Today we rode 71.73 miles to Mitchell, SD. Our main goal was to get Steve there in one piece. It often takes a day or two to come back after being so far gone. Team Stop A Lot was all together and took it easy today. We all took turns pulling. There was no wind to really speak of, and in the morning the air was cool and we rode steady at about 15 mph. Steve said he thought he was at about 50%. We knew if we could make it to the rest day in Sioux Falls that he could fully recover at that time. All in all, this was an uneventful day. We were up to our usual antics, hoisting Mary up on the wheel of a huge combine and later on a large bale of hay. Oh, the things we put her through. Oh, the things she puts herself through.

We made it to Mitchell in good shape. We hit another Dairy Queen upon arrival and then relaxed for the evening. Steve hit the hay early, I worked on the computer and Mary and Dan went to the local rodeo. One more day and we will arrive in Sioux Falls and a day of rest. Every rider is showing the wear and tear of riding day after day.

At dinner in Mitchell, Dan and I selected a table by the wall and placed our salads and drinks on the table. The four of us take up a bit of room, so we slid the table away from the wall about a foot. At that time the table proceeded to tip over and our drinks and my salad promptly slid onto the floor. Dan caught his drink and we both moved the table into its proper position, where we proceeded to let go of it and it went over again. By now we were both laughing so hard we could hardly stand up. We discovered that the table had one leg missing. Dan scooped up as much of the salad as he could and a waiter came to help. We moved the table against the wall to its original position. Mary and Steve were in the other room and heard all of the commotion. They knew that it had to be Dan and Clark.

Now, if that wasn’t enough, we moved across the room to another table. I went back through the salad bar for a second time and refilled my drink. Mary and Steve joined us and dinner was served. The manager was making his rounds, asking everyone about their food and inquiring as to their satisfaction. We told the manager about the table. He said he would take care of it in the morning. In the meantime a waiter, set the table again and another couple proceeded to sit down there to eat. We couldn’t take the tension, wondering when it would collapse on them, so I went over and warned them. They moved and I sat back down. Now another waiter proceeded to set the table again and no sooner had it been set that another couple sat down. Now we couldn’t take any more of this so……we left.

Well, thanks for joining my ride across America. I am lucky to be riding with such wonderful people. Tomorrow we ride to Sioux Falls and a day of rest.

Click here to see more pictures from today!