On this trip I learned exactly how my cruising speed affects gas mileage.  Holding 80 mph, I need to fill around 145 miles. Going 65 mph let me stretch to 160 miles.  From my usual driving around town I had planned that I could go 170 miles between fills. In the end this was not a big deal, since after 150 miles I was ready for a break anyhow.

The St. Paul Harley dealer was right off the freeway (I-94) so I stopped for a picture.

The next stop for gas was St. Cloud, MN. No pictures, but I did learn that the low fuel light comes on with about 0.5 gallons remaining, about 15 miles.  I also learned that passing by a convenient gas station because there is another exit in 5 miles is not a good idea.  I passed by the first exit to St. Cloud, with a gas station by the freeway, since there was another St. Cloud exit in 5 miles.  When I got to that one I really needed gas, but now the gas stations were 4 miles north of the freeway.   I had no choice but to go the extra miles.  This is when I found out about the low fuel light. I took 4.5 gal into a 5 gal tank.  That is close enough for me.

Next was my south-west corner at Sauk Center where the easy freeway portion of the journey ended. Only about 40 miles from St. Cloud, and my first of several times where the gas stations simply did not have city locations on their receipts, just a Store ID.  If you are going through central MN and northern Wisconsin, Holiday gas stations do not have a location on their receipts (nor do some Superamerica stations).  Leaving Sauk Center I was about 40 minutes behind schedule.  
Heading north on US 71 through central MN, I went through many small farming towns and watched as the trees become more pine.  Of course all the small towns have speed limits of 25 - 30 mph. It was now mid-afternoon, and a beautiful sunny day in the mid-70's .

Finally I reached the Northwest corner at Bemidji, MN. So far feeling alert, but I have discovered that my seat has a comfortable range of about 375 miles, and I would have paid anything for a backrest.

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