tour de kota '12 - day 3

Tuesday called for 98 miles from Brandon, SD to Marshall, MN. The winds were light out of the southeast, a little bit of a crosswind when we rode east, but feeling like a decent tailwind when we rode north, which was most of the day. Everyone was in the mood to leave early on such a long day. I was ready to go except for a quick breakfast at 6:30am and I felt like I was running late. At least 90% of riders were already on their way.

 I felt good and rode hard, passing a lot of people along the way who were riding at their own pace to get their century. I stopped at all the stops for water or snacks, but sometimes just for a few minutes. When we arrived in Pipestone, MN the Chamber of Commerce served pulled pork sandwiches at the historic Pipestone County courthouse in the shade of old trees on a perfect morning.

It was a pleasant afternoon as we rolled through Lake Benton, Tyler and Russell, getting a little warm, but I don't mind that. I was considering adding a few miles at the end of the ride, but decided against it when I broke a spoke about 3 miles from the end. I had put a small dent in a spoke on the rear wheel a few weeks ago when  I dropped my chain. The bike shop didn't have the spoke in-stock, but they didn't think it would be a problem for me. But, the last stretch of highway had somewhat jarring lines in the road that kept banging on your tires. Eventually it just snapped. I was able to limp in to Marshall and get a makeshift spoke installed.

Inclement weather was forecast for overnight, and we were camped at the middle school, so many campers opted to sleep in the gym rather than pitch a tent. This meant there was plenty of room for the couple dozen of us who did pitch tents. The decision to put up my tent would prove to be unfortunate and fortunate in the morning.