Day 26 Chamberlain-Mitchell

Miles:  73.41       
Terrain: Flat farm land with persistent headwinds
Depart:   7:11 AM     Arrive:  3:03 PM
Riding time: 5:38:42
Average Riding Speed: 13.0

            Today’s Garmin Download and Map (for cycling data junkies)

Today's Ride

A much shorter ride than yesterday.  A relatively flat course.  Midwest farmlands.  Roads with very little traffic.  Cool temperatures.  A couple of local attractions to break up the ride.   What’s not to like?  The answer?--Headwinds!!  Even though the wind velocity was generally less than 10 mph it was pretty much a straight headwind all day long.  Add to that a regular pattern of “thump, thump” across the expansion joints in the road, and the day was a slog indeed.  The 71 miles at times seemed longer than yesterday’s 115.

The first of the local attractions, at about the 23 mile mark, was the South Dakota Tractor Museum!  The museum, maintained by two very friendly older women, featured not only tractors, but all kinds of items found around the home in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.  There were old washing machines, typewriters, fabrics for knitting and sewing, and even an old baseball uniform and catchers glove.  There was a full building of old and new tractors.  My personal favorite was the treadmill to put your dog or a sheep on to get work done.  The museum made for an interesting diversion during the first half of the ride.

 

Upon arrival in Mitchell, we stopped at the Corn Palace.  The Corn Palace is an arena that is used for  basketball, shows, and other events.  Corn is the theme…the outside decorations follow the theme of the year, and are made from corn cobs.  There’s a big corn cob picture of Elvis on the outside of the building this summer.

Along the way today was plenty of farmland.  Corn.  Cattle.  Even some longhorns.    And plenty of farming equipment dealers, especially when entering Mitchell.

Tomorrow is another ride of similar distance.  The headwinds are supposed to be even stronger, and there is a chance of thunderstorms.  But after tomorrow’s ride, a rest day awaits in Sioux Falls, SD.  It is well needed—mentally more than physically.  If tomorrow ‘s post doesn’t appear until Sunday morning, don’t be surprised.  Sunday there will also be a post with some general thoughts on the first half of the trip.  Until then, keep rolling!