Montevideo to Hutchinson, MN

Posted on July 23, 2004 by Kevin

Another example of what a difference a day makes. Today was the same mileage (84) over the same kind of flat terrain as yesterday, but the winds picked up today, making this ride day longer and more wearing. On the plus side, it was one of our coolest days to date, starting at 58 degrees in the morning. Most of the bank thermometers in the towns we passed read in the mid-60’s, and the one when we arrived in Hutchinson read 72 degrees. Lunch was in Olivia, the “Corn Capital of the World.”

We stayed at a recreation center in Hutchinson. As soon as we arrived in town around 2:00pm, Bruce and I saw Scott in the rec center parking lot, so the three of us decided to ride on downtown for a coffee, where we were joined by Kira. We checked out the local bike shop on the way back.

At dinner, we had the voting for the first weekly “Road Relics” contest, which was organized by Molly. I ended up coming in third, for the “Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits” cassette tape that I had found, which featured the appropriately-titled track “Back in the Saddle Again.” We also had the weekly awards ceremony, many of which revolved around Alan from Australia, who will be finished his time with the tour tomorrow. Many people headed downtown with him for a send-off party, but with the long day today and another long day ahead tomorrow, I wanted to get to bed early, after doing my weekly laundry.