Day 26 Journal Chamberlain, SD to Mitchell, SD

I rode 74 miles today. I was really looking forward this morning to the ride into Mitchell when I saw that we had an early loading of the luggage and a fast buffet breakfast. It is so nice to get out there at the crack of daylight when it is quiet and cool. It is the most beautiful time of the day – just rolling along with my family of biking friends – soaking up the morning quietness. Our bikes are so quiet and our legs are just spinning those pedals round and round in a mesmerizing whir, reminding me of a concert of sorts. I also think of us as a band of pioneers mounting our steel steeds and setting out for an adventure of unknown. Anything can happen out there as we ride along. At route rap people have a chance for “show and tell” and we hear stories of some of the things people have observed during the ride. Quite a few saw the state bird today, a pheasant. Everyone was riding very strong today. It was only a 70-mile trip to the edge of the town, Mitchell. Everyone knew they would be getting into town early and would have almost a rest day. The weather was surprisingly cool today – if you call mid 80’s cool. The slight breeze we felt kept it comfortable. I think too because it was not so humid today that made it very nice. We had a slight tailwind too. I was cruising along at a steady, easy, 18-20. Chuck and I again rode the route near each other and were making sure we drank plenty of water, at least one drink every 10 minutes. We saw more hay crop, soybeans and cornfields today. Nearing the town of Mitchell we saw a lot more farm homesteads and lots more shelterbelts of trees. At 70 miles we rolled into the city limits just a little past 10:30 AM. Before going on to the motel we followed signs to the historic downtown area to see the Corn Palace. Pretty amazing what these people have done with many varieties of corn and some grains to form a mosaic with a theme. I was really hungry for lunch after the 10-15 minutes we spent inside the Corn Palace looking around. (Once I get off the bike I get really hungry) We asked for a suggestion for lunch and ended up at the Depot Pub and Grille on Main Street. Six of us stopped there for a good lunch.

By the time we left the Pub it was getting very hot but we only had about 1.5 miles to the motel. It just continued to swell in temp all afternoon. I stayed in and read and relaxed. By route rap the temperature at 5:00 PM was 100 degrees. Whew! We had to walk across the highway to the Bonanza restaurant for dinner. It was OK, nothing great, but certainly plenty of food to fuel up for the ride tomorrow. I wish we were loading luggage earlier tomorrow so I could get into Sioux Falls by at least 11:00 – but they said luggage truck wouldn’t open until 6:45 AM, and breakfast at Bonanza at 7:00. That will mean getting out on the route more than an hour later than this morning. I called ahead to Sioux Falls and found a masseuse and have an appointment at 4:00 PM. Plenty of time to get in and clean up and ride to a bike shop first and then the 4 miles to the massage place. We said our first “good byes” to 7 riders tonight. They will ride with us to Sioux Falls and this will end their time on this trip. We pick up a couple of new people. I will have a roommate starting in Sioux Falls. I’ll meet her tomorrow. I have LOVED having a single room all this time and asked to extend my single room to the end as I have gotten very spoiled spreading all my stuff all over the room. But ABB office said there were not enough rooms at the motels between Sioux Falls and Niagara Falls, NY.

Road Kill: 2 pheasant birds

Bananas: 2