Ohhhhhhh, we're halfway there...
So we've all arrived safely in Madison, SD, the third of our Madison stops, and just finished up a delicious potluck and the conventional slideshow. Our tenth state is flat and kind, and we all displayed our typical antics at the state border crossing. Tony, Patrick, Matt Young ("Sassy"), and I posed as Mount Rushmore as we crossed into South Dakota today.
Before saying anything more, however, I wanted to alert folks to the blog of Jon Thompson, one of our riders. He updated nearly everyday and if nothing is on our blog, he surely will have a tale or two to tell of our journeys at http://jonhbc.blogspot.com. Check it out.
So the story of recent day is simply countless miles upon miles on our bikes peddling the day away (translation: sore knees, saddles sores, and hearty appetites). Today capped our longest mileage of the trip, 115 miles, which followed days of 100 and 80. Luckily, a strong tail wind allowed most riders to average between 20 and 25 mph for the last 70 miles. Definitely made life easier!
Lately, poor Jeff has been our most unlucky rider. While cruising along the road between Hutchinson and Madison, MN, Jeff had an unfortunate run in with a raccoon, running over it and picking up bits of its dead flesh along the way. The flesh and maggots came off easily with a hose, and Jeff did the service of sending the roadkill flying several feet out of the way and saving Bente from experiencing a similar fate. He followed that up with 7 flat tires today on yet another 100 mile+ ride. This all comes in the wake of bronchitis! Geesh! Show him some love at the next mail drop.
In other news, our hosts continue to treat us incredibly. In Minneapolis, we stayed a great YWCA and enjoyed a barbeque dinner up the road courtesy of the Yale Club. Thanks, guys! Perhaps the highlight of the YWCA, however, were the spinning classes that took place next door. Though we had a day off, we were all tempted to hop on the stationary bikes to show our might. Instead, we simply allowed the loud music booming from Studio B to serve as the background for a dance party and sing along every time we walked the halls. In Hutchinson, a brat cookout in the town square offered some great fiddle music and time to support a local Habitat fundraiser. The good folks in Madison, MN, treated us to delicious burgers, hot showers in the homes of gracious congregation members, and plenty of room to spread ourselves out in the their beautiful facility. Finally, our hosts here in Madison, SD, Trinity Lutheran Church, provided delicious potluck (even the mayor came to help out!) and wireless internet!
Tomorrow we have a much shorter day--66 miles--into Mitchell, SD, home of the famous Corn Palace. Though other short days have given us trouble, we're hoping that the simplified directions afforded by South Dakota's gridded roads will keep us on track and at our host (another Trinity Lutheran Church) on time. We have to make 3 turns in 66 miles. Wish us luck!
Particularly now that our cell phones and internet are more sparse, we're happy to report back that we're thinking about everyone back home and around the country. Of course, it's never too late to show us with baked good or other such treats that you're thinking of us (hint hint, wink wink).
Jon
Before saying anything more, however, I wanted to alert folks to the blog of Jon Thompson, one of our riders. He updated nearly everyday and if nothing is on our blog, he surely will have a tale or two to tell of our journeys at http://jonhbc.blogspot.com. Check it out.
So the story of recent day is simply countless miles upon miles on our bikes peddling the day away (translation: sore knees, saddles sores, and hearty appetites). Today capped our longest mileage of the trip, 115 miles, which followed days of 100 and 80. Luckily, a strong tail wind allowed most riders to average between 20 and 25 mph for the last 70 miles. Definitely made life easier!
Lately, poor Jeff has been our most unlucky rider. While cruising along the road between Hutchinson and Madison, MN, Jeff had an unfortunate run in with a raccoon, running over it and picking up bits of its dead flesh along the way. The flesh and maggots came off easily with a hose, and Jeff did the service of sending the roadkill flying several feet out of the way and saving Bente from experiencing a similar fate. He followed that up with 7 flat tires today on yet another 100 mile+ ride. This all comes in the wake of bronchitis! Geesh! Show him some love at the next mail drop.
In other news, our hosts continue to treat us incredibly. In Minneapolis, we stayed a great YWCA and enjoyed a barbeque dinner up the road courtesy of the Yale Club. Thanks, guys! Perhaps the highlight of the YWCA, however, were the spinning classes that took place next door. Though we had a day off, we were all tempted to hop on the stationary bikes to show our might. Instead, we simply allowed the loud music booming from Studio B to serve as the background for a dance party and sing along every time we walked the halls. In Hutchinson, a brat cookout in the town square offered some great fiddle music and time to support a local Habitat fundraiser. The good folks in Madison, MN, treated us to delicious burgers, hot showers in the homes of gracious congregation members, and plenty of room to spread ourselves out in the their beautiful facility. Finally, our hosts here in Madison, SD, Trinity Lutheran Church, provided delicious potluck (even the mayor came to help out!) and wireless internet!
Tomorrow we have a much shorter day--66 miles--into Mitchell, SD, home of the famous Corn Palace. Though other short days have given us trouble, we're hoping that the simplified directions afforded by South Dakota's gridded roads will keep us on track and at our host (another Trinity Lutheran Church) on time. We have to make 3 turns in 66 miles. Wish us luck!
Particularly now that our cell phones and internet are more sparse, we're happy to report back that we're thinking about everyone back home and around the country. Of course, it's never too late to show us with baked good or other such treats that you're thinking of us (hint hint, wink wink).
Jon
posted by Jon @ 6:40 PM
1 Comments:
At 12:08 PM,
ClancyConrad said…
I keep hearing about all your flat tires on the HBC. I have ridden over a thousand miles on my bike so far this summer with zero flats. The one thing that leads to flat tires is a lack of air pressure in your tubes. On a road bike you should be between 90 and 120 psi. 90 will be a smoother ride, but you will wear out your tire surface quicker. at 120, you will feel every piece of the road, but your friction drops. The other problem you might be running into is tire surface wear. You guys are about 2000 miles into your trip. Tires only last between 1000 and 1200 miles. It may be time to trade out tires. I'll see you all for a bit of riding on the 8th and 9th in the Tetons. Hope you all the best -Ben
Post a Comment
<< Home