July 10
Thursday, July 10 Wall,
SD to Pierre, SD 117.7 miles 3270 feet of climb
I was never so glad
to see a river! When the Missouri River
came into view from the top of the last and final hill on the
day, I breathed a great sigh of relief.
Only two more miles to go to the destination in Pierre, S.D..
What a day! A day that builds strength,
perseverance and character on this bike journey. It was 117+ miles and I have great
admiration for the pioneers that had to cross South Dakota in a covered
wagon. A bicycle is just a little step
up. But the rain and wind challenged us
both. Since it was such a long day
mileage wise, luggage truck opened at 5:15AM.
Larry was just a few minutes late ( first time! ) opening the truck.
It started to rain cats and dogs just as
some of us got on our bikes and headed out.
I didn’t go for the
breakfast. I ate in my room. A Nutritional drink from a can, a huge
sticky cinnamon roll and a power bar. I
wasn’t going to sit in the cafe and then get a late start. Besides we lost a whole hour when we passed
into the Central Standard Time zone.
That made the day really long.
The rain was coming down hard for the first ten miles. We were drenched but I didn’t mind riding in
the rain. It was actually a welcome
change from the blazing heat.
By the first SAG stop at 25 miles we put
the rain gear away. We lucked out and
it stayed cloudy and pretty cool for almost the entire day. What a boost that was to have the cloud
cover. We were rolling up and down non
stop.
Then things changed dramatically at mile
84. Head wind. We were riding right into it for the last 35
miles. What a challenge. But I’m so much stronger now and it didn’t
mentally defeat me like it did back a week ago. Sure was glad to get to the top
of the last climb through the changing wind- side wind, head wind back and
forth.
So were here in the
Capital of South Dakota. Everyone was really dragging tonight and
when we found out at route rap tonight that we have a 20 mile detour , we all
groaned. 95 miles to Chamberlain
tomorrow.
Road kill
today: 2 rattlesnakes, bigger than any
I’ve seen!
The land is now
being used for smaller crop growing.
Not so many cattle farms. Things
look nice and green and there are lots of corn fields in this area.
Good night. I’m ready to sleep quick and look forward to
a new adventure tomorrow as we cycle following the Missouri River.