Day 27 Mitchell-Sioux Falls

Miles:  73.36       
Terrain: Flat farm land, poor shoulders, and strong headwinds
Depart:   7:06 AM     Arrive:  2:04 PM
Riding time: 5:49:36
Average Riding Speed: 13.0

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

Today's Ride

A steady 20+ mile per hour wind from the Southeast, six miles of dirt and gravel instead of pavement, and a main road shoulder that was not in very good condition made today’s 73-mile ride from Mitchell to Sioux Falls a real challenge.  It was the second straight day of battling headwinds.  Coupled with everything else, some riders, myself included, found the day to be a demoralizing grind—today’s winds were even more head-on than yesterday’s. 

This report is going to be pretty sparse on pictures—when I pulled out my camera it decided to tell me that the battery was exhausted!  But thanks to Jenny, another rider, who generously emailed me her picture of the gravel and dirt section, I can bring you a view of the most “exciting” part of the ride.  Because navigating through six miles of dirt and gravel on the scraped road surface required a lot of concentration, it seemed to give us something else to focus on other than the relentless headwind.   But as soon as we were back on the pavement, it seemed like the wind immediately returned.

The one sag stop in Canastota put us right in the middle of the community’s preparations for a parade, but without a working camera, I cannot bring you any photographic evidence.

The thunderstorms that were forecast last night to occur today are now predicted for tonight.  Without the rain it turned into a great riding day with temperatures in the low 80’s and generally sunny skies.  But I think we all would have gladly traded in the sun for diminished winds!

Tomorrow is a rest day.  We were all looking forward to the day off the bicycles—not so much for the physical rest, but for the mental relaxation as we’ve been riding for eight straight days since our last rest day, covering over 650 miles during that time.  And with two straight days of headwinds, I really hope that by Monday they shift around to the more traditional west-to-east.  I don't want to fight the headwinds for a third straight riding day.

Going into the rest day, here are my cumulative totals for the tour so far (I missed one 66-mile day due to my bronchitis earlier in the trip—other riders passed the 2,000 mile mark today).