Wakonda 125th Celebration Bike Ride

Officially called the Sonny Clare Bike Ride, in memory of a great community member. Sonny was a kind and gentle man who was a great supporter of school sports. But most of all, he was an inspiration to all of us as he rode his bike into his 80's.

Today a planning meeting was held with LaneHogs in attendance to help plan this bike ride that will be held on Friday, July 2nd in Wakonda. Of course, Mr. Biking Brady, an alumni of Wakonda, was there - with some great ideas! This is going to be a very fun event with a 42 mile ride, 16 mile ride, and a children's bike carnival, followed by lots of other activities in town that day. So mark your calendars and stay for the entire day - you haven't experienced life until you attend a Wakonda street dance - you can even camp in my yard!

Wakonda 125th Web Site

All things now living unite in thanksgiving!

The sun is shining! Wow, what a horrible weather we had in October. I heard it was the 3rd coldest October on record and one of the cloudiest. I sure did miss riding my bike. Last year I think I rode almost every weekend in October; one weekend the LaneHogs went from Bunyan's to Bob's, another weekend Kevin, Ed, and I rode to Yankton and crossed the newly opened Discovery Bridge, as well as snuck around the barricade and rode the old Meridian Bridge. Another weekend Cindy and I rode our mountain bikes on the Turkey Creek Road just on the other side of the Missouri from Vermillion and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors.

So I'm trying to make up for some missed riding. Things are settling down at work and this week was a great opportunity for me to take some vacation time and take off both Thursday and Friday afternoon. I rode 22 miles this afternoon - it was wonderful!

I also got some riding in last weekend on both Saturday and Sunday. Riding by myself, I have my iPod bike speaker to keep me company. I've been just putting it on shuffle which makes me realize what an eclectic mix of music I have on my iPod. I have one album of hymns recorded by a minister who served for a time at Vangen Lutheran Church in Mission Hill (which is also the location of where she did the recording). Anyway, on Sunday when I was riding, the hymn "For All the Saints" was one of the songs I heard on shuffle, appropriately it was All Saints Sunday.

Today as I was riding rejoicing in the sunshine (and yes, the wind!), the hymn "Let All Things Now Living" played. "Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving to God the creator triumphantly raise." It just seemed to be the perfect song to end my ride on.

Hmmm, God speaks to me in such mysterious ways. Anyway, let all things now living unite in thanksgiving for the sunshine which will help the farmers get the crops out of the fields and makes bike riders like myself so very happy!

Is this really Columbus/Native American Day? Looks like Christmas!

I was laying in bed this morning enjoying the fact that it is a holiday and an extra day off for me - yipeee! It has been a crazy busy fall and my bike riding, or getting any exercise for that matter, has completely dropped off and I feel like a big, soft marshmallow. So I promised myself that I would get out for a bike ride this afternoon.

Then I looked out the window...........

This took me completely by surprise....come on, it's only October 12th. I've never seen this much snow so early! The bike ride got scratched and replaced with some time on the elliptical and yoga class.

Happy Columbus/Native American Day everyone!

Tour de Kota Route Set - 2010

From the Argus Leader (Sunday, Sep. 27, 2009), Tour de Kota Route Set:

Cyclists who participate in the sixth annual Argus Leader Tour de Kota will ride from Elk Point to Sisseton during the five-day event in June, organizers said Saturday.

For the first time, Tour de Kota officials held a party celebrating past tours and looking forward to the coming one. The yearly event is sponsored and organized by the Argus Leader.
The Tour de Kota keeps evolving and improving, Argus Leader Publisher Randell Beck told about 150 cycling enthusiasts Saturday at the Overlook Cafe in Falls Park.

"And, yes, there will be a sixth Tour de Kota," Beck said, "and a seventh and an eighth and a ninth. ... We're in it for the long haul."

The 2010 tour will run from Sunday, June 6, to Friday, June 11. It will take riders about 465 miles from Elk Point to Sisseton.

The route includes:
June 6: 82 miles from Elk Point to Tea.
June 7: Tea to Salem, 70 miles.
June 8: Salem to Arlington, 83 miles.
June 9: Arlington to Clark, 67 miles.
June 10: Clark to Webster, 63 miles.
June 11: The tour concludes with a 55-mile ride from Webster to Sisseton. An optional 100-mile route will allow riders to cross into North Dakota before returning to finish in Sisseton.

"The idea is to hit as many lakes as we can," Tour de Kota director Owen Hotvet said. "That's one of the things we wanted to feature on the course.

Tour de Kota Kickoff

I love Tour de Kota and will forever be a loyal fan so I am so happy there will be a TDK in 2010! Last year the ride appeared to be in jeopardy as publicity and details of TDK 2009 were slow in getting out which contributed to fewer riders. That is in the past now and the Argus showed their support to TDK fans by hosting a TDK 2010 kickoff at Falls Park on Saturday evening. It was a wonderful event; beautiful location, free food, and TDK goodie bags! And of course it was great to see so many biking friends from near and far.

The 2010 route will go from Elk Point to Sissseton, about 465 miles. The last day the route goes from Webster to Sisseton (55 miles) with the option for a century ride.

One of the reasons TDK is near and dear to my heart is that I started riding bike the year of the first TDK in 2005. I purchased a hybrid bike that spring. My first official ride was the Sioux City Trails Ride in early May. I completed the 40 mile ride and was so amazed I could ride a bike that far! I signed up for the first day of TDK and rode 70 miles. From that point on I was hooked. I knew 1 or 2 people riding the entire week of TDK 2005 and I followed the ride closely, buying the Argus each day, reading all the TDK articles and wondering if I would ever be able to do that ride.

The next spring (2006) I purchased my Giant OCR 1 road bike and signed up for the entire week of TDK along with my daughter, Ashley. We rode from Yankton to Milbank that year and I surprised myself by completing the entire ride.

TDK 2007 I rode the entire week again with Ashley, the route was Yankton to Watertown. In 2008 I rode the first two days of TDK (Sioux Falls to Chamberlain) and then came home as we were getting ready for Ashley and Nick's wedding held that Saturday. Last year I again rode the entire week of TDK (Harrisburg to Gettysburg), a week of damp weather and cold nights in the tent, but a great experience with many scenic views along the Missouri River.

The last few years the weather hasn't been the best on TDK - I think we're due for good weather on TDK 2010!

Here are a few TDK memories........

Finish line at Watertown - me and Ashley

A little wet in Trent.

Lane Hogs in Dell Rapids - the walking wounded.