Head for the Hills

Made the Capital Journal!

With Grandpa and Norma.

Thursday we woke up to another windy day in the great state of South Dakota. We took our time that morning because we only had to get to Pierre that day. Everyone warned us about the "Blunt Hill" that we would hit right outside of the bustling town of Blunt that morning. The hills west of the river are much worse than that little 100 foot climb was, I promise. We survived it.

With Grandpa and Grandma Galinat.

With Great Grandma Cooper.

At mile 17 we stopped at the Junction truck stop to get lunch with Aunt Kristen and her family one more time. Grandma Galinat and Grandma Cooper came over from Harrold to eat with us as well. We filled nearly all the tables in the place, but it was nice to have some company again. The miles to Pierre, though few in number, were still tough because of the winds. We arrived about 2:30, and set up at Great Grandma Stirling's house. After a shower we were met by David the Capital Journal newspaper reporter, asking for an interview. We chatted with him for a while. He informed us that there was another cross-country bicyclist in town that night, but he was raising money for the rotary club. The other guy's story made the front page, but our story was included with it. We picked up a copy the following day. After that interview, we had to go down to the radio station and do a recorded interview with a guy down there. We're practically celebrities.
That night we had the necessary dinner at the Cattlemen's Steakhouse and dessert at the Zesto, completing our visit to the capital city. We did 35 miles that day.

With Great Grandma Stirling.

Friday morning we left Pierre and entered the Middle of Nowhere. It's bad news when you're on a bike and pass a "No Services" sign. Thankfully we had stocked up on emergency granola bars and beef jerky in Fort Pierre, so we made it to Midland without too much of a problem. Not being able to stop sure makes the arrival time sooner. The mostly dead town of Hayes did have a "roadside stop" so we sort of picnicked at a crappy table there. Norma gave us a bag full of cookies before she left, which were definitely a big help in getting us to Midland.

Shelby's cookie selfie.

We had headwinds the last 21 miles to Midland. Riding was getting really difficult, so much that we were stopping every 7 miles to take a break. For those of you who don't know, Midland is famous for its natural mineral baths, now located at the Stroppel Inn. Due to lack of showers in the city park, we sprung for another hotel room with the cash discount. Dad even took a complimentary mineral bath.
When Dad was making a gas station snack trip, he took my bike so he wouldn't have to pull the tandem around. He flatted the back tire in an instant, also busting the tire. There went our one spare tire.
The lady running the place let us know about the Friday night farmer's market in the park, so we headed to that for dinner served by the local 4H Club. We also got some fresh cucumbers and radishes to have with some banana bread that we picked up for breakfast. Midland was overall a great place to stay. 62 miles total that day.

 

The weather forecast claimed Saturday would have an East wind, with gusts up to 20 mph. We made big plans to push over 100 miles to Rapid City that night.
The morning proved the weather guys wrong, unfortunately. The wind turned out to be a strong crosswind, making us stop in Wall instead only 58 miles in. On our way, we passed through Phillip, home of the Scotties, and were interviewed once more for the Phillip ReviewThis left lots of time to kill at Wall Drug at lunchtime, which was kind of fun.
Just two miles out of Wall, my tire went flat. Very flat. We pumped it up and I rode it to Wall Drug, but as soon as we got there it was flattened again. Turns out I had run over some sharp metal thing. Thankfully the tire was okay this time, but my bike was definitely struggling in the wheel department.
We took the 6-foot Rabbit and Jackalope pictures at Wall Drug, then were off to find a campground. Thankfully the one we stayed at had a pool. It has sadly been heating up the past few days, so any body of water is much appreciated.

This morning we woke up to more crosswinds and lots of hills. We've been on Highway 14 all across the state, but now had to take I-90. The interstate wasn't as bad as we feared because of its huge shoulder. We made it to Rapid about noon, 52 miles into our day. We stopped at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and a bike shop to restock our spare tubes and tires. Now we're just killing time, eating ice cream, drinking tea, making good use of the Main Street Square Splash Pad, waiting and hoping for cool evening weather. We plan on getting to Keystone tonight, pushing out of Rapid around 6.

SDSM&T

Roadkill Report: Frog, Frog, Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird, Deer, Bird, Cat, Bambi, Turtle, Turtle, Bird, Frog, Mouse, Turtle, Turtle