Cumulative: 1965 miles, 75531 feet of climb
Sunrise. (Thanks for the photo, Gerard)
There are some days on our cross country bike ride when the scenery is better than other days. Honestly, today was not one of those former days.
This was the view today
Day 26 was very nice, sunny and warm, and the roads were relatively flat. The route today took us on Route 50, Route 45, and US 16 eastward and mostly paralleling Interstate 90. The mileage was shorter than our average and there wasn’t much wind to deal with.
Behind me, the view was the same
Today the usual five suspects started close together but split up, either because of their energy level (my lack of it) or for mechanical reasons. After about 15 miles Dave, Mark W. and Mark K. went ahead while Jeff and I hung back. Mark W. got a flat tire and then after we waited for him to fix it, got another flat behind us. So the two Marks were behind Jeff and I, while Dave motored to the hotel ahead of us. We did get a laugh when Mark tried to put his wheel back on the frame with the cassette on the wrong side. And it didn’t do any good to get to the hotel early, since the rooms weren’t ready yet.
How do I put the wheel back on? Try the other way.
There wasn’t much scenery to look at today, as you can see by the pictures. Once we climbed out of Chamberlain away from the Missouri River, the terrain was just flat grazing land on both sides of us, with the interstate about half a mile away. (In fact I’ve got to go to yesterday’s leftover pictures for filler.)
The Corn Palace with detail at the right
Jeff and I stopped at the Corn Palace on the way to the hotel. The Corn Palace was built in 1892, only 12 years after the founding of Mitchell. The idea was to showcase the crops grown in the area and to attract new settlers. The Palace hosts stage shows, basketball games, trade shows, and a variety of activities. The outside of the building is decorated each year with a new theme. Each summer, 3000 bushels of milo, rye, oat heads and sour dock are tied in bundles and attached. Half a million ears of corn are also sawed in half and nailed to the building to create corn murals. The redecorating process goes on all summer as crops become available.
A corn mural. That's "Cornelius" with me on the right.
After doing laundry and attending rap, we headed for a very good dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Then we went to DQ for the obligatory Blizzard. About 25 of us are headed to the Stampede Rodeo tonight. So I’ll give you an update on that tomorrow.
Meet Duke the three legged dog who loves to retrieve his crushed can. We met Duke yesterday at SAG 1
All I wanted was a Gatorade
Best quote of the ride:
ABB staff: “…and before you get to the hotel, you’ll pass by a Dairy Queen.”
ABB cycler: “No we won’t”
Second best quote of the ride:
You’re lucky you got a flat tire today.
Why?
Because that’s 20 minutes less time you’ll have to spend in Mitchell.
Today’s route:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/40629693
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