Daily Summary

The Ride & Sights

The temperatures were fine today, but we had moderate headwinds again all day. We were a few miles per hour slower than yesterday as a result, and with a lot more effort. But, overall, it was a nice day.

I got a picture of the first lake I saw since entering Minnesota (and for hundreds of miles before). There was also a nice lake by the town of Fairmont.

I grabbed the picture of the Blue Earth water tower because the name intrigued me. Little did I know I was only about 1/4 mile from one of the biggest surprises of the trip – A Green Giant museum and park!

The Green Giant Park And Museum

The first picture has me between the legs of the huge giant. You may need to zoom in, but I barely get above his shoes. Then, I got pictures with a cutout and a baby giant figure. 

The last two pictures are from the nice little museum they had. You can zoom in and see a wide range of apparel and other random stuff. 

The museum was really a nice and unexpected treat. Unfortunately, just a few miles from the museum, one of my shifters abruptly stopped working. More on that next…

The Mechanical Issue

You can see a short gray line in the ride profile. That’s where I had to hop into the van for a few miles while I tried to figure out why my one gear shifter stopped working. I have electronic shifters, so it isn’t as simple as old mechanical ones.

After talking with my local Free Flite team, they reminded me that I could reprogram the buttons. So, I was able to finish the ride in my larger front ring. The shifters are under warranty, but the process takes time and leaves me without a bike while processed, so that isn’t an option. To buy the part and have it installed is over $700. So, I want to avoid that if possible and get a free replacement when I get home.

After arriving at the hotel and having further discussion with both Free Flite and a bike shop at our upcoming stop in Madison, WI, I have 2 more options to try. Neither is perfect, but each can work. I’ll spare you the heavy details, but they are loosely …

1) There is an auto shift feature that shifts between my 2 front rings automatically as I shift gears in the back. This would mean I don’t need one of my 2 sets of shifters and so the broken one won’t matter. I will try that first tomorrow and see if I can get used to it.

2) There are 2 buttons above the gear shifters on each side that are also programmable. Currently, they move between my bike computer screens, but I can make one or both shift if I need to. Effectively, I have 6 buttons and 5 are working. While it wouldn’t be the natural way to configure it, I can start using those buttons to shift if the auto shift doesn’t work. I would just have to get used to the different use of the buttons and shifters. 

Wish me luck!