This afternoon, Ben and Philip are ‘cleaning the pit’.  This is our most ‘glamorous’ job on the farm; one that Mike Rowe would not want to do on “Dirty Jobs”.  It involves climbing down under the older truck dump pit, scraping up a layer of dusty, smelly, spoiled grain (this time wheat), and placing the stuff in 5-gallon buckets.  Topside, Ben receives the buckets and dumps them into the front loader bucket of the backhoe.  When the backhoe is filled with this wonderful elixer, it is taken to a nearby field and spread on the ground to completly decompose.  Since it has not been very long since the last pit cleaning, this will probably only fill the backhoe loader bucket one time.  This lovely task must be done 3-4 times per year, and today is one of those lucky days!

Ben empties a bucket into the backhoe’s loader bucket. Near the orange grain leg at the rear of the picture, he lowers the 5-gallon buckets through the floor down to Philip, who fills them with the refuse of dust, dirt, and spoiled grain, and then sends them up to Ben. This would be a good task for Mike Rowe on “Dirty Jobs”!

Brandon finished sweeping out bin #4 with stored wheat, and now he is delivering it to Robinson Grain Elevator, just across US 50 from the farm.  We will be officially empty of grain today.  It is a happy thing, and a sad thing, all at the same time…. to run out of grain to sell.

There is some repair and upgrade work to be done on the bins before fall harvest, and we expect Jake Gingerich, Montgomery Welding some time soon to begin the repairs.  His work will repair the unloading auger system that is shared by or our biggest bin, #10A (50,000 bushels) and our smallest bin #1B (10,000 bushels).  He will also install a new rooftop loading system for bins 10A and 10.  After that loading change, we will be able to fill 10 and 10A from either grain leg, and it will be faster.

John has done some concrete repair work today to the wash pad outside the shop.  I did some roadside spraying at VanVleet, Downen, Holscher, and Huey this morning.  The Gator sure is a handy tool for that task.

My concern is growing again about the double-crop soybeans (DCB).  I think the rain last Monday (.28″ or 7mm) was just enough to sprout many of them, and then this hot week (94F today) has dried out the soil around the tiny sprouts, leaving them without enough moisture to survive.  It would not make sense to replant today, for the replanted soybeans would not have a chance to sprout until a rain comes.  So, we wait for a rain to see what kind of stand we will have…

I am ready for a weekend, and it’s Fathers’ Day to celebrate.  Have a great weekend.  Pray for a good rain.

Dennis

It will be that much more rewarding when the Rubbermaid Rustlers and other crew members, friends, family and supporters, all waiting with anticipation, greet all the cyclists as they roll across the finish line!

Please keep in mind that we want to celebrate your arrival with you! Enjoy the welcoming atmosphere, and wait for us to head back to the trucks first. After a brief celebration, some words of welcome, tears of joy, and lots of photo opportunities, Rustlers will return to the trucks to supervise the loading of bicycles and unpacking of bins. Keep in mind that if you choose to leave the Arrival Ceremonies ahead of us, you will have to wait outside locked trucks and will NOT have access to the unloaded bins. (Watch Bike Rally news for information and details regarding a new Montréal arrival site this year!)

LOAD YOUR BIKES:
When you do leave the Arrival Ceremony, you are asked to please go to the now-empty trucks FIRST (due to minimal space amongst the bins there’s no space for bikes too) where Rustlers will assist and load bikes.

You are asked to:

• Take your helmet!
• Take your water bottles!
• Empty your saddle bag (keys, wallets, etc.)!
• Leave your license plate on so you can identify your bike when picking it up in Toronto!

Once the bikes are loaded, all trucks are locked and WILL NOT be accessible until they are unloaded in Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

UNPACK YOUR BINS:
After you’ve loaded your bike, Rustlers will direct you to your bins and supervise the unpacking.

Please remember that cyclists are responsible for taking ALL their personal belongings (including oversize items and camping gear) back to Toronto with you on the VIA train. This has always been the required procedure, but more and more people in recent years have begun to take advantage of our generosity and leave items like tents, chairs—sometimes entire unloaded bins of camping stuff—unclaimed, to the point that the majority now think it is the norm that we carry oversized stuff back with us; often taking up the space of an entire truck!

But as the Rally grows (and in the interest in keeping costs down, fewer vehicles), space has become an issue: our priorities ARE to have enough space to: safely load all the bikes; reusable Bike Rally supplies that must be returned to storage in Toronto for next year; make sure there is space for crew and their gear (crew do not go back to Toronto on the train). Crew are not finished Friday night. They’re up bright and early Sunday morning to drive all the trucks and vehicles back to Toronto in a non-stop, exhausting 6 to 7-hour convoy!

This is why you are always instructed to bring your duffel bag(s). THIS will be enforced 100% this year; any items not claimed at unload will be discarded or donated to local charity.

EMPTY BINS:
Please help us by removing labels, stickers and tape from your bins and lids. Then you are asked not to leave them empty at your feet (tight space = trip hazard), but bring them forward to the entry gate where Rustlers will be stacking them and loading them into trucks.

BUY YOUR BINS:
If you wish to keep your bins (and not unpack your belongings), they may be purchased for only $TBA each! However, YOU are now responsible for getting your bins AND belongings back home on the train. Do not leave full bins unclaimed or they will be disposed of or donated to local charity.

The Rustlers and/or the Bike Rally/PWA do not assume responsibility for lost or stolen articles.