Tag: Bike Across America

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Start: Mitchell, South Dakota
End: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Mileage today/cumulative: 71 / 1,987
Elevation Ascended: 1,168′
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74° at start; sunny, 95° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

There was one thing and only one thing on everybody’s mind this morning: go straight to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Stop only for food (one Snickers bar), water, and restrooms. Ride into the two SAG stops, sign in, take care of business and get back on our bicycles.  Why the laser focused, ride like our pants are on fire, bat out of hell game plan? Because Sioux Falls is a REST DAY!

Getting to the hotel quickly means that we can knock out chores on “arrival afternoon” – grab lunch, do laundry, restock supplies from Walgreens, and coordinate dinner plans with friends. This leaves all day tomorrow, our third full rest day, for sleeping in, massages, and enjoying some hard earned R&R that does not include sitting on a bike saddle. It also marks the end of the third leg of our journey. Both of us agree that this was a particularly difficult stretch, even without the headwinds of the past two days (which, thankfully, were diminished today). The rolling terrain requires more consistent power output and, for the first time, we began to feel some cumulative fatigue in our legs. We’ll also remember this leg for how South Dakota pleasantly surprised us. We’ll definitely be returning here for hiking and rails-to-trails cycling.

At a SAG stop today, we met an elderly gentleman who was traveling with his wife and Pomeranian. He peppered several us with questions about our ride.  Finally, after contemplating our answers, he said, “I’ve got a lot of things I want to do in this life, but this isn’t one of them.”   Later, as he drove out of the service station, he leaned out the driver’s window and hollered, “If you step in front of my truck I can put you out of your misery.” A couple of days ago, we might have taken him up on that.

Bev’s Thoughts At The Halfway Point:

• I never thought my hands would be what pooped out on this tour. Many of us are noticing a loss of hand strength, so much so that holding a fork or picking up a glass of water has become difficult. In addition, the fingers on my right hand that have been ravaged by Dupytren’s Contracture are numb. I sure hope this is temporary.
• This morning, many riders said how happy they were that we had a short ride. Only on a bicycle tour like this would 71 miles be considered “short’.
• Riders seem much more fatigued today than on prior rest days. Personally, I need this rest day. I’m both physically and mentally fatigued. I think two really hard days into a headwind are mostly responsible for my exhaustion. I’m excited to give my back some time off the bike. Massage booked for tomorrow – yay!
• Like many others, I am bummed that Alastair’s (1/2 of the tandem) time with our tour is over. Chris’ (blind rider) regular partner, James, has arrived and will take over for the remainder of the tour. Alastair has been such a joy to be around. It does seem as though James is just as personable and funny, though.
• I now know the minimalist movement is not for me. I’m tired of wearing the same four jerseys and pairs of socks.
• It’s so funny how excited we get about tiny, random things on this tour. The single washing machine and dryer at a hotel are unexpectedly not in use allowing us to get our laundry done early. A hotel’s breakfast includes real oatmeal. Sliced nectarine at a SAG stop. A hotel room on the first floor, closest to the breakfast room. Lots of outlets in a hotel room for all the things we have to plug in to charge. A Starbucks nearby (yes, that’s how bad hotel coffee is – we now consider Starbucks the gold standard). 
• It is fun to talk to people about our ride across America. Responses have ranged from admiration to disbelief to a sureness that we are all nuts. “Holy Toledo!” , “You’re crazy!”, and “I’d ride one block and die” are all comments I have heard. Because I focus on just getting through each day’s ride, I sometimes lose sight of the big picture. It really is a daunting challenge and Greg and I are more than half way through it. High five!!
• I’m pretty sure a giant tapeworm is living inside my belly. I am hungry all of the time. It has been difficult to get healthy food so I find I’m eating things I don’t consume in “real life”. For example, I just finished eating a huge Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. I need to think of some kind of physical activity I can do to burn off all these calories……oh, wait……
• I’m watching the Tour de France while I type this and coincidently, they are talking about what the racers eat. Bob Roll just said, “You really don’t need to eat that many calories.” Uh oh.

Sioux Falls is our last stop in South Dakota. When we resume this journey on Monday, we’ll cross the Minnesota state line early in the day. Minnesota! Wow! See you then!

 

 

Friday, July 14, 2017

Start: Chamberlain, South Dakota
End: Mitchell, South Dakota
Mileage today/cumulative: 75 / 1,916
Elevation Ascended: 1,100′
Weather: Sunny, 68° at start; sunny, 87° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

The wind changed today. Note that I did not say it shifted. It continued to blow from the east, directly at us but just stronger, 15 mph+ for most of the day. It was another tough day but we were happy to be riding only 75 miles, so we just powered through it and saw some fun stuff along the way.

We left Chamberlain and took an early detour in Pukwana for two MUST SEE highlights. One was the Puk U Bar, closed at 7:30am but still good for a photo op. Right next door to the bar is the Pukwana Lawnmower Racing track. It was described by the ABB staff as the NASCAR of lawnmower racing. Judge for yourself by viewing just the first ten seconds or so of this video.

From thriving Pukwana, it was on to Kimball, home of the South Dakota Tractor Museum. Tractors are serious business in these parts and the museum was pretty interesting. Betty, the Tractor Museum docent, was excited to show us around and demonstrate an antique corn shucker.

After prying ourselves away from Betty, we put our heads down for the last 30 miles to Mitchell, home of the “World’s Only Corn Palace”. The Corn Palace is an arena that hosts events, including the Professional Rodeo tonight (we will not be attending). It’s called the Corn Palace because the outside is completely decorated with corn. Sort of like the Rose Parade but only better. Here are a few a-maiz-ing facts about the Corn Palace:

• It is redecorated every year with a new theme. This year’s theme is Rock of Ages; the theme in 2018 will be South Dakota weather. We believe that wind should be prominently featured.
• 600,000 pieces of corn are used to decorate the outside each year.
• The Corn Palace contracts with farmers for specific types and colors of corn each year.

We’ve included a couple of photos but for the full experience, check out the streaming Corn Cam.

Another 70+ miles tomorrow heading into our rest day in Sioux Falls, our last stop in South Dakota!

 

 

 

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Start: Kadoka, South Dakota
End: Chamberlain, South Dakota
Mileage today/cumulative: 115 / 1,841
Elevation Ascended: 3,038′
Weather: Sunny, 71° at start; sunny, 88° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

When we cycle at home, we pay little attention to the wind forecast, unless there’s going to be a severe storm with wind warnings. We never look at what direction the wind is blowing because regardless of which direction we ride, at some point we have to change direction to return home. A headwind going out usually means a tailwind coming back.

Not so on this tour, when we are almost always riding in one direction – east. Because of that, everyone is obsessed with the wind forecast and groans when it has some variation of the word “east” in it. There was a LOT of groaning today as we rode 115 miles straight east into a 9 – 12 mph headwind. On top of that, we lost an hour when we rode into the Central Time Zone. The route wasn’t very exciting – we made one turn leaving Kadoka and didn’t turn again for 102 miles, and that was to get on the interstate for ten miles. Lots of rolling terrain that requires you to pedal all of the time. It was a very long day.

We did reach three milestones today. In addition to leaving the Mountain Time Zone, we crossed the official ABB halfway point of the tour. It was marked for us on the road and everyone celebrated for about ten seconds before getting back on our bikes and pedaling into the wind. We also rode over the Missouri River just before turning into our hotel. Other than that, not much to see today!

Tomorrow will be full of excitement. Just thinking of the sights may keep me up all night with anticipation. The South Dakota Tractor Museum in Kimball. The Puck U Bar in Puckwana. The Corn Palace in Mitchell! Holy cow!

And because we still can’t stop thinking about the Badlands, we’re tossing in another photo of us that the ABB staff took.

 

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Start: Wall, South Dakota
End: Kadoka, South Dakota
Mileage today/cumulative: 59 / 1,726
Elevation Ascended: 2,182′
Weather: Cloudy, 70° at start; partly cloudy, 84° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

After all of the sights we’ve experienced in the first 23 days of this two-wheel tour, we really weren’t prepared for what we saw today. Our route took us directly through the Badlands National Park and by the end we had run out of adjectives to describe what we were seeing. If you could build the perfect cycling day, it might look like this one.

Today’s route was one of the most unique and stunning on the entire tour. The Badlands is awesome in the true sense of the word, in that it inspires awe. Bev and I were both moved by our experience there and she does a much better job of explaining it than I can:

We rode into Badlands National Park early on Day #24 of the tour. There were few tourists in the park when we stopped at the first viewpoint, The Pinnacles. We had an amazing view of the massive geologic formations, with layers that were formed between 28 to 75 million years ago. The sky, with its cooling cloud cover, seemed to go on forever and meet the formations far on the horizon. So stunning.

I was able to stand away from other people and just take in the beauty that took so long to form. It was very moving, a true spiritual experience. We have had several things happen during this tour that have been a reminder that we should make the most of every moment, for we never know what the future holds. For example, during the first week of the tour, we learned that the site superintendent for our small development passed away unexpectedly at only 54 years of age. We had become good friends with Ricky while our house was being built and he stayed in contact with us despite being assigned to a new location. Ricky made a point of stopping by to wish us well right before we left for Oregon. He continued to text us after we left. Ricky’s last text to me said, “Take it easy on my boy”, referencing our ongoing joke that I make Greg do all kinds of crazy stuff when he’d really rather be hanging out at home.

Standing there in Badlands National Park, I said my goodbye to Ricky. It just felt if he could hear me, it would be in a place as otherworldly as this. I also sent my love to Chris, Sandy, Randy, and Monica and told them I was still trying to live my life as big as possible to honor them.

After leaving the Badlands, we went about a mile off route to visit the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. The museum offered a history of the Cold War, the use of nuclear deterrence and the subsequent Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The site offers tours of the silos, however, they require a reservation, so we’ve put this on our growing list of things to do when we return to South Dakota.

We have a long day tomorrow with 114 miles and the loss of an hour when we cross into the Central Time Zone. Time to get some rest!

 

 

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Start: Rapid City, South Dakota
End: Wall, South Dakota
Mileage today/cumulative: 58 / 1,667
Elevation Ascended: 2,156′
Weather: Sunny, 75° at start; sunny, 93° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

Each evening, the ABB staff provide us with the route sheet for the next day’s ride. It includes turn-by-turn directions, any hazards we need to deal with, and points of interest. They discuss the route in detail and we make any important  notes on our route sheets (usually things like “good pie shop at mile 75” or “Dairy Queen one block from hotel”). The contents of the route sheet tend to determine our “ride strategy” for each day. Today’s sheet included the words County Road (CR), Service Road and I-90. Combined, they made up 48 of the 58 total miles. Translation: kind of noisy and not a lot to see. Strategy: ride hard, take it all in, and be grateful for the ability to ride our bicycles in places we would never otherwise experience. The rolling South Dakota terrain has surprised many of our fellow riders but riding in East Tennessee has prepared us for what we fondly call PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs). Crest a hill, pedal super fast on the downhill, attack the uphill, repeat over and over. Bring it on South Dakota – you’ve got nothing on Tennessee!

We did have a little bit of excitement today on the interstate. A brush fire had broken out on the median and hopped the eastbound side of the freeway. Faced with flames on both sides of us, smoke blowing across the freeway, and no fire fighters on scene, we were able to ride through it unharmed. Just one more story to add to the list.

Today’s  destination was Wall, South Dakota. The town’s economy seems to be entirely dependent on Wall Drug. In the thousands of square feet that comprise this establishment, there does not appear to be a single drug. There are penny pressing machines, cheesy souvenirs, and pretty much anything that can collect dust on a shelf in your home. It’s as if a bad Western themed arcade collided with a Chinese cargo ship. But on a positive note, I posed for a photo with a prostitute.

We’re nearly half-way through our tour and every day has been remarkable for different reasons. Some days it’s the sights, some days it’s the people we meet along the way, and sometimes it’s just the chance to ride and talk with our new friends. Every day it’s the opportunity for both of us to do something amazing with each other and have this shared experience. We are very lucky.

We’re really enjoying South Dakota and tomorrow promises to be another special one with much of the day in the Badlands National Park. We’ll be on bighorn sheep alert!