day twenty-six: east grand forks to erskine (96km)

Had my most challenging -- and miserable -- day yet, with 37-38C temperatures and a cross-/headwind of 25-30km/h. Essentially the entire day I was in a low hill-climbing gear, struggling to make any progress. The wind was uncomfortable any time I'd stop to take a drink, and steering was occasionally awkward. A couple of times I thought maybe I'd broken another spoke, but it was just the craziness with the wind. At one point and for several minutes at least the smell of smoke (from Canada apparently) was quite strong -- the strongest I've experienced yet (though people have complained for days about the smoke).

My average speed for most of the day was 10km/h. People jog faster than that. It was like I was going up a hill that never ends. Didn't help that this part of Minnesota makes northwest Ohio look hilly, and there's pretty much nothing to stop the wind.

Had the good fortune to have an outfitters directly across the street from the Red River campground, so I was able to replace the white gas that had finally run out, after making it ałl the way from Vancouver. Second breakfast was at a coffee shop, which was a bit unfortunate as there was what looked like a popular diner down the road. Stopped to fill water bottles and buy something to drink every town I came to.