Illini 4000

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A full day at Mitchell, SD

We left Sioux Falls and headed towards Mitchell, SD. It was a 77 mile ride. We were hosted by the Avera Queen of Peace Cancer Center when we arrived in the city to learn more about patient support services. In anticipation of the strong headwinds on the way to our next stop, we started the day slightly earlier with a 5:30am wake up. Today we battled rolling hills and the scorching sun, keeping our rest stops to rehydrate and reenergise with some snacks as short as possible in order to get to the Cancer Center on time as scheduled.At the Avera Queen of Peace Cancer Center, we were showed the radiation therapy room and the chemotherapy suite. The staff at the cancer center showed us the various protocol patients would have to go through for their treatment. The presentation was very helpful in helping us understand what cancer patients go through while undergoing treatment, and we greatly appreciate Avera Queen of Peace Cancer Center's help in making the presentation possible. After that, some of the riders went out to see Mitchell's World's Only Corn Palace. We got to see a video and tour of the Corn Palace and how it changed over the years. It apparently takes 100 acres of corn to redecorate the Corn Palace, which happens once every year! The riders then ended the night with some souvenirs and, of course, some popcorn from the attraction.