Tour de Kota '08: Day 2 - Mitchell to Chamberlain

Outside of day three on TdK #1, which by chance I went back home the day before to work that year, I am pretty sure a windier day has never been ridden into on TdK. My Garmin, which pulls weather from weather.com is way full of crap on this day. It says the winds averaged 19.1. Maybe for the first 25 miles that was true. After that it was easily a sustained 25 with gusts of 35. Ask anybody who rode it (and didn't sag in).

I rode solo today because I most of my regulars I ride with were not here and others I trust tend to get out too late (yeah, that's you FAB boys). So, I'm choosing to be a non-social rider for the most part. From Mitchell to Mt. Vernon I had vision of grandeur of still completing the century loop. By Plankinton, the century loop was off my brain completely. By the time I hit White Lake I was thinking that this was a perfectly fine place to call it a day. After hanging out with Laura for a bit I decided to soldier on to Kimball (14 miles) and looked for the first mile marker out of town. I believe it was mile marker 373 and so the countdown began...373...372...371...370...what?? Damn this is a long mile. FINALLY another sign....368...whew..it was 2 miles since the last sign. When I hit a crossing highway I could see a water tower in the distance and the sign said "5 miles to Kimball". What it should have said is "this will be the longest, slightly uphill, five miles of your life. You should consider stopping now and forgo all this pain and suffering". I swear that water tower looked like it kept moving further away instead of getting closer. But finally it did and I made it to the world famous tractor museum in Kimball where Laura awaited me with the sport drink of champions: a quart of chocolate milk.

It is quite possible that a quart of chocolate milk has never disappeared so fast in the annals of history. Although many of your stomachs are probably turning right now, as usual it did the trick and I was ready to finish the ride. I hit a rest stop manned by staff from Cedar Shores from Chamberlain. Not only were they passing out 180 energy drink, they were giving free adult beverage coupons for when we got into Chamberlain. They were put to good use at Cedar Shores along with a couple beverages after that.

I barely remember the trek to Puckwana (home of "Puk U" Bar and Grill) and on to Chamberlian, but I was dang glad to see the campground upon arrival. I was even more amazed to hear there were a handful of people who did the century loop. I figured I have little left to prove with my cycling and there will be many more centuries in my life. Today would have just proved that I'm a stubborn old fart who has a death wish. Especially on a day when a good chunk of people didn't come close to completing 75 miles.

As you can see by my total Garmin time, I took long breaks. Laura will even go as far to say that I was looking for excuses to NOT get back on the bike at a couple of stops. If you can keep a secret, she's right (as usual).

Below is the 5 mile Garmin breakdown. You will notice SLOOOOW speeds in the middle of the ride. I was a fragged puppy.