Leaving Minnesota today and across the Mississippi River and into Wisconsin it was an 89 mile ride. We had a cloud cover so the temperatures were very comfortable. I had a momentary mental lapse this morning and packed my phone into my bag by mistake which was loaded into the truck. So no pictures today.

Two items of note are that the landscape, with dairy farms, began to resemble home. There were some gentle rolling hills and smaller farms many set into hill side settings or along small streams. The weather was cool and humid, just like at home.

The other item of note today is that we lost another penguin. Ray one of the 2 chaps from London took a spill on, of all places a 13 mile stretch of bike path. He landed hard and broke his collarbone and dislocated his shoulder. It was a brief mental lapse and he was not hurt badly but will be unable to ride and is flying back to England on Friday. He was very disappointed but in good spirits as he said his goodbys at dinner tonight. he was a really nice guy and his British accent and humor will be missed.

The crossing into Wisconsin across the Mississippi was celebrated with a swim at a very nice sandy public beach on the MN side. Sorry no photo.

I have been asked by some readers about some of the other penguins, so today I will post what I hope will be a series of features on some of the riders. This is Melanie Johnson who lives in Spokane Washington. She is 71 and the oldest rider on the trip. She is usually one of the first out in the morning and proudly always the last to finish. She is a life long cyclist who had logged trips up the Mississippi River and another trip with 2 friends from Miami to Bangor Maine. A few years ago she lost her right eye to an infection caused by a contact lens and almost gave up cycling. But is conquering her fears in dramatic fashion with this ride. She one of the few who will sometimes get some help in the sag wagon but is riding by my guess 99% of the miles. We all help and look out for Melanie who always rides alone because of her vision problem. She is a gutsy lady not at all hesitant to speak her mind.

A native of Minnesota, and grew up about 60 miles south of the Twin Cities where her father ran the local creamery. She is adored by many nieces and nephews though never married herself. She is a retired social worker in Spokane after previously living in Southern California.