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Today's ride, from Clyde Holliday State Park (Mt. Vernon) to Mitchell, would have been hard enough (65 miles with one serious climb and one not-so-serious climb), but the wind out of the west just added to the struggle. The area between the climbs is a high prairie with few trees to block the wind. The wind picked up when I was about 4 miles from the top of the serious climb (first climb of the day), and continued until I reached the summit of the second climb ... probably about 15 miles. This created a very tiring condition, and my spirits were suffering. Fortunately, once I reached the summit of the second climb, there was a (Woo-hoo) 5 mile downhill run into Mitchel. Spirits rising ...
I stayed in a small, historic hotel in Mitchell. The Oregon Hotel is an old two-story structure with about 10 or 12 rooms. Some of the rooms have a private bath, but the majority of the night's guests use the bathrooms down at the end of the hall. Each tread of the stairway to the second floor had a unique musical note ... no sneaking in after midnight would go unnoticed.
Unlike the major brand hotels, this hotel had a front porch that was made for conversing with the other guests. One couple that was staying for the night was from Edmonton. As it turned out, their daughter had played on some youth/high school sports teams with the daughter of Jan and Ed Jorgensen. Jan, Ed and I, along with others, rode the Oregon Coast and the RAGBRIA Iowa ride. Anyway, this "small world" experience brought great joy to me in an otherwise dismal little town.
While riding up the serious climb, I approached a very odd looking tree ... I could not figure out what kind of leaves/fruits were hanging from the limbs. On closer inspection, I realized that the tree had hundreds of shoes hanging from the limbs. Very odd. I asked around Mitchell as to the "why" of this oddity ... no one seemed to know why; apparently it "just is".
There was a nice pair of Nike shoes, but they were out of reach.
Weather is getting warmer, bordering on hot ... life is good.
I stayed in a small, historic hotel in Mitchell. The Oregon Hotel is an old two-story structure with about 10 or 12 rooms. Some of the rooms have a private bath, but the majority of the night's guests use the bathrooms down at the end of the hall. Each tread of the stairway to the second floor had a unique musical note ... no sneaking in after midnight would go unnoticed.
Unlike the major brand hotels, this hotel had a front porch that was made for conversing with the other guests. One couple that was staying for the night was from Edmonton. As it turned out, their daughter had played on some youth/high school sports teams with the daughter of Jan and Ed Jorgensen. Jan, Ed and I, along with others, rode the Oregon Coast and the RAGBRIA Iowa ride. Anyway, this "small world" experience brought great joy to me in an otherwise dismal little town.
While riding up the serious climb, I approached a very odd looking tree ... I could not figure out what kind of leaves/fruits were hanging from the limbs. On closer inspection, I realized that the tree had hundreds of shoes hanging from the limbs. Very odd. I asked around Mitchell as to the "why" of this oddity ... no one seemed to know why; apparently it "just is".
There was a nice pair of Nike shoes, but they were out of reach.
Weather is getting warmer, bordering on hot ... life is good.
Guess that's where you put 'em if there isn't any power lines to hang them from. You've created a great situation for yourself Padre...getting to see the country and meet new people in real time, rather than fast forwarding through it all in a car...
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