Day 29--Sioux Falls SD to Worthington MN--July 19th
Miles Ridden 71.3
Avg Speed 14.4 MPH
Climbing 1332 Ft.
Total Miles Ridden 2059
Miles To Go 1570
Sunday was our third rest day and it gave us a chance to catch up on our sleep and rest some of our sore parts. Other than a seven mile walk to church I did very little. We were stuck out by the freeways and shopping malls and several miles from downtown so I missed most of the sights Sioux Falls might have to offer. One of the guys I usually ride with, Joe from Georgia, felt energetic enough to ride twenty five miles south to the Iowa state line so he could say he'd been there.
We got some bad news Monday morning when one of the riders who fell on Saturday, Phil from San Diego, decided to drop out of the ride because of an injured wrist. He's the first to leave. I don't think he was totally sorry to be leaving as the daily mileage was a little over his energy level and he had taken many rides in the SAG van.
Monday morning was supposed to start with a leisurely ride on a bike path along the river to the actual Sioux (water) Falls for pictures. Things got off to a rocky start when rain hit just after we started. After about five miles of rain and some nearby thunder I decided to stop and wait out the storm at a McDonald's. The rest of the group went on. I stayed for about an hour until the rain had just about stopped but still managed to get soaking wet from the roads. The rest of the group fared much worse as the roads and railroad crossings were very slippery in the rain and a number of people, including my roommate Mark, fell and received various minor injuries.
Riding when it is wet is one of my least favorite things. On a day like today, every part of you gets soaking wet from the road spray kicked up by cars, trucks and other bikes. That is enough to get you cold and miserable as you stay tense trying to avoid the added danger wet roads present. Added to that is the road grime and grit that coats every inch of you and your bike. When the ride was over and I took a shower it looked like a coal miner was cleaning off.
The bad weather lasted forty miles but the wet clothes and shoes lasted the entire ride. Before the rain stopped we crossed the border into our fifth state, Minnesota. When the sun came out we were able to get a good look at the magnificent farmland of southern Minnesota as tended by Norwegian bachelor farmers. (mandatory and only Lake Wobegon reference). For as far as we could see over the gently rolling fields, eight foot high corn stretched out for miles seemingly without fences or roads. It was quite a sight although I have to say it got a little boring after about twenty miles--and we have hundreds of miles to go.
When we got to Worthington we stopped to eat. Talking with some of the locals cleared up an old issue I had. One of my favorite movies is Fargo. I loved Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson but always believed she overdid the accent. Nobody could really speak like that. Well, Worthington proved me wrong and her right (including numerous "You betcha"s) , even if it is a few hundred miles from Brainerd.
Once at the motel it became clear that there were no major injuries but there will be a lot of uncomfortable riders as we have a hundred and two miles to cover tomorrow and a hundred the next day as we get through Minnesota in three days.
Avg Speed 14.4 MPH
Climbing 1332 Ft.
Total Miles Ridden 2059
Miles To Go 1570
Sunday was our third rest day and it gave us a chance to catch up on our sleep and rest some of our sore parts. Other than a seven mile walk to church I did very little. We were stuck out by the freeways and shopping malls and several miles from downtown so I missed most of the sights Sioux Falls might have to offer. One of the guys I usually ride with, Joe from Georgia, felt energetic enough to ride twenty five miles south to the Iowa state line so he could say he'd been there.
We got some bad news Monday morning when one of the riders who fell on Saturday, Phil from San Diego, decided to drop out of the ride because of an injured wrist. He's the first to leave. I don't think he was totally sorry to be leaving as the daily mileage was a little over his energy level and he had taken many rides in the SAG van.
Monday morning was supposed to start with a leisurely ride on a bike path along the river to the actual Sioux (water) Falls for pictures. Things got off to a rocky start when rain hit just after we started. After about five miles of rain and some nearby thunder I decided to stop and wait out the storm at a McDonald's. The rest of the group went on. I stayed for about an hour until the rain had just about stopped but still managed to get soaking wet from the roads. The rest of the group fared much worse as the roads and railroad crossings were very slippery in the rain and a number of people, including my roommate Mark, fell and received various minor injuries.
Riding when it is wet is one of my least favorite things. On a day like today, every part of you gets soaking wet from the road spray kicked up by cars, trucks and other bikes. That is enough to get you cold and miserable as you stay tense trying to avoid the added danger wet roads present. Added to that is the road grime and grit that coats every inch of you and your bike. When the ride was over and I took a shower it looked like a coal miner was cleaning off.
The bad weather lasted forty miles but the wet clothes and shoes lasted the entire ride. Before the rain stopped we crossed the border into our fifth state, Minnesota. When the sun came out we were able to get a good look at the magnificent farmland of southern Minnesota as tended by Norwegian bachelor farmers. (mandatory and only Lake Wobegon reference). For as far as we could see over the gently rolling fields, eight foot high corn stretched out for miles seemingly without fences or roads. It was quite a sight although I have to say it got a little boring after about twenty miles--and we have hundreds of miles to go.
When we got to Worthington we stopped to eat. Talking with some of the locals cleared up an old issue I had. One of my favorite movies is Fargo. I loved Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson but always believed she overdid the accent. Nobody could really speak like that. Well, Worthington proved me wrong and her right (including numerous "You betcha"s) , even if it is a few hundred miles from Brainerd.
Once at the motel it became clear that there were no major injuries but there will be a lot of uncomfortable riders as we have a hundred and two miles to cover tomorrow and a hundred the next day as we get through Minnesota in three days.
Phil from San Diego, the first to leave the ride. He's always happy and I don't think it bothered him too much to get back to California
Sioux Falls on a dark and wet morning
Another rider took this picture and called it "Mayhem at the Rail Crossing" as three people went down
including my roommate holding his injured leg on the left
That's me pointing to where we entered Minnesota as it started to rain again
My roommate displays what we call "road rash" on his leg from the fall shown above
No one crossed the RR tracks like a "T" or what?
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