Big Ride Day 26

Photos from Day 26

Today was one of those great cycling days that don't come along too often. It was cool, clear, and we had a tremendous tailwind. Consequently, we were able to stop alot along the way and still make it in at a reasonable time. We started out from DeSmet at about 7:30 and made it to Brookings (40 miles) by about 9:30. One of our riders (Ron Goldsmith) is from Brookings so he had a lot of cool stuff set up for us there. Unfortunately, most of it was not really ready at the early time that we came through. I don't think they expected us so quickly. We went to the bike shop there first which was really nice and big -- one of the biggest I've seen. We then went down the street to the sporting goods store to get me a patella strap to help my knee pain. The guy there knew all about what we are doing and talked to us for a while. Then we went to the fifties theme restaurant and had lunch (at 10:30 in the morning!) We had to convince them to make us burgers since they were still serving breakfast food. It's interesting how your whole perspective of time shifts on a ride like this. I'm used to eating lunch now at about 10:00 AM and then an afternoon snack and then dinner. I would never do that at home but then, I would never get up at 5:00 AM either. After the restaurant, we went to have coffee at a little cafe. It was an interesting place -- it was primarily an art store but had a little cafe in the back. After that, we found the university and looked around and sent some e-mail out. Then we finally hit the water stop where Ron had set up free Papa John's pizza. What a treat! After about 3.5 hours in Brookings, we finally got on the road again and headed for the border. We hit Minnesota about an hour later. We were too late for the checkpoint, but still got to take a picture at the border. Then it was on to camp. Tonight, we are staying at a fairgrounds in Tyler, MN. It's interesting because we had dinner in one of the livestock pavilions, a first for me! Today, I had a great massage, iced my knees, had dinner, and a great hot shower and then napped in my tent for a little while. It all felt great! Now, I'm in the library trying to check my e-mail. Time for bed soon! It's a very cool night, unusual for this time of year. Apparently, we just missed the end of a hot spell and we've been riding in on the winds from a cold front. What great luck! Hopefully, it will hold for tomorrow!

This page modified November 25, 2000