Fast Ride to a Corn-y Town

Today was one of those days just made for recumbents. The route was mostly flat, with small rises and dips. I started off easy after a quick breakfast of pancakes and "rocket fuel" (oatmeal with brown sugar). I caught this picture of the sunrise over a grain elevator. I also am including last night's sunset over the bridge across the Missouri River south of Chamberlain.



Here was what the terrain looked like at the beginning.

I took this one as I rode. The terrain flattened out after the initial climb out of town.

My bike and my legs both demanded to be allowed to run free today, so I obliged. The faster I went, the better I felt. After the first big hill, and some quick conversations with other riders, I pulled out all the stops and motored out at 25-28 mph, taking advantage of a light tailwind. Altogether I had my fastest ride of the tour so far. I got into Mitchell by 10 a.m., checked in, shopped for some necessities at K-Mart, helped unload the luggage, watched the end of the Tour de France stage, and then took a quick nap. I woke up at noon, and set off to find where everyone else was. They had all gone to the Corn Palace, Mitchell's claim to tourist-y fame.
The Corn Palace is a concrete building about the size of the Mosque in Richmond. Each year they cover the exterior and parts of the interior with naturally colored corn using some theme, this year the rodeo.

I went inside and ran into some of the other riders. Some of them had already eaten lunch, but Stu and Abe hadn't, so we went across the street to a Mexican restaurant, Los Sombreros. This picture explains the name.

This little girl named Destiny, was our hostess. She was the daughter of the owner, and was quite precocious.

Later, we hit DQ, and the hung around enjoying some unencumbered time for a change. Dinner for me was a real flashback. I spent some 10 years as an cook or manager at Bonanza in Harrisonburg and Richmond VA, and enjoyed some nostalgic moments here at the Big B, as we used to call it.

We have another fairly short day tomorrow, and it will lead into a rest day, so we are all looking forward to that. Unfortunately, we lose a large group of riders, whom we will all miss as they head home, done for now with their portion of the tour. Some were finishing up their coast-to-coast tour started years ago, others did the portion their schedule allowed, and hope to finish at another time. I will especially miss "Recumbent Mike", who shared with me the notoriety of riding a weird bike. I hope to cross paths again with Mike, and the others who are leaving. Our tour is full of people who previously rode together. Bon Voyage!