The day was beautiful – great riding and perfect weather. Highlights included a flat tire on Lisa’s bike in Hastings which we repaired pretty quickly, meeting two St. Thomas people (Amanda from my office was working at the place we had lunch), a lovely couple (Beth and Harry) camping next to us who brought cold beers to us when we rolled in and invited us to sit by their fire after we got cleaned up. It was a tough day, longer than expected at about 80 miles, but with a beautiful ending. A few observations: we’ve got to hit the road earlier, it will probably be longer than expected, the worst hill may be in the last mile, and there are beautiful people in this world.
As I was thinking about our ultimate goal late today, I got a little overwhelmed. Then I remembered we were just riding to Frontenac today, not New Orleans. One bite at a time, or baby steps, or some other apropos cliche. 
Confluence 
Very glad you made it! And, “hit the road earlier, it will probably be longer than expected, the worst hill may be in the last mile, and there are beautiful people in this world” are words I’ll be living by!
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It’s going to be so fun to follow you guys here. As a 4:30am riser and a weekend warrior with the whole MN yard work that never ends deal, I agree with your observations. Be safe. Have fun. Thanks for sharing this adventure with us.
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Wow! Congrats on taking that impressive first bite. Awoke yesterday thinking of you both and said to Jim, “How’d you like to bike to New Orleans?”. We quickly agreed that a better way to frame it each day was, “How’d you like to ride to ____?”. 🙂 Thanks for sharing the insights and lessons learned thus far. May the rain struggle to find you, the wind be at your backs and the slopes all downhill (okay, maybe not all, but at least those in the final miles).
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Congratulations on your first day! I hope day 2 had smaller hills and equally lovely people. You two are amazing!
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You shouldn’t get many (any?) more end-of-day hills like the one at Frontenac! That one’s nasty.
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