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DAY 29

♪ Zippety doo dah, zippety ay, me oh my
what a wonderful day . . .♪ ♫

RIDE OVERVIEW: I think that both riders and staff had a relaxing day off yesterday. Riders ate out, went to Scheels Sports Store and bought themselves new duds and bike stuff, cleaned their bikes and replaced chains, went to the last night of the Sioux Falls Jazz Festival, went to the movies, met friends, got massages and haircuts, and in general kicked back and enjoyed themselves. The staff did likewise. Mike and Barb and Karen went to the movies and saw The Interpreter; Josh ate lunch with some of the riders and then shopped in a bookstore in the large mall across the street from the motel; Sue2 saw to her bike and the water jugs, and I answered a pile of e-mail and then pedaled to a nearby Butterfly House and Outdoor Center that was very nicely presented. Except for the hissing cockroaches, I enjoyed the ladybugs, the different tarantulas, lizards, and fish, and over 50 species of butterflies that fluttered about in the butterfly house. That evening after we welcomed our new riders, we staff went to the Olive Garden for our traditional staff dinner and analysis of the ride and our performance so far.

This morning we all ate a good breakfast of waffles etc. at the motel  and then loaded luggage at 6:45. Riders rode several blocks on city streets and then took to the Falls Park Bike Path for 9 miles.  Those of us in the vehicles skirted the city and caught up with the riders on Rice Road, about 10 miles into the ride.

I set up the SS today at a DQ in Luverne at mile 37.8. We had only one SS as there were plenty of small towns and stores along the route. Lori, a women who reports for the local weekly newsletter visited us again, as she did last year, for a quick photo and story. I gave her one of our America by Bicycle brochures. Len spoke with her too, and I learned that Len has was at the $99,000 mark but reached the $100,000 goal last night, due to the generosity of one of our new riders.

What a morale booster today was. Some riders said it felt like another rest day! Riders arrived at the SS in high spirits, laughing, joking, and talking excitedly about the fun they were having and the gorgeous weather, which was perfect for cycling--cool and with a mild tailwind, which, by the time the last riders left,  had picked up to 25+ mph and was pushing riders along at 30 to 35 mph with little effort on their part. What a gas! I must admit that I was envious.

Chips, who had a time of it the first weeks of the ride, was the first rider to reach the SS, followed closely by Fritz and then Carol. This was Chips' first first and he was ecstatic. In fact, he was only 7 miles from the SS (about 30 miles Sioux Falls) when I caught up to him in White, so I had to hustle to get things set up before he arrived. Chips ate, drank, was merry, and then took to the road again to try for another first first--first at the motel, but as luck would have it, he had mechanical problems so he didn't earn this distinction . . . even though Josh was mechanic on the spot.

Last year we told the guy who runs the DQ to try to open early on the day when riders get there, but apparently he didn't remember because the DQ was again closed until 10:30, and the last riders left the SS at 10:15. This guy really missed out. He could have sold 50 ice creams. It would have been a banner day for him.

And--again like last year--riders had a detour to negotiate. This one came shortly after the little town of Magnolia at mile 49 or so, and saw riders detouring 6 miles south, and then stairstepping back to Hwy 35 at 3-mile intervals. Riders rejoined Hwy 35 a couple of miles before the 69.6 mark on their route sheets.

This 18-mile detour took riders through Minnesota corn fields. The farms along the route were impeccable, each situated in a grove of trees and having a neatly painted house and outbuildings, flower beds, and nicely tended lawns.  No extra cars or farm equipment lying about.  Each farmhouse again sitting in the midst of vast cornfields . . . vaster even than those in South Dakota.  Barbara had arrowed the road, but I parked the van at each turn to help riders. While parked, I listened to a good oldies station and watched the barn swallows fly over the cornfields. I also watched the wind riffle through the corn and soybeans and even tried to get a picture of the patterns the wind made, but it didn't turn out. Each time I parked, a semi would squeeze past me at the intersection. I parked on dirt roads, but the dirt roads in this area get just as much traffic as the paved ones-- this because they cut through the cornfields to the houses. I decided that Minnesota corn farmers learn to drive huge grain and produce semis as a matter of necessity, just the way Alaskans learn to fly small planes.

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: 

DUH! OF THE DAY:  goes to Duane, who was clipped in and ready to go with The Flying Dutchmen, when Mike tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to his luggage . . . which was sitting in the middle of the parking lot. Habit patterns, habit patterns. After just one day off, Duane forgot to load his luggage and sign in. DUH!
 . . . . and also goes to Cliff and Bob, DUH!, who created their own detour today and rode 4 miles of dirt roads. Seems they navigate by landmarks and couldn't tell one cornfield from another.

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