Northern Transcon Day 18 - Mitchell SD to Worthington MN

In contrast to yesterday's pea soup fog, we had clear skies this morning for the trek to Worthington, Minnesota.  Once again, the prevailing winds out of the west proved elusive, as we battled head and cross winds all day.  This was the third day in a row with mileage significantly higher than the daily average, and some of the slower riders opted to ride in one of the vans for part of the day.  This is referred to as "bumping", and usually consists of catching a ride from one rest stop to another, cutting out 25 to 60 miles from the daily total.  So far I haven't had to exercise that option - I came to ride the whole thing and have managed to complete each day.  There is no extra prize or recognition for riding every mile, but it is a personal goal.

More corn, soybeans, and cattle were standard fare as we continued across eastern South Dakota and entered Minnesota.  There was no welcome sign at the border, just a change to rougher pavement for a while until we got on a different road.

The owner of that exotic carbon bike (Trek) pictured earlier, with all cables totally hidden inside the frame, ended up with an inoperable rear shifter about 10 miles from the finish.  If the cable had been exposed, I could have put enough tension in it to keep the rear derailleur on a middle cog, and secured the cable to a water bottle bolt.  The rider ended up calling for a lift and repairs were completed at the motel.

Tomorrow we have about 120 miles to Albert Lea, MN.  With the "reduced" mileage our start will be at 7.

Entering Minnesota on County Road 120

PAC Tour riders totally wiped out these kids' lemonade stand supplies in Magnolia MN