Day 25 Tyler, Minnesota (74 miles)

Today the route will take the riders along State Route 14 from De Smet, South Dakota to Tyler, Minnesota (their 6th state). They will be riding through the busy college town of Brookings, South Dakota then across the state line to the rolling farm lands of Western Minnesota. They will end the ride at the and friendly Danish town of Tyler, Minnesota.


Chuck and Izzy at the Minnesota State Line

Something about Tyler:
Tyler is a city in Lincoln County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,218 at the 2000 census. On August 21, 1918, 36 people died when a large tornado tore through Tyler. It was the 4th most deadly tornado in Minnesota history. The Lincoln County Fairgrounds are located in Tyler where the yearly county fair takes place in August.

Every year on the fourth of July weekend, Tyler holds its Aebleskiver Days Celebration. The event is named after the aebleskiver, a spherical Danish pancake. On Saturday evening, they have a parade that goes down main street with floats that are made by the various neighborhoods.


Aebleskiver

Tyler is home of the Danebod Folk School. The early settlers of the Danebod colony (located on the south side of Tyler) founded this residential school in the Danish tradition of Folk High Schools and fostered the concept of "learning for living" by which individuals sought to become enlightened and thoughtful citizens. Danebod hosts many wonderful programs including annual week-long recreational Family Camps and the Folk Meeting which presents a series of world-renowned lecturers.


Danebod Folk School


Today's forecast for Tyler:
Temperature: 76.2
Dew Point: 57.8 °F
Humidity: 53%
Wind Speed: 3.0mph
Wind Gust: 9.0mph
Wind: NNW
Pressure: 28.10in
Precipitation: 0.00in

Low temps and a tail wind made it for some easy riding for the Big Riders today. They left De Smet after being fed breakfast by the Chamber of Commerce again. Chuck said that most of the riders stopped for a short while in Brookings to get coffee and to go to the bike store.

The riders are camping on the football field at the school in Tyler. Very few riders are sleeping in school. There was a soccer practice going on at the football field when the riders got there. The coach saw that the Big Riders were kicking around a small soccer ball, that one off the riders had brought along for the trip. The coach gave them a very special soccer ball. The ball came from a minister who does a lot of missions to third world countries. The ball traveled with this minister when he went on his missions. The ball has scriptures written all over it. The coach for the team wanted to pass the ball along and he thought the big riders were the perfect group to give it to, since they are traveling across the country. Hopefully they will pass the ball on to another group as well. I think the travels of the soccer ball would make a great story/movie.

Chuck also watched a group of children ride/jump their horses at the equestrian center near the Tyler school. He said that he loved to see their excitement, nervousness and all around energy. He could tell who had been riding for awhile and who had just started. Dinner was at a diner down town but not at the Pizza Ranch as it has closed down.


Wind Mill Farm near Tyler