Tour de Kota Wrapup

Well, another tour has come and gone. The weather was everything I expected. Hotter than hell, cold as a brisk fall day, windy as all get out, and wet. I did all six days, but not every mile as some shortcuts were just too good to pass up. Especially on the day I earned my "Windy Day" patch!

The tour was not without its problems again this year. On the road to Freeman my seat frame broke. I mean, it broke in two! The only thing holding it together was the mesh. I asked around upon arriving in Freeman and found out the only place that could weld aluminum was Wildcat Manufacturing. They make BIG things, not repair bicycle parts, so when I arrived with broken seat frame in hand they looked kind of skeptical at me until I explained what I needed and why. Luke fixed me right up. I mean, he insterted a couple of sleeves for strength, then drilled a couple of holes and bolted the thing together, and then welded it. And then painted it to match. My hero! He saved the rest of the tour for me, and for that I will be eternally grateful!

Then, my front fender exploded. Craig said he expected to turn around and see me lying on the road with a broken fork the noise was so horrible! I'm still not sure just exactly what happened, but the end result was a wooden fender in about 6 pieces, and the stainless steel support rod wrapped around the front hub between the fork and brake disc. Scared the shit outta me!!!!!

And I have to complain about Brookings. People, if you don't want the Tour in your town just say so, since the way things were set up Sunday was making all of us feel unwelcome. The college dorm rooms were not air conditioned, and not clean!!! The food vendors on campus, weren't. That's right, if you wanted something to eat, you had to find it on your own. And, for a college famous for its ice cream, there was none. No entertainment, either. They did provide free shuttle service which was very welcome, since there was nothing on campus!!! All in all I would suggest to the Argus to skip Brookings altogether. They just don't get it. Hell, even the pass through towns had more to offer than Brookings. There, I'm done ranting now.

Well, this past week was very busy for me. I left for Omaha on Tuesday morning to help CJ with the POS upgrades in two of his stores. I didn't get back home until Friday night after about 4 and a half hours of sleep after working for 15 straight hours. Sleeping in hotels during the day is not conducive to rest, let me tell ya! So today (Sunday) I will finish the yard work, and then nap awhile. Get up and eat, and then nap again.
A day of rest.

Here is the two part Tour De Kota 2011 thingy,

PART ONE
PART TWO