By Jacquelyne Taurianen

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The first rider crossed the finish line undetected late Friday morning, as this year’s Tour De Kota came to a close. No roaring applause from fans, no confetti littering the air, no champagne to begin celebrating – just a rider, a handful of spectators and another ride checked off the list.

“Well that wasn’t a big whoop-de-do, huh?” one visitor-center employee said after hearing the first rider had crossed the finish line 10 minutes earlier.

While the lack of festivity seemed to echo throughout a sparsely populated Falls Park, congratulations and celebrations were found in unique ways. One just had to look a little harder.

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What was lacking in fan-base was made up for with a sea of luggage.

As riders coasted across the pedestrian-bridge signifying the finish to their 450-mile journey, participants were presented with rows and rows of bags in various shapes and sizes, neatly aligned.

Approximately 1400 of them waited for their owners to lay claim, according to Paul Gilbert, Gannett Corp. employee and the person in charge of the luggage belonging to riders.

“Each rider typically packs two – one with clothing, coats and jackets and the other with a tent and camping gear,” Gilbert said. “We provide each rider and bag with a matching green bracelet and identification number.”

This was Gilbert’s fourth year helping and fifth time assisting with bags in this year’s ride.
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While confetti remained out of sight, spectators offered congratulations in different ways.

Kevin Brady started the Tour De Kota with all the riders but chose to sit out the last day because of the weather.

“I’ve been in the race several times,” he said. “Today was just too cold and too windy.”

His wife, Laura agreed. While she didn’t participate in the ride, she did provide massages to riders at every break point, and Friday was no different.

“We have a bunch of friends still in the race,” Kevin Brady said. “Just because I didn’t finish doesn’t mean we weren’t going to come today.”

Another onlooker, Susan Sutthill, a Brookings resident, sat at a picnic table alone, waiting for her husband.

“This is his first year riding it, and he did it all,” she said. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

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There was no champagne to open but riders celebrated with other liquids.

A bright yellow and orange tractor-trailer parked on one end of the park waited to douse the riders with a victory liquid: hot water.

Tom Gwinn, Maui Shower owner, drove his fluorescent trailer from break point to break point, offering free, hot showers to participants. Ten, individual stalls line one side of his truck while the other has storage room for water hookups and water heaters.

“It’s been described as the ‘best six minutes they’ve ever had,’ ” Gwinn said. “We usually have about 250 showers a day, sometimes more and sometimes less, but I don’t close ‘til everyone is done.

“I am out here for the riders from the beginning to the end,” he said.