Back to a longer distance day today. Still had hard climbs and lots of them. The scenery of farm fields and woods was still present. Temp was back in the 90's today but the humidity was down a bit. My roommate the night before was the Apple Valley guy and he would be my roommate on night of Day 4 as well. Today I rode a bit more with the slower Maine guy and a gal. She was using this ride as a barometer of her ability to do PBP 27. Those 2 climbed faster than me but I would catch them on the flats and downhill. Today we rode the Sparta-Elroy trail, which had been on my bucket list for years. This was the first rail to trail in the US, in 1954. The trail was narrower than expected with a well packed surface. The shoulders were grassy and not well mowed. What I didn't realize was the grade we would climb up to the tunnel! Once inside the tunnel we were asked to dismount as the surface was slippery since the rocks above had a spring and it was essentially raining on us inside the tunnel. About 3/4 of way through the Maine rider and gal passed me. That was when I started riding with them. At the last control in Osseo (168), I took off before the Maine and gal and they never caught up. This last section ( mi 186 to end) was fun to ride! Got in at about 1030pm again.