Tour deKota 2009- Monday

I've been fortunate to get to take part in the Tour deKota (a bike tour put on by the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls, SD) every year since the ride began in 2005. That year I did the entire event as we were in the process of moving back to the area from Indiana and we were able to treat it like a vacation even though it was merely the beginning of three months of self inflicted unemployment. Every year since then, I've chosen two days to ride based on proximity, available vacation time and personal challenge.

Last year, I chose to ride the Sunday ride even though it meant not leaving town until 1:30 in the afternoon, well after all support and riders had already called it a day. I decided I would not do the Sunday ride again because of church duties, so I decided on Monday and Thursday for this year's edition of the TdK. Of course, the wind on Sunday was in the perfect direction and the ride left from just south of town and arrived in Yankton where Jim and Marilyn's home and hot tub would have awaited my arrival. Instead, I had a full morning at church (running sound and video for first service and leading worship for second) followed by an afternoon of work at the store. Amy and the kids picked me up at about 6:30 which meant we would arrive at J&M's at about 8pm. Ramona Bloodgood (Amy's brother's mother-in-law) was going to stay at the house as well and arrived shortly before we did.

We hung out, had good conversation, watched the Lakers escape the Magic in OT in the NBA Finals and were watching the news when the power went out. It had rained most of the day and a storm had been building with thunder and lightning as the night had progressed. J&M live on the Missouri River (Lewis and Clark Lake to be more specific) looking from the South Dakota side to the Nebraska side. The house is nuzzled up against the hill side and surrounded by trees. When the power fails at their house, it is quite a bit darker than what we are used to. The kids immediately came upstairs and we spent a bit of time digging around for a flashlight or a means to light a candle. Amy finally discovered a flashlight and we told the kids we'd light a candle for their room for the rest of the night just in case the power went out again. Of course, by the time the power came back on, we'd missed the weather on the news (sort of important for the next day's ride) and decided to just hit the hot tub for awhile before settling in.

By Monday morning, things had dried off (which was good) and the wind had shifted to the NW (which was not). The ride was going to be fairly short by bike tour standards at an advertised 59 miles from the campsite. We were starting a few miles into it, so I estimated that we'd wind up riding somewhere between 50-55 miles from Yankton to Wagner. The general direction all day was to be north and west which meant that we would have a headwind for the duration of the day, so we left at about 7:00 to slug it out with the wind for a few hours.

This bike tour was a bit atypical from what I've experienced in the past. I'm used to riders getting up at first light and hitting the roads before temps and winds have a chance to pick up. As temps have been low, the urgency to get out of camp and on the road seems to have been lacking. I honestly expected at least 100 riders up the road when I started, but had probably only passed 20 by the time I reached Tabor (about 8 miles into the ride). From that point, I didn't see another rider until about mile 42 when I encountered Gayle, a tour veteran, stopped by the roadside in order to remove his jacket. I stopped and we talked for a few minutes comparing equipment and discussing the contrast from the previous day's tailwind to the ever present headwind we were currently experiencing.

We got started again and Gayle told me not to wait for him as we made the final turn before the final 9 miles to Wagner. I rolled into town and looked intently for signs to point me to the camping area where I would meet Amy when she and the kids got to town. A few years ago, I wasted about a half hour in Madison because signs had not yet been posted and I wandered around trying to figure out where I was supposed to be. Thankfully, Wagner's signs directed me to the high school. The only issue was that it didn't look like I was supposed to be there. There was no indication that this was the arrival point, so I called Amy to consult with the official guidebook. She confirmed that, yes, that was where we were headed and I decided to hunker down and wait for the parade of vehicles and riders to begin to arrive.

About the time I called Amy, the Shuttleguy arrived. Shuttleguy is like a personal valet for bike tourists who hauls your gear and sets up your tent for you. It was a sign of tour civilization, but he seemed just as confused as to where to set up shop as I was. A few minutes later, the shower truck arrived, parked on a side street and waited for word as to where he was to set up. Gayle arrived about 15 minutes after I did at the same time as the first wave of official tour vehicles and the sag wagon with its first three abandons of the day and official tour staff.

Finally, the baggage truck arrived and things started to take shape. The Shuttleguy set up shop, the shower truck finally hooked up and rows of riders' bags were unloaded on the sidewalk outside the school. Amy and the kids had arrived about this time as well and they patiently waited in the car for me to hit the showers so that we could get back on the road. Almost an hour later, I was still standing outside the truck waiting for a shower when a reporter from the local paper stopped by for a chat and a few pics. She was wanting to get info for her story and I was one of the few people around for her to talk to, so we talked for a few minutes while the shower guy started to set up ladders on some of the shower stalls.

All I really wanted to do was grab a shower and hit the road, so when the reporter had extracted what information she could from me, I asked the shower guy how long it would be before he was open for business. He told me it would be about a half hour before the water was warm so I asked him if I could bother him for a cold shower. "It'll be really cold," he told me. I told him I really didn't mind and just needed to get on the road. He grabbed a token for me and told me again about the frigid conditions I'd experience. I told him I'd hit him up for a warm shower after Thursday's ride and proceeded into my metal encased, shower stall.

Each stall has a small shelf, two pronged hook and shower curtain and very little opportunity for anything that is left on the floor to stay dry. The stall also has a coin slot where the token is inserted to set the timer for your water allotment. You are given five minutes per token, so a certain amount of efficiency is required. Knowing that the water would be really cold, I was all about efficiency. I started the shower, lathered up, rinsed, shut the water off and still had three and a half minutes left on the shower timer. Yeah, it was cold, but I was clean and ready for the trip home.

We hit a local restaurant for lunch and had a quick conversation with Gayle and another rider named Matt who were just a few tables away. I'm hoping I can hook up with them on tomorrow's ride and make it a bit more of a social event as we'll be covering 100 miles of river valley with a fair amount of climbing. Companionship will definitely make the miles go a bit quicker and will hopefully make for a more memorable day on the bike than Monday.