One Sleep, Ten Sleep, Bad Sleep, Good Sleep

It's on wheels!

Friday we left Buffalo and immediately hit the mountains. That day, we climbed 7,000 feet, a new record from our 6,000 vertical feet days in the East. The climb was long and steady, with about 5% grades to the top. We ate “lunch” on the side of the road on the way up. We’re getting really good at having lunch while sitting on the ground. Powder River Pass was at 9,666 feet, our highest point yet. While on the Buffalo side we had some ups and down, once on the other side it was straight down at 6%. The ride into the town of Ten Sleep was a great cruise, our prettiest ride yet through the gorge. Luckily we found a little ski resort/lodge thing and had some 3:30 burgers on the way down. We were officially back in the mountains of the West, and very happy to be there.

 Once in Ten Sleep, it was roasting, but thankfully the tiny town had its own public splash pad to cool off in. Supper was really just some ice cream and pie in the town café. We did learn that the town of Ten Sleep got its name from the Native American tribes who lived in the area. The town was “ten sleeps” from Casper and ten more sleeps to Bridger. We stayed at this RV park run by a cowboy who was housing a lot of other rodeo people and a group of people with a lot of mules. The cowboy also had a small bear of a dog. Lots of fun creatures there. It was 65 miles that day.

Snacks on the side of the road.

The next day we rode to the town of Greybull, 66 miles total. We were definitely riding through the desert, seeing a bunch of cacti and painted rock. We reached our first fruit stand of the tour that day and stocked up on fresh food. Our ride was ultimately somewhat boring that day, but we stayed the night in the Antler Inn to reminisce our trip to South Dakota and stay there a few years back. The town hasn’t changed since then, in case anybody was wondering.

The next day we rode from Greybull to Cody, another boring day of desert, but we could see the mountains approaching. In Cody we had a lot of food at Taco Johns, then went on our way to an RV park about 10 more miles down the road in order to be closer to the park. It was 73 miles that day. By the time we got there, we had a huge tailwind, and some of us wanted to keep going, but like last time, Mother got her way and we stayed where we were.

That night we met a couple of other guys from Madison, WI, who were biking from there to Salt Lake City. They had just graduated from college and have been nicknamed “The Arabians” for their supposedly cooling head scarves, lack of helmets, and sandals. They continued down the road from us, so we were the only tent at the RV park that night. Or so we thought.

Grumpy with the Oreo Express back there.

At approximately 1:30AM, a big black church-camp looking van pulled up next to us and started setting up camp. More and more people kept getting out of the van and attempting to set up their huge tent. Then they turned on the air mattress inflator, which woke up our whole family if we hadn’t been awake already. The effort of this other family to talk to each other over the racket of the inflator was not what we wanted in the wee hours of the morning.

Eventually they settled down. When we woke up in the morning, we looked over to see a huge tent, people sleeping in the van, and two people sleeping outside right on the dirt. As they woke up, I counted 9 children and 2 parents. Their van read “The Oreo Express: Yellowstone or Bust! No Stops!” This Kansas family clearly underestimated how long it would take them to get to their campground. 

Filling a water bottle on the roadside.

 Monday we rode into Yellowstone National Park. A word of warning: it costs more to take 3 bikes in than it does a single car. It was slightly uphill all the way to the entrance, but really kicked up once we were inside the park. The amount of traffic through Yellowstone granted us a lot of cheers and thumbs up from drivers and motorcyclists on the way up the mountain, even though this one was much more tame than the Big Horns were. Sylvan Pass was at 8530 ft. At the top, we met a guy from Boise. Finally getting to see someone from home, even though we had no idea who they were, was a great feeling.

The park ranger people were all a bit concerned about where we would be able to camp in the park, given that July is busy season and all the campgrounds were listed as full. We were referred to Bay Bridge, a campground slightly off route, but one that had pity on us as bikers and allowed us to stay. Sadly we did not get showers that night, even after sweating up the pass.

It rained all night long in Yellowstone, keeping us in bed until 7 when it finally let up. We had to pack a wet tent.

That buffalo is too close for comfort.

This morning was cool and pleasant riding all through the park. Yellowstone kept the ride interesting, with animals and geothermal activity to view from the road just about anywhere. There are a lot of posted warning signs about staying in your car when near wildlife, but that was a luxury this trip did not afford us. Viewing the buffalo herds off in the distance was fine, but one of them planted himself right at the edge of the roadway. We get stared at by animals all the time, but being stared down by a buffalo while on a bike is the last thing I wanted to do. We were all the way out in the other lane of traffic, trying to give this guy as wide a berth as possible. It was scary stuff.

Suckers power us.

After the bison encounter (Tatanka) it was mostly downhill out to the park’s west entrance. We’re here in West Yellowstone, Montana, at the third campground we stopped at because of busy season and all. It’s already rained again tonight. Our total for the day is 61 miles. We are now officially back on the Adventure Cycling route, though now it is the Trans America. Only three states to go.

Sad Faces, Dark Places

With Aunt Kristen, Keith, and Kane

In the Black Hills.

Sunday, in Rapid City, the plan had been to continue biking once the temperature dropped a bit in the evening and make it to Keystone. As it turns out, the temperature never decreased, and the ride to Keystone threatened too much climbing to sound like a good idea. So instead, we stayed the night in Rapid, getting to catch up with Mom's Aunt Kristen and her family who were in town. We hit Rapid during Hills Alive, a big Christian Music Festival, which this year featured the Newsboys. They closed out the weekend, so we all hiked down to the park to watch the show. It was easily the best part of the trip so far. Shelby and I made our way to the front near the stage and had a great night.

Rushmore!

The next morning we climbed and climbed and climbed some more. The Black Hills were steep like New England was, causing some bad flashbacks to the first few painful days of this trip. During a really dark moment we pulled into a tourist campground and I rolled my bike right over a $10 bill. So that helped me through.  There was a nice descent into Keystone where we stopped for lunch, then Dairy Queen dessert.

The DQ turned out to be a bad idea just half an hour later. Despite how delicious it was, stomachs started turning as we climbed the steep and hot two miles to Mount Rushmore. It would have been much easier to go around, especially since all of us have seen it at least five times. But of course, "what would a cross country bike tour be without a picture in front of Rushmore?"So, here you have it. We made it. Hooray.
After a little Rushmore visit, we were all exhausted, so we called it quits at the Palmer Gulch KOA, a gigantic town-like campground resort near the monument. We may have only done 31 miles that day, but we climbed 3600 ft at elevation in that time. That night, we went to dinner after setting up the tent. While we were there, a storm cloud passed over and sprinkled a bit, then started a full on downpour. The rain fly was, of course, not on the tent. Shelby and I sprinted the half mile through the RVs to the tent, only to cover up a contained puddle on top of all of our sleeping bags and pillows. So those all had to be dried.

Shelby got a new saddle. Here she is chucking the old one. 

Crazy Horse is back there.

Hitching a ride.

That night a major thunderstorm passed over us, so we were up at 4 with lightning strikes and pouring rain. Thankfully the ride to Newcastle, WY was mostly downhill as we left the hills and made it back to the desert. As we were leaving Custer, the sheriff pulled us over to let us know that the road to Jewel Cave was under massive construction. Unfortunately the only way around it meant adding 60 miles to our journey, so we headed for Jewel Cave anyway.
The road was in fact under construction. There wasn't really a road at all for 3 miles, so we were forced to get a ride in the pilot car. It was a bumpy ride for sure, and certainly difficult for smaller vehicles. There was no way we could have ridden it, so we were grateful for the lift with the construction lady who liked her country music and sunflower seeds. We got to Newcastle early and took naps in the hotel there because of the rude thunderstorm awakening. It stormed even more in the early evening, dropping some huge hail for a while. We were grateful to have a roof. The mileage for the day was 52.

Tailwinds make us smile.

Wednesday was a long day to Gillette, about 78 miles. Fortunately we woke up to SE winds as we headed NW. It was nothing short of a miracle. We've been waiting and waiting for a tailwind across the plains, and Wednesday was our day. We were averaging about 19mph that morning with little effort. Once we got to Gillette, Dad and I were ready to ride the tailwind to Buffalo, a full 67 miles up the road. Mother, however, disagreed, saying it was too far and that there could be thunderstorms. So we were forced to  comply with her wishes, staying in a hotel in case of storms.

In a dark place.

These storms never showed up. This morning the winds were howling out of the SW at 17 when we woke up, and only worsened as the day went on. The only thing between Gillette and Buffalo is a little rest stop where we planned to have a snack and get some more water. Turns out there was no vending or air conditioning at the rest stop, and the water was salty. We had plenty of food, and thought we had plenty of water, so we pushed on. The winds got really bad shortly after leaving. The wind out here is completely demoralizing when its in your face, making riding tedious and exhausting. For a while we were going 7mph, maybe getting up to 10 on a downhill if we were lucky. Soon we were having to stop every mile, and starting to run out of water. It was a hot day, too. The water we had left was what we filled at the rest stop, and the salty taste only left us wanting more water. We stopped at a "parking area" on the side of the road and hid under the shade of a dumpster there. We were blessed by the sight of an RV parked there. Dad rode up to it and asked for water, and the owner emerged from the RV with an entire gallon of it just for us. It was the greatest thing we had seen all day. I could have sworn there was light streaming from the heavens on that gallon. We drank the whole thing and filled up our bottles under the dumpster. Shelby and I were looking pathetic enough sitting there that when another car stopped, they offered us some Cokes and another bottle of water. It was enough to get us through to the nearest gas station with Gatorade and ice cream.

So now we're in Buffalo at the Indian Campground after 68 miles, preparing ourselves to climb over the Bighorn Mountains tomorrow. It's dry, cooling off over night, and there's no bugs. Love it.

Roadkill Report: Gigantic Snake, Deer, Antelope, Deer, Bunny, Bunny, Snake, Deer, Bunny, Frog, Turtle, Turtle, Bird, Bird, Bird, Rabbit, Bird
Money Found: $10.02

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

Great Faces, Great Places

At the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum.

Saturday morning we woke up to 100% humidity in Sleepy Eye. Not the rain variety, just fog. We braved the elements on our way out, riding despite the inevitable rain. It started only about 7 miles into our ride, just sprinkling at first, then downpouring - the kind of rain that stings when it hits. Thankfully it quit only a couple miles later, but it rained enough to completely soak us. We changed clothes in the next town's laundromat and had some coffee to warm up.

Shelby in the corn...

We are incredibly lucky to have done this tour during one of the coldest summer weeks of upper midwest history. While we've always imagined sweating through the hot and humid plains, the past few days have actually been quite pleasant for riding, even requiring us to start out wearing sweatshirts.
Saturday we also went through Walnut Grove, MN, home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and featured in her book On the Banks of Plum Creek. We hit the town just in time for the annual pageant weekend, so there was a big celebration going on in the park.
We spent the night in Tracy after 50 miles. We were suffering some headwinds and general exhaustion. Though we thought about continuing another 12 miles to a campground, apparently the hotel we had called to hold a room for us in Tracy was going to charge us for the room whether we stayed there or not, being that it was pageant weekend and all. The hotel had a pool though, so that was a bonus.

God's Country

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Aunt Mary's in White, South Dakota. More headwinds, especially in the afternoon, so riding wasn't exactly easy. When we crossed the state sign, a couple who lived across the street offered us some water and took our picture for us. About 5 miles later, we were greeted by cousin Jason and Aunt Mary from the other direction, flying American flags and pinwheels out their window for us. As we got into town, they led us in parade-style.

With Jackie, Ted, Jenna, and Kellen Quinn

Aunt Jackie, Uncle Ted, Jenna, and Kellen were in Brookings for Jenna's swim meet, so they drove up to White to meet us as well. Jason's family came out, as did Allison and her fiance Cory. Kellen got a ride on the tandem, which was definitely a highlight of the night. Uncle Bruce grilled us up a great meal, and all around our little family reunion was a great time. It was 67 miles that day.

With Jason, Lacey, Brooklyn, and Aylah Roberts

With Allison and Cory

With Mary, Bruce, and Adam Norman

Post-crash.

Monday morning we tried to get up early to avoid the wind, but it was no use. By 20 miles, we were already exhausted, fighting up to 30 mph crosswinds from the North. Each pedal stroke was a struggle to keep the bike upright. So by Arlington, 10 miles later, we were all about ready to call it a day. Only a mile outside of Arlington, I got sucked into the draft of the tandem and hit the back wheel, then fell off the main road onto the shoulder, then ended up crashing to the pavement on the side of the highway. Thankfully I was okay, just a few scrapes and bruises, but Mom screamed and swore when she saw me fall, and a couple of the good people of South Dakota stopped their truck to make sure I didn't need to be hospitalized. Between the crash and the wind, Arlington was our stopping point, so we set up camp in the park and spent some time at the community library.

My most prestigious university tour yet.

The next day we rode into Huron. Passing through De Smet for lunch, the waitress asked if we were part of the Cycle America group. Turns out, there was an oncoming group of about 50 riders riding coast to coast from the west in 9 weeks (don't be too impressed, they had vans to carry their gear). For many miles we saw cycle tourists on the other side of the road. It's always nice to know that we aren't the only crazy ones out here. Once in Huron, we set up camp at Memorial Park, then met up with Jackie Steward and her family, another NDSU friend. We had dinner at the Prime Time Tavern, a place that only had filet mignon on the menu, but it was delicious.

With Jackie, Joel, Julia, and Jessie Steward.

Overnight the temperature reached as low as 48 degrees. We keep wondering "Where are we?" and "What month is this?" Today was a big day, 83 miles all the way to Harrold, the infamous hometown of my father; the "Community of Progress" as the sign reads. On our way we stopped in Miller to have lunch with Carrie Galinat, Dad's cousin, and two of Mom's aunts, Kathy and Sandi.  Harrold's population may have doubled with the crowd of family we drew here. The fire is roaring outside and fireworks will soon be shot off to make up for the lack of them in Iowa over the fourth.

Fun Fact: Huron, SD, is home to the world's largest pheasant, weighing in at 22 tons, and sculpted by an Idahoan. A true work of art.

Roadkill Report: Bird, Frog, Bird, Bird, Skunk, Skunk, Skunk, Raccoon, Bird, Raccoon, Bambi, Cat, Snake, Cat, Coyote, Frog, Frog, Bird, Bird, Bird,

College Tours and College Friends

With Jeff.

On Wednesday the winds had thankfully subsided. We rode into Red Wing, MN, where Dad did a lot of reminiscing of his college internship days in that cute little town. At Red Wing, we got on the Cannon Valley Trail, a paved path that took us 20 more miles into the town of Cannon Falls. At this point we left the Adventure Cycling route to carve our own path across South Dakota. Right as we neared the end of the trail, we saw another guy who looked like a bike tourist, complete with an American flag flying from a back pannier. We stopped and talked with him at the trailhead for a while. He was Jeff, the retired railroad conductor from California. He was also biking coast to coast, although he was going west to east. Turns out we had plans to stay at the same campground, so we got to continue chatting with him for quite a while. He was great company. We were happily surprised to see him right after we had left the ACA route.

That day we only did 58 miles. Its been getting more difficult to find places to stay that are evenly spaced out without our maps to guide us. We stayed at a bug infested campground right on one of the 10,000 lakes.

Thursday was an exciting day. Carter Muench, Dad's good friend from college, came down from the Twin Cities to ride with us for a while in the morning. He met us at the campground and rode with us into Northfield, whose motto reads "Cows, Colleges, and Contentment". He from then on played our tour guide to St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges, which were beautifully built. We had lunch and caught up with him, a great reunion after some 15 years.

With Carter.

With Dana.

Ooops, Derrick went to work. With Jamie and Alexis.

About 20 miles later, we met up with Dana Patenaude, another college friend, on a bike path into Mankato. This ride also included a stop for ice cream, as usual. Distractions make it a lot easier to ride. We did a total of 69 miles that day, stopping at Dad's brother Derrick and his wife Jamie's house. It was great to see them again and be allowed to sleep in their air conditioned house. We've hit a sudden wave of family and friends now that we're entering the midwest, which is great to help break up the monotony of the trip.

This morning we woke up to thunderstorms, again, at Derrick and Jamie's. Therefore we didn't get to leave until 11, still riding into a bad southwest wind and 80% humidity. I miss the desert.

Shelby's view all summer long.

We stopped at Minnesota State University, Mankato on the way out of town. Turns out it was orientation day at the college, so we stopped at the student union building for lunch since it was open and bustling with students. Although the plan was to get to Redwood Falls by this evening, the wind and humidity slowed us down considerably and zapped a lot of energy. So now, we've only gone 54 miles and are in Sleepy Eye, MN, in a hotel. We plan to be in White to visit Aunt Mary within the next couple of days.

Today is officially our halfway point, and we are still a little bit ahead of schedule.

Roadkill Report: Deer, Raccoon, Bird, Cat, Bird, Bird, Bird

MSU