Today is a much needed rest day and I spent the time with Dot and Ken who continued to chauffeur me around. Following are some comments.
Lost Day: Not only did I lose an hour going into Pierre which I am still upset by, but also seems like I have lost two days. It is now Day 28. Until I checked, I thought it was Day 26. The reality is if Dot and Ken had not been here, I would have no idea the day of the week or calendar date. Two nights ago, Mary was emailing her mother on the hotel computer and came running asking where we were - she had no idea.
South Dakota: SD is a beautiful state, but no one will be sad to leave it. From climbing through the Black Hills to battling headwinds most every day, rain one day and excessive heat the next two it has been a very tough week. Everyone is tired, but there is a sense of accomplishment, especially for getting through the 117 mile day into the wind and rain. I cannot imagine a harder ride on a bike.
Lewis & Clark: More or less we have been following L&C since leaving Astoria and now leave them for good. I have always been amazed by their collective achievements, but after biking in the type of weather we just biked through, I cannot imagine walking, pulling a barge in all temps wearing buckskin. Also, no air conditioning or massages. Amazing.
Great People: We have very bright interesting thoughtful individuals on this tour from many walks of life. To name a few, a social worker now in grad school but did suicide watch, an organic chemist, software consultant, nurse practitioner, consultant in global real estate deals, an IT marketing consultant, an IT attorney, two engineers from the Netherlands, a teacher from Ireland, a water engineer, an IT engineer, owner of a small manufacturing company, a math teacher who had a career as a electrical engineer, an ordained minister who specializes in grief counceling and a physician. It makes for very interesting and thoughtful conversations. Individuals are secure, respectful and interested in the opinions of others. I have not heard any demeaning comments when opinions are different, which is unique and refreshing in our polarized society. I doubt if anyone here gets their information from TV networks or talk radios. The only radios shows I listen to are extensive interviews with qualified academics, authors, journalists or professionals in a specific field. I may not agree, but at least I can learn something.
Friends: It was great to spend time with Dot and Ken. The picture is from the falls in Sioux Falls which are very impressive, especially with the river running so high. I have heard that if you have five real friends in a lifetime, you are truly blessed. I have at least two and am truly blessed.
Tomorrow we enter Minnesota and the forecast is hot.
Day 27 started out very foggy. The first picture is of loading our gear into the van at about 6:30 am with the fog in the background. The fog hung around for almost two hours which was a good thing as it kept riders cool. We knew once the fog burned off, it would get very hot with a SE wind. After about 10 miles I was totally soaked from the fog, but the temperature was in the low 70s so was not cold. Since the beginning of the tour one of my call lines as I went by other riders who were looking at the scenery was “just like Fargo.” Today it was true, the farm and dairy land we passed were very similar to parts of ND. Since we were on country roads, I had more people wave to me in the last two days than in the trip so far. Part of small town friendliness that city folk do not understand.
The second picture was at a rest stop. I had got a minor sun burn a few days ago and a staff member, Barb, told me I had a minor sunburn today so I put a lot on at the stop. Diane and Anne thought I put on too much and they wanted a picture but would not touch me.
Though I knew this, I was surprised to remember the James River flows out of ND into SD and ultimately the Missouri. I crossed it east of Mitchell and like many other rivers, it was flooding. Crossing it in the fog was like looking at a bog in the mist. We often forget that there is a small radius in ND where depending on the where the rain drops, it may end up in the Red River or the Missouri River.
Even with the heat I did very well today. The main reason was my good friends Dot and Ken came from Fargo to visit and hang out with me. I was really excited to see them. They got to the hotel just after I did, took me to a bike shop to pick up some things, took me to a massage that was great and we just go back from dinner. Dot and I go back to Concordia (I am older) and introduced me to Kim. Kim has forgiven her and we have all been best friends ever since. It takes special friends to drive four hours to hang out and be a chauffeur, but I appreciate it very much and it is great to be with them. The last picture is of us at the bike shop.
Tomorrow is a much needed rest day.
We caught a break with the weather today. I was on the road a little after 6:00. Though the forecast was for very hot and a headwind, the day started cloudy with a rain shower south of us. A few of the showers reached us and though I got a little wet, it kept the temperature low in the morning. Also, not much wind so that was not a factor. It was about 70 miles so I made good time and was in by 11:00, just about the time the skies cleared and it got very hot and wind very fast.
It turned out to be a busy afternoon. I did laundry. Then my buddy since college and chiropractor of the last 30 years, Kent, set me up with a treatment with a local chiropractor in Mitchell. Kent told him what I needed and he did a great job. Kent is the one who keeps me adjusted so I can do all the things I do. He offered to come to Sioux Falls tomorrow to give me a treatment. That’s a good friend.
Then my phone broke so I spent two hours getting a new one. No pictures today because of the phone.
I did eat well today. At breakfast I had scrambled eggs and oatmeal. After a couple of snacks, I went to Perkins which was right next to the hotel. I ordered a veggie omelet and pancakes and basically ate the whole thing before the waitress was able to turn around. It was a little embarrassing. For supper we went to a Mexican restaurant near the hotel. I had a fajita burrito which was excellent. The amazing thing is there are others here who are eating more than me. Now I am going to stretch and eat some m&m’s.
Tomorrow is to Sioux Falls and again is supposed to be hot and windy. I do not think we will get lucky two days in a row.
On Day 25 we reached a milestone -- we passed the halfway point for the tour. The first picture is of the mark painted on the road with chalk highlighting the achievement so far. All day we biked along the Missouri River from Pierre to Chamberlain. The river is flooding and both Pierre and Chamberlain are dealing with flood issues. In Pierre a golf course was covered with water and in Chamberlain the only thing visible for a campground along the river was a sign saying vacancy. All the rest was underwater. Riding along a county road, it was possible to see trees half covered with water. Even so, we had some beautiful views of the river and river valley. The second picture is a view of the river and the bluffs on the other side. I thought a lot about of Lewis and Clark’s trip up the river and the men whose job each day was to walk on the shore and putt the barge against the current. It made biking against the wind seem easy.
An aside, one of my favorite historical fiction writers is James Thom and he wrote a book about George Drouillard who was the scout and hunter for the group. Many thought he was white, but he was actually half French and half Shawnee and was a trapper and hunter on the frontier which at that time would have been in Indianna. He could communicate in sign language which allowed him (and Lewis and Clark) to communicate with all the tribes they met on the journey. The book is called “Sign Talker.”
Today would have been difficult by itself, but after yesterday, it was brutal as most everyone’s legs were dead. We biked 84 miles into a strong headwind, the only difference is it was hot, reaching the 90s when I reached Chamberlain.
I found myself thinking towards the end of the ride it is a good thing I am paying to do this, as there is no way anyone could pay me to do what I have done the last two days. I have to spend more time pondering this. Will have time tomorrow as it will again be hot and windy.
PS I am still torked about losing my hour yesterday. I want my hour back, I really need it.
I did something today that I have never done before and plan to never do again. I biked 117 miles into mostly a headwind and rain the whole day. The only good news is there were no t-storms and it was in the mid-60s. I was one of the riders who had full rain gear on. Most road in shorts and a light rain jacket. Even so, I was cold. Many riders sagged in; however, over half road the whole way including 2 who spent over 11 hours on their bikes. The last ten miles was the worst as the wind picked up. After a “rest” stop, my shoes got all gunked up and I could not clip in so had to keep stopping to clean my shoes. I started to bonk so I had to stop and eat, and finally hit some mud right before the hotel and wiped out. Both myself and the bike are fine.
No pictures, too wet.
Also, I am really torked because when we crossed the Missouri to enter Pierre at the end of the ride, we went to CST and I lost an hour. Normally this does not bother me, but I really need this hour back. I need all the rest I can get, and then someone steals an hour from me. I plan to file an official complaint when I have time.
Tomorrow will be different but the same. Again we will be biking into a headwind, but it will be a hot one with temps going into the 90s .
Day 23 was supposed to be an easier day, 57 miles from Rapid City to Wall Drug. The prevailing wind in western SD is southwest; however, we got a strong SE wind and it was a long day. Worse news, tomorrow we go 117 miles and it looks like the wind will again be in our faces and pretty strong at times. There is also a chance of t-storms. It will be a challenge.
I only took one picture -- it was next to a restaurant with a sign over a table outside saying “world’s smallest biker bar”. The terrain was range land which I normally enjoy as again I can imagine large herds of buffalo, antelope, deer and other animals which roamed the open prairie for thousands of years. We did drop into the edge of the Badlands but I will miss the main part tomorrow. I have read that when the frontiersmen and settlers first came through this area, they found dinosaur bones just laying on the ground in the Badlands. Hard to imagine this was tropical millions of years ago with dinosaurs roaming around. If I could get a dinosaur to walk very slowly in front of me tomorrow and block the wind, I would take that in a heartbeat.
We are staying in Wall, which is the home of the world famous Wall Drug. If you have not been here, it the ultimate tourist stop. Other riders have been surprised to see Wall Drug signs since eastern Wyoming. I said you can find them for miles in any direction. As I understand it, the family that started Wall Drug originally advertised “free ice cold” water to encourage travelers to stop and the rest is history.
I have never ridden 117 miles into the wind. 117 miles with the wind at my back last week wore me out. Tomorrow will be an interesting day.
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Day 22 was a grind. Though hard to believe with all the mountain passes we have climbed so far, today was the second most climbing of the tour. The first climb was a steady climb of 36 miles to the view of Crazy Horse. After a downhill we climbed to Mt. Rushmore and then after a decline into Keystone another climb out of there. The last two climbs had grades of 10% or better.
The Black Hills are unique and beautiful. Formed millions of years ago, they seem to almost rise up out of plains as a garden of beautiful forests and lush fields along with spectacular rock formations. They were considered to be sacred territory to the Sioux tribes which lived and hunted in the area and were related to the wars that took place between the tribes and the settlers and US Army. Now they are alive with tourism led by the Hills, Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Kim and I took the kids here a number of years ago for a week and Morgan I biked part of the Mickelson Trail after his sophomore year in high school. The Mickelson Trail is a limestone bike trail that runs 100 miles one way from Deadwood through Custer State Park. The first picture is of Crazy Horse. The second of Mt. Rushmore and the third looking into the valley from Mt. Rushmore.
I had my normal low fat chocolate milk and two meals when I got in. Even though I am eating a lot, the reality is I am never really hungry and nothing looks good to me. Though we are eating at a lot of different places, I am pretty sure all the food comes one from big vat in the back of the kitchen with different faucets. Turn one faucet and there is scrambled eggs, another has muffins, another sub sandwiches, another has pasta salad and one has snack bars with the paper wrapper on it. When I get done with this, unless I am traveling, it will be hard to get me into a restaurant for a long time.
Tomorrow, we go to Wall Drug. It was supposed to be an easy day, but we will be battling a headwind and again a chance of t-storms so will be more difficult.
