And the South Dakota winds come into play. Really not much other than that too say... except we did start off the day with an awesome dance party (see left), courtesy of Eamon's mosher. Upon arrival into Mitchell, we did get to visit a local cancer center. I've never actually toured a cancer and it wasn't what I expected to be honest. I think I found the Chemotherapy room to be the most difficult to be in. Comfy loungers lined up, each with a little television. Not what I expected... the tour was extremely educational and based on the never-ending questions the team had, it's safe to say I'm not the only one who was grateful for the opportunity.
Sioux Falls, SD 06/22
This morning started out quite humorous. Nate has never ridden with Shao and I so he promised he would meet up with us at lunch and ride with us the 2nd half of the day. While he rode off, I guilted him into turning around since he made Shao cry... but she didn't actually cry... Anyways, we had a lovely day riding together. After 80 miles, we came upon one of the most amazing pieces of scenery to date. The tri-state marker of SD, IO, and MN. So amazing. So amazing. 98 miles in, we crossed paths with more of our riders, lounging at a gas station eating ice cream. We joined, obviously... I had some ice cream, and Nate had a 5 course meal of gas station food.My bike has been giving me some crazy issues the past 2 days... basically it just shifts on its own. Examples? Sure. Climbing uphill? I'm going to shift 6 gears so you have no resistance. On a flat? I'm going to shift 4 gears justtt because. Want to shift up 1? How about 3 instead. Want to shift down 1? No. Thanks bike. So across from the ice cream gas station was a bike shop... Pi, Steve, Mary and I hit it up. Turns out my derailleur hanger was cracked... cheap piece, if you have an extra... or a few days to get one in... I have neither. So the wonderful bike shop man at Hanleys (? I think...) found a hanger for a different bike and welded away to make it fit. I completely lucked out to find such an awesome bike shop with generous people willing to drop what they were doing and create a bike part right then and there for me (: (:Heading back to the church, we made it a century day and upon arrival were given some interesting news... CiCi's Pizza was letting us all eat at their buffet FO FREEE. While I was pretty nervous due to a previous CiCi's experience in Florida, I hopped in the van and took part in a fantastic dinner. The CiCi's in Sioux Falls is WONDERFUL. Delicious, clean, friendly, and quite generous.Overall my first day in South Dakota was lovely, and it was the South Dakotians that made it that way.
Pictures!! Nate and Shao's 1st date and my 1st Century (This blog just got way cooler)
Blog Catch Up. #1 Albert Lea,MN- Mitchell, SD 6/20-23/2010
This week has been one of very few chances of computer access and exhausting days. Sorry I haven't been able to update as frequently as I have! Here goes.Albert Lea, MN was very accomodating for the team. Meals were provided- something the team hadn't seen for a while. It is nice to be a ride leader when meals are provided because half of the chores are already done and Jordan and I do not have to think about breakfast. The food offered at the stayover was accented by bacon. Bacon in the salad, the eggs, chicken, everywhere! The vegetarians on the team did not leave dissapoijnted for there were mountains of fruit and non bacon products too. The ride into Albert Lea was challenging. A strong headwind and rain made the ride pretty miserable; until the last ten miles where the sun was shining and the heat warmed us up. Any grumpy thoughts were erased when touched by the sun's warmth. I rode with a fast group today and we managed to tackle the day with a good speed in the headwind. The stayover was close to a pool which had a hot tub. Sometimes, we are spoiled.The next day to Jackson, MN was another toughy with headwinds. The day was a little slower than previous because most of the team mixed up their riding groups. My group included Eamon, Pi, Gabrielle, Ana, Diana, Kevin and Michell. It was a very fun day despite the headwinds. About halfway through the day Kevin, Eamon and I got a closer look at a windmill. Amazing. I was excited for Mitchell, SD because the team finally had a hospital visit at a cancer center. The group woke up early to arrive on time for the appointment and to dodge some potential heat for the day. South Dakota is wonderful with rolling hills and lack of trees. Instead of trees, South Dakota has cows and a handful of buffalo. On our way to Mitchell, Shao had not one but TWO flats. The first was thankfully in a beautiful river valley near a drowning cow. This cow was mooing for his life! Funny, the next day I heard on the radio that Hwy 16 (the river valley that we were in) was completely flooded. At least we got through in time! I'm sure the cow made it out safely. Two miles later.... you guessed it. ANOTHER flat from Shao. I couldn't stop laughing. Then I fell asleep as she continued to fix her flat with assistance from Pi. For ONE HOUR. After that hour, the wheel was almost pumped up. A few more pumps... and BOOM. The tube broke. Seeing as we were only a few miles from lunch, we called the van to pick Shao up to fix her tire at lunch. While the van was making it's way back, I continued my beauty sleep on the highway. I slept so soundly that the tar from the road caked on my jersey.The hospital visit in Mitchell, SD was very interesting. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and taught us alot about radiation in particular. It was good for the team to finally get some time in a cancer facility.
Want some Mayo Clinic on that? Rochchester, MN 6/19/2010
Rest day! I did some laundry and starved myself for most of the day. Until... I had a cinnamon roll that was the size of my face and unlimited coffee. I headed back to the stayover to get ready for our visit of the Mayo Clinic.Our visit to the Mayo Clinic cancer library was phenomenal. Here I learned how the Mayo clinic was formed and on what principles the Mayo clinic strives for. I was able to pick up an insane amount of paper work on cancer stats and treatments (of which take up too much room in my bag). One thing that is remarkable about the clinic is that all the doctors in the clinic are paid on salary, not on a patient by patient basis. This system helps doctors focus more on their patients and their specific diagnosis rather than accumulating money. In an earlier post, I disscussed the negative effects of doctors on salary. At the Mayo clinic, these reservations are lifted because the salary is accomodating and the Mayo clinic is leading in research and medicine. I want to work here one day without a doubt. The rest of the day was spent catching up on blogs and planning a visit to a hospital in Mitchell, SD. Not too exciting but I am excited to finally have some visits to hospitals.
I love rest days
Riding through the Badlands two days ago was amazing. The morning started off good, even with scattered thunderstorms. We had a long leisurely lunch before we entered the Badlands together at around mile 60. It was a lot of fun climbing the rock formations (not on our bikes of course), and my arms were aching a little after all that climbing. There were a few big hills in the Badlands, and each hill just got bigger and longer. Towards the end, after a huge uphill climb with ferocious headwinds, we finally came to the top. We got off our bikes and sat the the edge of the cliff, silently appreciating the beautiful scenery below us, and the bison we spotted far away. Even though I enjoyed the Badlands, I was exhausted from battling the relentless headwinds at the end of our 97 miles day. After seeing so many giant billboards advertising for Wall Drug, we finally went there to see what all the hype was about. I think the free water, food and the 5 cents coffee was what made everyone excited. Lauren and Greg made us a delicious dinner of cheese pasta. For someone who doesn't like pasta, I must say that pasta was really good. What a great way to end our long and hard day.Yesterday was an easy ride of 58 miles. The roads were really deceiving though. They look flat, but as you gradually approach them the hills start to get bigger and bigger, and then you begin to wonder when will you ever see the bottom of that big hill in front of you. Rapid City is such a pretty place, surrounded by mountains. A trip to the bike stop, grocery store, another impressive dinner of chocolate chip pancakes by Lauren and Greg, and a team meeting was what concluded my day.I want to really rest on my rest day, so I don't have much planned for today. Other than trying to sleep in, I spent 2 hours cleaning up and working on my bike. Yup that's what rest days are for.
Murdo to Wall (The Badlands!)
Yesterday morning, we all woke up an hour early in order to prepare for an extra-long day of riding through the Badlands. As we set out on a nearly 100 mile ride, the early morning sun quickly gave way to ominous, rain laden clouds on the horizon and over the hills to the west. Luckily, a strong wind pushed the storm aside before it hit any of the groups too hard.A combination of cool weather, lightly rolling hills, and almost no traffic made the first 60 miles or so go by like a breeze. About three miles out from the entrance to the Badlands National Park, we met at a roadside gift shop / gas station where we finally acquired our new team mascot. Brad, a hilariously happy prairie dog, is the newest member of the Illini 4000! Welcome to the team Brad!From there, we rode to the park entrance and took a team picture before paying $7 to enter. Within a half mile, the scenery was stunning. Land formations unlike most of us had ever seen before spanned the horizon just as the sun decided to emerge from behind the morning cloud cover. After riding only a few miles into the national park on freshly paved roads, the adventurous side of the team took over, and we ditched the bikes to climb on the dusty monoliths all around us.As the sun rose higher and the temperature climbed, we rode through the gorgeous park, stopping at various viewpoints as well as the visitor center in order to take pictures. None of us will ever forget the near-perfect ride through the Badlands.About thirty miles later on the way out of the park, the skies once again darkened, as if on cue. As we neared 100 miles pushing ourselves into Wall, South Dakota, the winds picked up and really tested our strength at the end of the day.Rolling into Wall felt fantastic. We unloaded the van, and many of us walked the few blocks over the (in)famous Wall Drug for coffee, FREE ICE WATER, donuts, and snacks. Lauren and the cooks for the night made a delicious pasta with cheese sauce, and much of the team watched a movie before satisfyingly slipping into a deep sleep for the night.
Helloo Murdo!
Today, we rode about 72 miles to Murdo, SD. There were awesome clouds this morning, some that made us think it was going to rain. But sure enough, the sun popped out and was out for the rest of the day, which was very hot. Lunch break involved the usual peanut butter jelly and some music and dancing along side the road.Some of the team members ran into a man who is biking across the country solo; Seattle to D.C.. His daughter is driving along as his support vehicle. It was very cool to spend a good while sharing stories of what we have seen and will see.The rest of the night went well. We were able to shower :) and made lentils and rice on the camp stove (there was no stove for us to use at the stayover). After dinner, we had a team meeting about safety precautions with snakes and RVs that we might start seeing in the near future.Fortunately, there are 2 ice cream shops across from the stayover. So most of us took the opportunity to enjoy some tasty goodies. Other than that, a few people shot hoops in the school gym and the night calmed down. We are all super excited for the Badlands tomorrow!
Pictures In No Particular Order: WI-SD
South Dakota
Our experience in Minnesota was bittersweet. The weather was rather disappointing in the mornings, it often rained all morning until lunchtime. However, after lunch it almost always cleared up and we got beautiful weather riding into town.Our ride into South Dakota was challenging since it was 97 miles in 90 degree heat. We took a pretty comfortable pace throughout, and we got into Sioux Falls around 5:00pm. Greg and I decided to ride another 3 miles to complete a century, and it was a great near-sprint through town to finish the day. After snacks and a meal from the church, Eamon and Jaime managed to get us all free dinners at Cici's. The food was delicious and in huge amounts, and the owner Neil was awesome.In Mitchell, SD we had a chance to visit a cancer clinic. We had the opportunity to see some of the equipment they use to administer radiation therapy, and it was really impressive. It's amazing how much technology goes into administering the treatment. We slept at Mitchell Christian School, in the huge gym. Mary and I were on wake-up and ended up doing it in the form of a morning announcement over the PA system.Today, we rode from Mitchell, SD to Chamberlain, SD. It was a pretty short day with a crosswind, and I had a great time riding with Jordan and Pi, aka the Riders of Brohan. We had great conversation about good fantasy novels, oldschool RPGs, and the prospect of playing D&D. After lunch in Kimball, SD, we stopped multiple times to look at a herd of buffalo running and some huge longhorn bulls. It was pretty majestic to see such huge animals running around in the fields as we were biking. We were greeted with a gorgeous downhill into town, and a view of the hills that we'll soon be going over.
70 miles to Chamberlain, SD
Pi was caught with the mosher today and made an attempt to play some form of ball game, which turned into hot potato, tips and then soccer.Today’s ride was very relaxed. The weather was warm with beautiful blue skies along the long, fairly flat planes of South Dakota. Rolling into Chamberlain the scenery suddenly changed to beautiful green hills and a wonderful downhill leading right into downtown Chamberlain. Luckily for the team there was a McDonalds right round the corner from the stayover, something almost everyone greatly enjoyed.Early in the evening, one of the local newspapers came to the stayover to interview some of the members of the team. It ended with a lovely team picture beside the van and a donation of peanut butter and jelly from the generous reporter.Today (being the fourth Thursday in June), we have taken it upon ourselves to celebrate an I4k holiday; Thanksgiving in June. We gathered at the table as a big family with yummy french toast, pizza (that was generously donated by the local Pizza Hut), apples, oranges, and a special dessert we called “Little Gobblers.” A Little Gobbler is an oreo cookie with frosting, candy corn, and a Hershey kiss, all shaped to look like a turkey. They were mmm-mmm good. Before eating the Little Gobblers, each of us stated what we were grateful for. To sum up the majority of the statements, we were grateful for having each other as new friends, for all still being safe and healthy, and for having the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people across the country on this trip.Later in the evening, a 10 year old girl, battling leukemia, and her mother came to the church for a portrait. The two told their story of how cancer has changed their lives for them individually and as a family. The little girl has 3 months left of treatment and is remaining very strong and positive. It was a very touching interview and we showed our gratefulness for them sharing their story by giving them a Little Gobbler. The little girl was grateful for her family. Come to find out, the mother and her husband used to live in one of the hometowns in Illinois where a few of our riders are from. What a small world!In conclusion, today has been a very wonderful day and we are all so grateful for that. :)
We are riding on!
So here's my second post. If you have read my first post, you might not have expected me to blog again. I had not wanted an incomplete recollection of the trip. But taking into the fact that I have not been diligently journaling nor posting consistently, I bet I'll not be able to recall all the beautiful details!We had such a good thanksgiving dinner today, thanks to Eamon, Diana and Mary for preparing the awesome food. But I think what made the dinner so special was the team eating together and acknowledging the tremendous effort each and every one has put forth in making the experience worthy and the team, a success. No words could aptly describe how I feel on the trip, or how my feelings have changed along the way. "Great experience" or "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" is far from being sufficient. Just meeting people and hearing their stories are overwhelming and empowering. Learning how people's lives were turned upside down by cancer and yet how they battled it so bravely has been indeed encouraging. A girl whom we did a portrait on today had Leukemia and she had to go through awful shots on her thighs for 56 days, every single day. She was only 8 then. It's has been 2 years now. When we talked with her today, she was so cheerful and did not seem to be affected at all! I marvel at her inner strength and innocence.Sometimes I wonder if cancer brings out the best in people. I'm not saying that the girl is strong only because she's got cancer. But going through something like this definitely makes people stronger. "What does not break you is going to make you!." Like what the girl's mom said, there is a greater purpose in it!Going back to the thanksgiving dinner, we said what we are thankful for. It's great to express gratitude and recognize everyone's effort in making the journey smooth-sailing.I remember Steve told me that we should not call it a "cause", that we should not be riding for a "cause". He does not like that word, but couldn't find another word. I think I understand what he says. Maybe it does not encompass the larger idea of hope. But I cannot find another better word for now too.And lastly, I pray for Lauren's knee. I hope it gets better and does not get in her way of wanting to ride. She wrote a paragraph about how much she loves me some days ago, haha. I love you too Lauren! I don't think I would be able to come up with 2 paragraphs (as promised) about how much I love you. But you know I do:)If you had a wish, what would you wish for?
What sound does a bison make?
Okay so the title to this blog isn't totally relevant, but we did see some bison today and it's a legit question.
Yesterday was crazy windy. I rode with Nate, Kevin, Max, and Shea. With the cue mix-up, we ended up going 35 miles without van support, which was pretty tiring. I had a good time riding with the boys even though I had to push myself to keep up all day long! I fell asleep at 8 pm which was glorious.
This morning we got to sleep in until 6 am, woo! Props to Max for being the best chore partner ever! I rode with Gabrielle and Jill today through lovely South Dakota. Jill and I were super pumped to learn that the rest stop had Poppin' Pink Lemonade Hi-C. That's twice in South Dakota! We joined up with the Riders of Brohan (Pi, Jordan, and Szymon) for a while at the end of the ride. We were welcomed into Chamberlain, SD by a SWEET 2 mile downhill. Greatttt day for a bike ride!
Mitchell, SD
How soon I have returned to the home of the Corn Palace! It feels like it could not have already been one year since I was here last, but it certainly is nice to return. Although many fun memories are coming back to me from our rest day here last year, I definitely appreciate the difference between my two experiences. Today has been pretty relaxed, and I think I'll try to catch up on some sleep tonight instead of hanging around the corn palace.Having left Minnesota yesterday, I can now securely say that the headwinds weren't nearly as bad as last year. Anyone from last year's team could attest to the hardships of Minnesota in the headwinds, but instead this time around we had more issues with rain than anything. Now we are reaching the rolling hills of South Dakota, one of my favorite states to ride through last year. I'd like to give more details on the landscape here, but the environment here at the local Taco John's where I'm writing from is not conductive to descriptive writing. Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures up here next time to show you instead!
Home of the Corn Palace
Today we rode about 78 miles to Mitchell, South Dakota. The unforgiving wind slowed us down a bit.At the 40 mile mark there was a cue discrepancy and with the lack of network coverage we couldn't reach the driver, but all was sorted as she was just round the corner in the next town! We reconvened at lunch for some scrumptious peanut butter & jelly and refreshing Gatorade and then made the final windy ten miles into Mitchell.Once arriving in Mitchell, we toured the Avera Cancer Center, which for us all was very informative. The tour took us around the whole center, which we were able to see the rooms where patients are given their specified cancer treatment, where laboratory work is done, and much more. The tour concluded with a gift for all 28 riders; free sunscreen and nail maintenance kits!! Meanwhile some of the members of the team went looking for food donations which led to having one of the most varied and delicious meals so far. Pulled pork, tacos and the good old spaghetti! Among rest for some team riders and well needed showers for others, the night was as typical as any other apart from one little detail....and that detail is 'rocks'(see previous blogs for description).Farewell for today!P.S. The Corn Palace is a well known tourist attraction found in Mitchell, SD. Very exciting!
Sioux Falls Adventure Buffet
Here's a recap:Got up at 5:30 for the ride today, prepared ourselves for the 100 miles ahead by eating the breakfast provided to us by our great hosts in Jackson, MN. We were all pretty jazzed about breakfast. Coffee and everything.Greg's mosher was heartfelt and motivational and today's groups were, as somebody put it, "voluntarily jumbled." When the team forms groups this way we tend move more cohesively. It's a great way to keep the ride fresh, to spend time with those you've not ridden with lately, to become a more versatile rider. We played a lot of Contact, as well, and tried our hand at personifying Admiral T. Cornwall (Mary is a pro).The weather was hot, somewhere in the nineties, and the motionless turbines dotting the landscape verified the lack of wind. This gave us the impetus to stay mobile in light of the spike in ambient temperature whenever we slowed or stopped. A few spills early in the day and some mechanical difficulties, but nothing serious went wrong along the way, and why should it? We were all too excited about the tri-state experience for that.In Manly, MN (population: sixteen burly men), we stopped for manly pictures in front of the sign and tried to work "bro" and "brah" into our lexicons as much as possible. Minnebrota, fresh broduce, trying to stay broductive. It made sense at the time.Out of Manly we went, and Mary and Erik fixed a flat while Jordan and Pi talked about fantasy/sci-fi and Diana listened and I finally experienced one of those "naps on the side of the road" that everyone's been raving about. And again, at lunchtime. The sun on me all day made me narcoleptic the second my legs weren't in use.At our stayover we did a few laps around the block so that our trip odometers read 100miles, then a few of us went to a shower facility at Augustana university that I believe Ana and Tracey found. I realized when I was reminded (by many, many people) that I hadn't showered since LaCrosse, WI, so having hot water and soap was all kinds of nice. Jumping in Lake Geneva a few days ago was good and all, as was getting rained on all of those times, but a real shower with all of the fixin's was a welcome experience. "Oh, yeah," I thought to myself, "hygiene!"We rushed off from the university shower back to our stayover and then to Cici's for dinner from a generous guy named Neil. After the sun and the miles, we ate pretty well. We were elated and on the way back there was an Outkast sing-along in the van. Jordan's aunt had done our laundry and there's currently internet to be had. Such a tremendous day.
What a day!
After a balanced breakfast from Our Saviors Lutheran, the team set out to ride nearly a century. We had 90 degree weather and sunny skies which was a change from our previous days. Teams battled the boredom of Minnesota plains by playing a word game called "Contact" and telling riddles.About 80 miles into our ride we passed by the tri-state marker indicating the border between Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota.We arrived in Sioux Falls at Zion Lutheran Church around 5:00. Some team members visited bike shops while others enjoyed the snacks and food provided by the pastor. Jordan's Aunt Lisa came by and brought us some food and also did some of the team's laundry.Eamon and Jamie went to Panera to pick up leftover bagels and ended up talking to the manager at a nearby Cici's Pizza. The manager, Neil, was very excited to provide the entire team with unlimited trips through the buffet. We left Cici's stuffed with pizza and cinnamon rolls.
A very busy day
Today we woke up early, in order to prepare for our nearly 100 mile journey to South Dakota in 90+ degree temperatures. After a delicious breakfast provided to us by the ladies of our Jackson stayover we were on the road. In terms of directions, today was one of the simpler days with only a few sets of cues in a couple of towns along the way, with long stretches in between. This led for much time for activities such as Contact and posing in front of the Manley, MN sign (Pop: 16). This year we also made a small revision to the route, opting to travel along the Iowa/South Dakota/Minnesota border. Strangely enough, we were the only group that managed to find the tri-state marker, indicating where the three states meet up. After our group finished posing around and on top of the marker, we finished up the last 16 miles of our ride and arrived into Sioux Falls.The pastor at the church we stayed at provided us with a few pizzas and some chicken for dinner. We supplemented that with some mostaccioli which we never actually got around to eating because shortly after it had finished getting prepared, we learned that the manager of a local Cici's Pizza invited the team over for a free dinner. We couldn't turn down a free meal so we loaded up in the van and headed over in a couple of groups. Thank you so much everybody who made this such a wonderful day!
Almost "no shower Minnesota"
Apparently mother nature does NOT care that it's your birthday. Haha! We had a hilly ride into Rochester, Minnesota last Friday with some obnoxious head wind. Lets just say, we were pretty exhausted after the ride.After we arrived at our stay over in Rochester, we went to visit Hope Lodge. Hope Lodge is a place where cancer patients can stay while receiving treatment. The Hope Lodge is convenient for those receiving treatment at Mayo Clinic. I enjoyed our visit to Hope Lodge because we got to talk to some of the patients there and learn about their stories and how they have been affected by cancer, whether it was about themselves or a loved one. We all spent quite a bit of time there learning about how Hope Lodge works and talking to people.We had a rest day in Rochester the next day so we had some time to explore the city. During our rest day, we visited the education center at Mayo Clinic and got to learn about the clinic and how it serves people. The nerdy part of me was really excited to learn about the clinic and how it works with cancer patients. I feel like I got a pretty good grasp on Mayo Clinic and I hope to learn more about it in my free time.Hit the sack early that night because we had an early wake up at 5am the next morning. Since we had started earlier in morning and we were making good time on our 70 mile ride to Albert Lea, we had some free time around lunch... so we found a playground across from out rest stop and played "rocks" for a good amount of time. Basically, one person has their eyes closed and tries to tag people as they try to quietly navigate themselves to a safer spot on the playground, but they can also yell "rocks" if they think someone is on the ground and that person is automatically it. I think I was more sore from playing rocks than bike riding this morning.We rode to Jackson, Minnesota today. The weather was gloomy and cold today. It made us all pretty tired, which made the beginning of the ride go by slower than usual. We saw some of the tornado damage as we rode by houses this morning. It was really upsetting to see peoples homes and farms in that condition. There were areas where roads were closed off to try and fix some of the damage. Once we got into Jackson, there was a pool that most of us went to for a little while. We were also able to shower at the pool (finally!). If it wasn't for the pool showers, we would have gone through Minnesota without taking a shower. And that explains my blog title :)I'm looking forward to riding into Sioux Falls, South Dakota tomorrow.
Whaddup from South Dakota!?!?!?
Hey.Long ride today. 98 miles or so. 3 States. 100 degrees probably. oh jeez. it was one of the hardest days yet but with teammates, it was no problem.I can eat so much when its warm. I must have consumed 6000 calories today and I'm not all that full. Crazy stuff.Otherwise, things have been good. South Dakota is supposed to be full of headwinds but also has things like the Badlands and Wall Drug. It'll all be worth it, I'm sure. Free ice water!Ok, thanks for reading, hope all is well!!
Century #2
Finally after several days of rain, we had a sunny day! Unfortunately, with the sun came heat somewhere in the 90s. I rode this morning with Connor and Kyle, and we went way faster than I thought I'd be able to keep up with... but I did! Connor&Kyle yelled at all the animals we passed, and they succeeded in getting a herd of goats and a herd of cows to run with us. Way to go boys, I knew all of your heckling would pay off. After lunch, Priscilla joined us for the last 40 miles, which were super hot. We stopped for some photos and bro puns in Manley, MinneBROta (population 16... the town is literally like 3 car repair shops and that's it... pretty brolicious). [Legit] pun points to Kyle for "bros and cons list." We rode 4 extra miles to pass the Tristate Marker between Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota, except that no such marker existed... but we really were there! Upon arrival in Sioux Falls, SD, I rode circles through the parking lot to add the extra few miles to complete a century.I went with Eamon after dinner to pick up a food donation from Panera, and we spotted a CiCi's Pizza, which we quickly recognized as I4K Heaven. The manager allowed the whole team to come in and eat for free. And they had Poppin' Pink Lemonade Hi-C. Which everyone knows is the BEST kind. Score!