Friday, July 14, 2006
Day 26 - Mitchell, SD - July 14th 2006
Weather: Sunny, 105 (up to 110)Location: Mitchell, SD (from Chamberlain, SD)
Miles per day: 72
Average miles per hour: 14.97 (a record fast day)
Elevation climb: not worth noting. very flat.
Blizzards/Ice Cream to date: 17 (2 today)
Flat Tires to date: 1
Great day.... An early start at 6:00 am to beat the heat that is cutting across South Dakota. The temperatures are abnormally high and affecting crop production. As a cyclist on the pavement, one can add 5-10 degrees to whatever the weatherman says so riding can be very challenging! Although, today we beat the worst of the heat. We rode 72 miles through flat farm fields (mostly corn) and arrived in just about noon. The only traffic was the occassional Combine Harvester or farm truck.
Dennis (pictured here) is our trip's South Dakota local and as we say, 'Local boy makes good'. He now resides in California but went to College here in Mitchell and at 70, is a very strong rider (beats me in everyday!). He's a true inspiration of living life to the fullest and enjoying it!
The highlight of the day came as we entered Mitchell, a town that is corn crazy: as they say 'it fattens the hogs, sweetens the muffins and puts the starch in the shirt collars'. Mitchell's high school sports teams are the Kernels. Its local radio station's call letters are KORN.
The Corn Palace (large auditorium) is built of reinforced concrete (not corn) and every spring its exterior is completely covered with thousands of bushels of native South Dakota corn, grain and grasses that are arranged into large murals to become the World's Largest Bird Feeder. Locals take great pride in the Palace's "corn-septual art" and "ear-chitecture."
