July 17, 2008 De Smet, SD to Tyler, MN 78 miles (80)

I have to backtrack to last night…a police officer stopped by to tell us that a major storm was bearing down on us -70 mph winds, heavy rains, and large hail was expected. With the ominous rumble of thunder and lightning approaching, his warning seemed well founded. The nighttime storm hit but was not as serious as what some of the riders had to deal with in the morning…

As I awoke thunder was rumbling, with occasional flashes of lightning, in the westward sky. Another storm was quickly bearing down upon us. Frenzied activity was obvious throughout the camp; no one wanted to be in the middle of breaking camp when the storm struck.

Breakfast was being served at the Catholic Church one block from camp. Several riders and I were enjoying our morning meal when the skies opened up. A rain of biblical proportion drenched everyone who was still packing – about half of the riders. We waited until the bulk of the storm had passed to finish loading the truck and begin the day’s ride.

Rain accompanied us for the first two hours of the ride. The slow soaking of the on-again off-again drizzle was not too bad. The worst part of the wet conditions was the painful “power washing” we got as trucks passed at 60 mph, spraying us with a mixture of water and gravel picked up from the road. Maybe it wasn’t so much a “power washing” as it was a “sand blasting”! Eventually the rain stopped, the roads dried, and the skies cleared making way for another fine ride.

Just outside of Brookings, Kathleen got a flat, which I helped her repair. This caused me to loose touch with some of the riders I had been with so for the next 15 miles it was just the road and me. Eventually I caught Barb and we finished the ride together. Along the way we marveled at an expansive wind farm that bordered the road for over 11 miles. With turbine blades revolving, and several hundred towers visible, it seemed like something out of another world. We also crossed onto state number six: Minnesota.

Our group camped outside Tyler high school, home of the Knights, which was close enough to town that we could walk to dinner.

One major change today – I feel like I’m home! The whole make-up of the land is familiar. Trees, corn, soybeans, farms, towns every 6 to 10 miles apart, the flat to slightly rolling terrain, the humidity, even the condition of the roads has a comfortable, back home, feel to it.