Terrain: Farm land, not many hills, several small towns
Depart: 7:10 AM Arrive: 2:11 PM
Riding time: 5:32:03
Average Riding Speed: 12.8
Today's Ride
Thanks to all of you for your kind words and encouragement
following my Sunday post. Last night
when I told Julie that I was going to bag the trip, she said I should really give it
one more day and see if anything changed.
I explained to
her that there is no way out of Worthington, MN, not even a rental car, so
riding one more day means riding two more days—and tomorrow is a 110-mile day.
She gave me some reasoning I couldn't argue with. She said I should ride
today, and if I decided I couldn’t go on I could just ride in the van tomorrow
to Mankato and then return from there.
The validity of her logic was hard to argue with.
So I rode today. The route out of Sioux Falls was on a bike path and took us past THE Sioux Falls.
Riding conditions were perfect until late afternoon when some
headwinds boiled up again. But it was
nothing like what we’ve dealt with recently.
Despite the generally good conditions I struggled. My speed was terribly slow for what amounted
to an almost flat ride. I will try to
ride tomorrow, but if I don’t feel any better physically and mentally, I may at
one of the sag stops get in the van and ride in the van to Mankato. In that case, I’ll leave Mankato Wednesday
morning and head home. If I can’t finish
the cross country trip I’ll be a little disappointed, but it won’t be the end
of the world. If I don’t finish, there
will really be nothing about my life that will change. Just as there won’t be anything about my life
that will change if I do finish the trip.
So I will simply have to see what happens tomorrow and then decide what
to do.
So I rode today. The route out of Sioux Falls was on a bike path and took us past THE Sioux Falls.
Riding conditions were perfect until late afternoon when some
headwinds boiled up again. But it was
nothing like what we’ve dealt with recently.
Despite the generally good conditions I struggled. My speed was terribly slow for what amounted
to an almost flat ride. I will try to
ride tomorrow, but if I don’t feel any better physically and mentally, I may at
one of the sag stops get in the van and ride in the van to Mankato. In that case, I’ll leave Mankato Wednesday
morning and head home. If I can’t finish
the cross country trip I’ll be a little disappointed, but it won’t be the end
of the world. If I don’t finish, there
will really be nothing about my life that will change. Just as there won’t be anything about my life
that will change if I do finish the trip.
So I will simply have to see what happens tomorrow and then decide what
to do. 
The
only highlight of the day was reaching another state—Minnesota. And passing the 2,000 mile mark. Arriving in Minnesota was significant for me
for two reasons: it’s the home of my
lifelong devotion to the Minnesota Twins.
And so far the road surfaces are a whole lot better than the ones in
South Dakota.
Stay tuned (as they used to say in TV Land) for the next
chapter tomorrow.
Best wishes for a good day today, Bruce! What you've done and seen to date is most impressive no matter what you decide to do today! Must admit I'd love to see ya get a bit close to NY Yankee territory though!.. Ha!
ReplyDeleteHad I continued, I hate to tell you that the tour would end up in Boston Red Sox territory! (They are only slightly below the Yankees on my 10 least liked teams list!)
DeleteYour poor performance is probably a byproduct of your mental attitude like a hitter in a slump. Besides there is no such thing as a "poor" performance, you aren't competing against anyone. You've already done more than all your readers have collectively. Keep with it.
ReplyDeleteIra
My mental attitude was a product of my physical struggles. Maybe they should have sent me down to AAA on a bike rehab assignment?
DeleteGlad to hear you still in the saddle cowpoke !!!
ReplyDeleteHarmon Killebrew would be proud your still slugging away !!! As they say in Whitesoxs land "keep grinding it out" We are proud of ya !!!
As "The Hawk" would say....
DeleteHe gone!
Hang in there, Bruce! You'll know if it's time to hang up the skates (er, put away the helmet?) Or not. We are all rooting for you; going as far as you have gone at those breakneck speeds is very impressive. I can't imagine that I'd ever be able to do a ride like this now that I've seen the speed you guys move. Maybe in a few years I'll be rich & famous and husband, Marci, Julie, you, and me can do the trip in a longer time period so there's more time to enjoy the sights lol. I think I would go crazy with such little downtime to explore towns, parks, and especially restaurants as you have. I totally get why you are mentally exhausted. Do what you need, and know that everyone supports you!
ReplyDelete(We'll make my parents drive the support van, of course ;)
DeleteHey foxy lady, thanks for your support. As you'll see from tonight's comment I did decide that it was time to hang up the helmet. The lack of downtime was indeed one of the factors which made this a real mental grind. Of course when you get rich and famous and you get your parents to drive the support van for us, you'd better not plan to have that trip go to New York. You know your dad will NEVER agree to drive the support van there!
Delete