Big Ride - Day 29 - Owatanna, MN to Winona, MN

It was a rough day. I woke up to my first flat. I heard someone let the air out of my back tire, but it turned out to be a stem flat during the night.

The morning finally wasn't foggy, but it felt like we were trying to out run rain clouds for the first few hours. I kept trying to convince myself we were biking into a sunset to keep from worry about possible on coming rain.

Mid day had a great stop put on by some of the riders from last year's Big Ride: Anne Klomps and her family, Liz, Ben, and one other who's name I didn't get... if you read this, leave a comment and I'll fix this :). Anyway, the snacks were great. Cookies, fruit, donuts, more cookies. In my normal life eating 10 cookies would be nothing. Apparently my cookie metabolism has suffered on this ride as this didn't sit well for the next 20-30 miles of the ride. Oh well, still tasted great at the time.

Shortly after leaving the snack stop we came upon some flashing lights and a bunch of riders standing around. I feared the worst: car accident. As we rolled up, Catie was on the ground, but sitting up and coherent. Greg told us that she hit the lip of the road wrong and fell, but was ok. Luckily Mark was near by so he could take care of her, taking her, along with Letty and Rachel (The God Squad always travels together) to the hospital to get checked out. Being "The Hammer" Catie turned out to be ok and at one SAG stop seemed more upset that she might miss a day of riding than anything else. I must say, she handled the situation like a champ. We all gave her a round of applause at dinner as we were glad to see her smiling and in high spirits.

Not much more happening today. We're in the dorms at the University of Winona which means no tents for the night (always a highlight of the trip) and sitting around shooting pool, watching tv, and blogging.

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

91.85 miles

Time:

5:32'24

Avg Speed:

16.58 mph

Max Speed:

38.50 mph

Photos

Downtown Rochester, MN

"The tube is connected to the tire. The tire is connected to the wheel. The wheel is connected to the..." - Ruben
"What's a tire?" - Chad
"A what?" - G-reg

2000 mile mark! Thanks to Liz for marking the spot!

Random sign at an auto body place in Lewiston, MN

Climbing in MN is pretty.

Big Ride - Day 28 - New Ulm, MN to Owatanna, MN

The day started with more morning fog. This time it was really like riding through a rain cloud. There was so much moisture that I had water droplets on my arm hair and drops dripping off my helmet.

Passed through Mankato which was strip mall heaven. Jim and I agreed it was one soccer mom van short of being like a real suburb back home in IL.

I missed out seeing Chipotle in one of the strip malls :(

All together the ride was fast and very simple. I rode with Jim, Ruben, Doug, Tony, and Brendan most of the day. We got in so early that I hit up the bar across from camp with Doug, Jim, and Tony for about 3 hours. We came back and still had an hour to wait for dinner, which was being served around 5:30pm.

At the bar we killed time telling life stories, shooting pool (and getting hustled by a local guy named Doug), and having the waitress explain the highlights of Owatanna.

I spent the rest of the night making phone calls and catching up with friends. Since I'm in Chicago this weekend I wanted to try to make sure everyone's around to go out.

Prank: Ok, this one needs a little story, so here goes. G-reg is engaged. He sleeps at night with a stuffed animal (dog) that his fiance gave him, or something like that. "Someone" took said dog and hung it from a tree while he was at the bar. Sick? Maybe. Funny? Not yet. The sign that was attached said "Sorry, I just couldn't cuddle any more." Now that's comedy.

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

73.68 miles

Time:

4:22'52

Avg Speed:

16.82 mph

Max Speed:

39.1 mph

Photos

Safe Cycling: Me taking a picture of Jim taking a picture of Ruben sending a text message.

Old school Dairy Queen...mmmm... Dairy Queen.

The funny part? It only takes like 15 minutes to bike through this town.

"Come here short stack." - Britney, the waitress
"What?... ok" - Jim

My view while on the phone, laying on a bench with the phone charging from the pole

Prank: "I just couldn't cuddle any more."

Big Ride - Day 27 - New Ulm, MN (Rest Day)

Slept in. Did laundry. Mooched free wireless to update the blog. Posted up a ton of pictures and quite a few missing days' stories. Updated stats.

Speaking of stats, here's some interesting numbers from the ride so far:

Total ride time:

118:01'21

# of rides:

22 rides

Total miles:

1951.56 miles

Average speed:

15.88 mph

100+ mile rides:

7

Photos

Are they that nice here that they advertise their police stake out areas?

Big Ride - Day 26 - Taylor, MN to New Ulm, MN

Fast ride today. Anxious to get to our rest day. Morning was extremely foggy and looked like I was riding through the movie Sleepy Hollow. Great shots of some lake. Weather cleared by the 2nd SAG stop so I lost the arm warmers and pushed on. Ruben and Chuck were a head of me and I kept on their tail all the way into camp. Stats were probably around 19-20mph for an average speed. My cycle computer was off in the morning saying I was doing 24mph, then 14mph, then jumping back over 20 while I kept the same speed. I think either the battery is going, or the computer doesn't like wet temperatures.

Hopefully it's the battery.

Got into MLC and got lunch at the Olde World Deli. The wild rice hamburger soup was awesome. Rode back to the dorms to hang out, catch a nap, and txt some friends before dinner. After dinner, did some work on downloading photos before heading out to see The Dark Knight.

The showing was supposed to be at 9 (per Simon's info) but turned out to be at 10:10.

We killed time by climbing street signs and hitting up a bar.

We then killed more time by going to the theater and seeing how many refills we could go through on the large popcorn and sodas before the movie began.

We gave up around the 3rd bag.

The movie was long, but awesome.

Walked back to the dorms and now it's bed time.

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

88.90 miles

Time:

5:04'39

Avg Speed:

17.51 mph

Max Speed:

35.30 mph

Photos

Eerie fog over a lake

For the bike geeks out there: street sign near the MLC dorm.

Chair races down the hall: Austin vs. Noah, Part 1

Chair races down the hall: Austin vs. Noah, Part 2

Prank: How much do you put in the vending machine to get Steph's bike?

At the movies, chowing down on popcorn on line

Austin holding the popcorn for the reach arounds

Sign at the local bank

Big Ride - Day 25 - De Smet, SD to Taylor, MN

We were warned of storms and I woke up thinking it was still night time. The storm over night passed but a new one was rolling in.

I packed up my stuff quick in hopes of getting to breakfast before the rains came. I made it to brushing my teeth before having to hide out in the bathroom with Ed, Austin, and Nick as the down pour came.

Finally made it to breakfast about a half hour late as the rains were letting up. By the time we were all done eating, it became a slow drizzle.

This wasn't the last of it though; you could see another storm rolling in. I picked up the pace and took advantage of a slight tailwind as I hit the first SAG stop.

Gatorade in the bottles, I headed out as a drizzle began again. I was hoping to make it to the 2nd stop before the rain so I could wait it out in a town with a restaurant.

Side note: We are riding through towns that don't have food other than convenience stores and bars... and bars aren't open for eating at 7am.

I made it to about 5 miles out from the second SAG stop as the rains caught me. I hid out at the stop with Catie and Brendan, discussing dreams, and what it takes to be a "ride leader" on something like this ride.

When the rain let up I hit the road with Catie riding all the way into sunny skies as we hit a new state: Minnesota!

We were bored and decided to enjoy the good weather and become the ad hoc welcoming committee to the Minnesota sign.

Finally hit the road again and rode with Patty C. for a little bit. I'm trying to get some ride time in with everyone so it was good to get some 1 on 1 with her. She's originally from South Jersey, so needless to say she's cool in my book.

I rode ahead a little later as I got anxious to get off the bike and got a 2nd wind. Arrived at camp to unload the tent and shower.

Started working on the blog when I was interrupted by the info that people were going to the bar in town. Hit it up with Catie, Rachel, and Letty and later by Doug, Ruben, Ed, Austin, and others.

Side note: It was Ed's bday so we started celebrating right then and there.

Around 6 we walked across the street to hit up the pizza buffet at Pizza Ranch. True to form, I ate about 12 slices of pizza, 3 sundaes, some fried chicken, and fries. The goal was to close out the buffet, but by 8pm I couldn't look at the pizza without feeling ill.

On the way out we noticed the SAG SUV's lights on so we headed back into the bar to let Dan know. This turned into another party and some good pool games. Some hours later we finally headed back to camp where I updated my stats online and did little to no blogging.

Sun down hit and it was time to sleep.

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

79.84 miles

Time:

4:47'14

Avg Speed:

16.68 mph

Max Speed:

37.6 mph

Photos

Minnesota Sign

Minneta wind farm

Made it to Tyler.

Big Ride - Day 24 - Miller, SD to De Smet, SD

Good sleep on the high school stage.

small breakfast

chasing down towns to find a cafe/restaurant for food

Construction zones and muddy roads

Found it in town #2, bacon cheeseburger and waffle fries + bonus: the Tour was on!

Continued on riding with Rachel and Doug. Met up with Ed, Austin, and Noah at lunch stop and half way point.

Booze Fairy story: Leaving 350 bucks in the cab of a truck and the Booze Fairy will leave you a 6 pack and a hangover in the morning.

Half way across the country!

Strong headwinds coming into camp. Saw Chad's bro and dad heading out to see him.

Took a nap upon arrival. Going to be an early night I think.

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

79.23 miles

Time:

5:00'12

Avg Speed:

15.84 mph

Max Speed:

26.8 mph

Photos

Where the west begins

Ed fighting a railroad fire!

Hmm... what kind of massage is this? (Rachel & Ruben)

Noah demonstrating his crash and proper "penguin" technique

Big Ride - Day 23 - Pierre, SD to Miller, SD

Highlights:

• Chad's 21st birthday!
• Light day (in mileage)
• Hanging out in hotel rooms to get a late start
• Chilling at gas station store with Simon, eating snacks and talking
• Drug reference town names: Blunt, SD; Highmore, SD; etc.
• Holabird... holla bird!
• Pace lines with Chad, Greg, and Simon
• Amazing double cheeseburgers at some restaurant/bowling alley
• Pretend drinking as we roll into camp
• Dinner, darts, and the Tour
• Ted and Bob at the bar, and learning how to beat the breathalyzer
• More celebrating of Chad's 21st
• Flash dance the "Swedish masseuse"
• Thin mint blizzard at DQ (best treat ever!)

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

76.56 miles

Time:

5:38'57

Avg Speed:

13.55 mph

Max Speed:

33.1 mph

Photos

Chad's birthday spankings

All classy joints have a "tooth pick shaker" next to their salt, peper, ketchup, and other condiments.

Chad's birthday "cake" at SAG stop #1 thanks to Doug's family

Blunt Cash Store advertising Blunt Fest.

Pace line with cool shadows.

Big Ride - Day 22 - Kadoka, SD to Pierre, SD

Highlights:

• Leaving late and seeing how many people I can pass going into SAG stop #1
• Playing "tag" with Kathleen
• Playing the story game with Rachel and Kathleen: A man is found in the middle of nowhere, naked and with a straw in his hand. What happened?
• Blood sucking deer flies
• Little brown church on the prairie
• I <3 cookies.
• Pizza Ranch pizza and ice cream buffet
• "Watch out for the guy in the Panama hat. That's Dion. He's an opportunist." - local law enforcement
• Heated debates about farting in public on such a trip as this one.

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

101.39 miles

Time:

6:28'47

Avg Speed:

15.65 mph

Max Speed:

35.80 mph

Photos

Brendan with a breakfast biscuit tower.

Little brown church on the prairie

Rachel being the good, religious girl that she is.

Me being confused

This is a legit gas station... and no the store did not take credit card.

Thank god for the Varmint Hunters. The deer fly that was eating me stopped when we saw this sign.

Missouri River next to camp in Pierre, SD

Big Ride - Day 21 - Rapid City, SD to Kadoka, SD

Slower morning enjoying the tailwind was then changed by joining a huge pace line. In total we ended up having 18 or so people. Props go out to Simon for leading a big 3 mile pull.

Rolled into the town of Interior, just before the Badlands. Catie had to pee and asked some kids mowing a lawn if she could use their bathroom. Their mom screamed at them to not let strangers in. It was pretty funny to watch.

Rolled through the Badlands. Ate lunch at the Diner, which was nice enough to reserve 3 tables for us as we biked through the area. Left the badlands and stopped for random pictures of a huge Prairie dog statue and some ice cream.

Finished up with random water gun fights at camp.

Dinner was at "the restaurant" in town... we call it this because it is the only restaurant in town. Great fried chicken, roast beef, and baked potatoes. Had a sundae for desert and then hit up the playground near camp. It's becoming a tradition to go on swings and slides whenever possible.

Now it's time for an early bed time as I only got 4 hours of sleep last night in Rapid City (stayed up too late trying to blog and do laundry).

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

104.73 miles

Time:

5:59'10

Avg Speed:

17.50 mph

Max Speed:

33.7 mph

Photos

Big pace line, with Jim pulling off to take a picture as well.

Welcoming sign to Interior, SD

Jail in Interior, SD

Ruben rolling into the Badlands

Jim having an intimate moment with a flower

Ed enjoying a nice granola bar lunch.

Dewayne climbing the Badlands

View from the top

Letty pondering life's tough questions

Austin SAGing it with the GF

The Badlands

Big Ride - Day 20 - Rapid City, SD (Rest Day)

To be filled in later.

Big Ride - Day 19 - Newcastle, WY to Rapid City, SD

By far my FAVORITE day of the ride. To begin this post I have to share a quick background story:

When I was 15 years old my family took a road trip to Mt. Rushmore and eventually to North Dakota to visit some family. While in the Custer, SD area we drove all through the Black Hills National Park site seeing before hitting up Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore. While on the Needles Highway I remember stating "Some day I want to ride my bike through this area".

It took about 12 years, but I found myself back in the area at the 40 mile marker for today's ride. After talking to some other riders, no one wanted to join me in doing an extra 60-70 miles, so I headed up 385 on my own to start biking some of the prettiest country side I've ever seen. I hit up Crazy horse first, which remarkably still has a TON of work to go. I really thought it was going to be further along, but it was great to see it starting to shape up over the past decade when I last was there.

It would be too simple to just bike straight to Mt. Rushmore, so I headed down 87 South to hit up the Needles, some of the coolest rock formations in the area.

Afterwards I cut over on CR-753 to ride up Peter Norbick Scenic Byway. The Byway rocks because it was 3 tunnels in the mountain that frame Mt. Rushmore. Unfortunately because of the lighting I couldn't get a good picture that captures the look. The ride was mostly up hill but so worth it. By far one of the most beautiful roads I have ever ridden on.

I hit the end of the Byway and turned on 244 to finally head to Mt. Rushmore. The climb was pretty tough but I was determined, knowing what the prize would be at the end of the climb. The 10% grade seemed even difficult for the cars, and I rode next to a bus that seemed to be chugging along with as much struggle as I was. When I looked up I saw a bus full of people clapping and cheering. At the top I was approached by a nice elderly lady who told me the bus was chanting "you can do it" as they rode past me, and she was proud to see I made it all the way.

At the top I promptly rode up to the far edge of the monument and asked the closest person to take a picture. The guy was nice enough to do so, and then asked if I was at Crazy Horse a few hours ago. It turns out the couple passed me while I was climbing a hill into that park. This theme continued as I got another lunch and was approached by numerous visitors who had seen me over the area. "Were you the guy flying up that hill by the Needles an hour ago?", "Hey, we saw you climbing up the switch backs about a half hour ago, where are you headed?", and so on. One nice couple from Iowa were real nice and I talked to them and their two kids for a good half hour about the trip, why I went off route, and how I got into cycling. Their kids seemed blown away by the idea of biking across the country and I could only think back to when I was their ages and met some folks biking across the state of New Jersey. It was one of the moments that inspired me to set the goal to bike across the country, so who knows, maybe I got the chance to spread that inspiration.

Leaving Mt. Rushmore I got to feel some of the 30mph winds as I fought to stay straight going down all the hills I climbed. I hopped on 16 and headed into Rapid City. I thought dinner was at 6:30 so I was shooting to make it in time. I got in around 6:45 after fighting several head and side winds and some even more climbs. Dan informed me dinner was actually an hour earlier and I missed it. No big deal though, I just ordered a pizza and coke and proceeded to chow down as I shared my stories with fellow riders.

Amped up from the ride, I was anxious to continue our going out tradition. Around 10 James, Sam, Rachel, Catie, Letty, and I hit up some of the local bars in downtown Rapid City. Ed, Austin, and Austin's girlfriend joined us for a little while at the first bar. After hopping around to 3 or 4 bars we headed home at 2:30am to find Nick and Noah up and galavanting around the lounge. Some white board fun and peanut M&Ms later and it was time for bed.

Best day on the ride so far!

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

108.14 miles

Time:

7:38'51

Avg Speed:

14.14 mph

Max Speed:

40.7 mph

Photos

At Crazy Horse

Sylvan Lake

The Needles

Peter Norbick Scenic Byway

Mount Rushmore

Big Ride - Day 17 - Sheridan, WY to Gillette, WY

Trying to catch up on the blog. To be fill in later..

Final Ride Stats

Mileage:

113.75 miles

Time:

7:16'48

Avg Speed:

15.63 mph

Max Speed:

37.40 mph