In Memory of Warmer Summers

July 20th through 21st
Dalbo, Minnesota

There are some places in the country where citizens realize they are on one of the Adventure Cycling routes and they take an action to accommodate cyclists.  Sometimes these efforts are on a pretty grand scale.  Let me show you around one of these efforts by first introducing you to Donn Olson. 

Donn is a retired Chief Warrant Officer (CW05) of the U.S. Army with 30 years in service spanning the Vietnam War forward.  Donn has a farm just outside of Dalbo, Minnesota and noting the number of cyclists coming down the small county road where he lives, he decided to do something to help, and help he did.

Donn converted and old barn into a living area and opened this up for cyclists to drop by.  The doors are open 24/7 and it’s quite the place.  Let me show you around…

There is a living/dining room…

A loft in the second story….

A fully stocked kitchen, complete with food…

Four bunk rooms…

And extra sleeping quarters in the silo and up in the loft if needed.

We cycled 92 miles on the 20th to get to Donn’s place on July 20th.  There had been severe heat and humidity warnings for the last few days as heat index ratings were well over 100 degrees.  The locals were very uncomfortable but Sallie and I were pretty much in our element.  We were told by the Teachers this was a “do not miss” spot to stop, so we pressed on through the heat to find the air conditioning working just fine, but a little cold for our tastes. 

Donn’s Bicycle Bunkhouse has won several awards and is written up frequently in cycling magazines.  He’s a wonderful fellow, very generous and helpful.  He keeps track of his cyclists and we logged in as the 85th and 86th cyclists stopping this year so far.

As it turned out, a completely unpredicted and violent thunderstorm came up that night at about 3:00am, followed by another the next morning.  We chose to remain at the Bunkhouse for another day until the weather cleared out and enjoyed Donn’s company, his stories, and the wonderful welcome.