ROUTE: Chamberlain to Mitchell SD
DISTANCE: 71 miles
WINDS: Northeast 10-15 . . . crosswinds with a slight headwind component at ride's end . . . pesky winds were the word of the day
DISTANCE: 71 miles
WINDS: Northeast 10-15 . . . crosswinds with a slight headwind component at ride's end . . . pesky winds were the word of the day
WEATHER: Almost perfect . . . sunny, slightly humid, but the winds had a cooling effect all afternoon
TERRAIN: Pretty tame all day
TOTAL CLIMBING: 1150 feet
TERRAIN: Pretty tame all day
TOTAL CLIMBING: 1150 feet
RIDE OVERVIEW: Susan is sweep today, so I will try my hand at the website so she won't have to do it when she gets in late. Boy was it good to sleep in this morning. Last night I finally got to bed by 8:30 for the first time since we left Astoria. Even though I got 3 more hours sleep than I've been getting lately, I was really dragging when I rolled out of bed . . . just low energy level, but that was about to change. OK . . . slog though luggage load and get a quick bite to eat. It's a nice day. I thought I'd get on the road early and let the rest of the staff take care of the riders today. I could use another early afternoon to get a little much needed nap before rap and dinner . . . not so fast.
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| Hope you can see that the building and portraits are all "corny." |
As I was on my way to breakfast, I was told that Bill G. had a broken spoke on his recumbent . . . drive side so breakfast had to wait. I sent him on to breakfast and proceeded to take apart his rear wheel to replace his spoke. As I got his wheel apart, I found his rim tape to be defective and his tube had a long tear along a seam. His tire had only held air because he had pinched his tube between the rim and tire, which sealed the slash, but it could have blown out at any time. So, what was a major repair, turned out to be a major repair plus rim tape and tube replacement. By the time I got that job completed, almost everyone was leaving breakfast as Karen and I sat down to eat.
After a quick chow down, we set out about 20 minutes behind the last riders for our 70 mile ride. As we climbed out of town, I was very conscious that my legs were feeling really well and I thought it might be a good day to push the pace a little . . . but it felt really good just to cruise at a leisurely 19 MPH pace. It didn't take long before we started to reel in several riders, and by the time we got to the SAG, we were up with just about everyone except the very few hammers who were trying to get in to do some sightseeing.
In spite of our late departure, Karen and I cruised into town just a few minutes after noon, so we stopped by the famous Corn Palace and stopped for a bite to eat before we checked into the motel. The Corn Palace is quite amazing I guess. It was built before the turn of the century and every year they use thousands of bushels of corn and corn husks to decorate it. This year it is decorated to the theme of Lewis and Clark . . . you'd think those guys were famous for something as it seems that this year everything in this part of the country refers to them somehow. The Palace is famous world wide and gets over 500,000 visitors annually. There's just no end to the excitement on these bike rides. (The front of the Corn Palace is made entirely of corn cobs of different colors.)
In spite of our late departure, Karen and I cruised into town just a few minutes after noon, so we stopped by the famous Corn Palace and stopped for a bite to eat before we checked into the motel. The Corn Palace is quite amazing I guess. It was built before the turn of the century and every year they use thousands of bushels of corn and corn husks to decorate it. This year it is decorated to the theme of Lewis and Clark . . . you'd think those guys were famous for something as it seems that this year everything in this part of the country refers to them somehow. The Palace is famous world wide and gets over 500,000 visitors annually. There's just no end to the excitement on these bike rides. (The front of the Corn Palace is made entirely of corn cobs of different colors.)
I vote South Dakota as the state with the most roads that go off into nowhere. Maybe I said that before, but it seems to keep coming up. At least today we saw some trees lining the roadway, but several times the road was so straight and flat that it seemed to go on forever . . . felt like it too. The entire day I think we passed only 3 stores. It's really desolate out here. We have only 1 more day in SD before we have another day off. I'm ready and I'm sure the riders are too. Tomorrow it's only supposed to get up to 88 so we may have to get out our cold weather gear. It will seem like an arctic cold front after the last couple of days.
Our biggest challenge today was a couple sections of highway that had just been resurfaced with "chip and seal." Out in the country, they pour oil on the road surface and then spread gravel to be packed in by the traffic. This process takes a few days before the gravel is not lying loose on the surface. One 5 mile section today had just received its layer of loose gravel and was a bit sporty to ride through. Several riders opted to get picked up and be transported through the area.
Even though we were trying to get in early, Karen and I had time to do some sightseeing early in the day. We stopped by the small town of Pucwana. The downtown was pretty much dead since the interstate was nearby. The only thing open was a small cafe and two auto repair shops. All the other buildings were boarded up and in various stages of deterioration. On the corner by the cafe was one of the biggest German shepards I've ever seen, and I wasn't interested in getting too close to this vicious looking guard dog. As I snapped this photo of Karen riding by the cafe, the dog spun around and bolted to the back of the house knocking down all the bikes standing by the cafe. With a guard dog like that, they'd better have a good burglar alarm!
Almost everyone got in pretty early today and spent the afternoon sightseeing downtown. Several are also planning on attending the rodeo this evening. That should be a treat. . . all these people with funny tan lines sitting in the bleachers watching others trying to ride things that can buck them off.
Tomorrow we hope to have a relatively easy day into Sioux Falls. We are all ready for a much needed day off. We'll sleep in a bit tomorrow since it's only about 70 miles. I hope the winds will cooperate, but whatever, we'll ride east. See you then. Mike
Our biggest challenge today was a couple sections of highway that had just been resurfaced with "chip and seal." Out in the country, they pour oil on the road surface and then spread gravel to be packed in by the traffic. This process takes a few days before the gravel is not lying loose on the surface. One 5 mile section today had just received its layer of loose gravel and was a bit sporty to ride through. Several riders opted to get picked up and be transported through the area.
Even though we were trying to get in early, Karen and I had time to do some sightseeing early in the day. We stopped by the small town of Pucwana. The downtown was pretty much dead since the interstate was nearby. The only thing open was a small cafe and two auto repair shops. All the other buildings were boarded up and in various stages of deterioration. On the corner by the cafe was one of the biggest German shepards I've ever seen, and I wasn't interested in getting too close to this vicious looking guard dog. As I snapped this photo of Karen riding by the cafe, the dog spun around and bolted to the back of the house knocking down all the bikes standing by the cafe. With a guard dog like that, they'd better have a good burglar alarm!
Almost everyone got in pretty early today and spent the afternoon sightseeing downtown. Several are also planning on attending the rodeo this evening. That should be a treat. . . all these people with funny tan lines sitting in the bleachers watching others trying to ride things that can buck them off.
Tomorrow we hope to have a relatively easy day into Sioux Falls. We are all ready for a much needed day off. We'll sleep in a bit tomorrow since it's only about 70 miles. I hope the winds will cooperate, but whatever, we'll ride east. See you then. Mike
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: A local farmer came upon Bill G. yesterday as he was finishing his "business" in a roadside cornfield. The farmer passed a little time talking to him, and as he was departing, the farmer said, "Thanks, we sure can use the water; wherever we get it."
PHOTOS OF THE DAY:
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| This local tried to out sprint Mike to the SAG stop. He was doing really well until he didn't see that pole . . . splat!!!! |
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| Can you find Susan's bike in this photo? This thing was MASSIVE-- probably 2 or 3 stories high, but the photo just doesn't show it. That's my bike dwarfed by the front wheel. SSW |
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| Gerard found the locals near Mitchell to be a little exuberant with their welcome . . . as you can see by the bullet holes in the lower left of his faring. Guess they got tired of shooting at stop signs . . . HEY, there goes a moving target!!!! [For those of you who are worried, those are bullet-hole decals. SSW] |
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| Saw several interesting mailboxes today, all proving that the locals have a good sense of humor. How indeed. SSW |
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| I saw this sign prohibiting steel wheels... good thing mine are aluminum. |
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