Glorious Day

So, Andy rolled into camp and exclaims,"Today must be the most glorious day this town has ever seen!" He is so right! Today was awesome, and the weather was as perfect as it comes. We had a nice tailwind for most of the ride, and it didn't get too hot.

The ride today was 79 miles from De Smet, SD to Tyler, MN. Yes, another state! We're chugging along quite nicely.

I slept much better last night, and mosquito land thankfully stayed outside my tent. Breakfast was catered by the Chamber of Commerce as was dinner last night, and then we headed out to Minnesota! I rode the first 40 miles or so on my own, and I missed a turn. Whoops. Luckily I was not the only one to miss it, so Chad, Toby, and Jeremy turned me around to head in the right direction. It was then that I really began to appreciate the tailwind. Biking back to get on the route was much more work than getting off route.

Lunch was just after mile 40 in Brookings, SD...at 9 am. Haha. A group of us left to go to an ice cream place that made their own ice cream. It turns out that it was at SDSU's microbiology dairy. Fancy, fancy. They also make their own cheese, so I got George some Jackrabbit cheese that looked psychedelic and maybe a little scary. But it was fun and if he eat bugs, he can eat colorful cheese.

The local bike shop opened at 10, so we bike a few blocks over to get there. They didn't have anything that I was looking for- chamois cream and cleat covers. However, tomorrow we are headed to New Ulm for a rest day. I'll look there. :). Deidre got a card from some guy with a running shop in an alley. Apparently they had Nike stuff below retail. I didn't realize it was in an alley, and I love getting new running clothes so I joined her. Sam and Tim joined as well. After circling the block several times, we finally found it. Not only was it hard to find but it was also downstairs in a basement! It was super sketch, but it turned out to be awesome! The guys there were so nice, and they really love running. They have every issue of Runner's World and a huge huge HUGE collection of coaching and running information. It only costs $5 to join their running club for a year and have unlimited access to all their information! I even got some awesome running shorts that are probably from the 80s. New with tags and neon pink...and I got a matching pair for Isang! So fun!

At mile 61, we entered Minnesota! I biked from Brookings to the MN border with Jeremy. He did the ride in 1998, and there were over 700 riders! I can't even imagine that! I like our little group of 25.

I rode the final stretch with Sue, George, and Izzy. We passed some huge wind turbines, and I really wished that I had my camera...for the millionth time of the day. We passed some beautiful lakes and farms, but struggle, I couldn't take any pictures. I actually had my camera with me, but I forgot to put my battery back in after charging it at the little diner yesterday. Struggle.

Today was just awesome! I even went on a nice little run, and I went in a local store to look for a pin. Unfortunately the nice old lady didn't have any, but I bought a skein of yarn and a crochet hook. I just made a beanie, and it's semi normal sized! Yes! What a great day!

Lots of love from MN!
Suzanne