Day 24--Wall SD to Pierre SD--July 14th
Miles Ridden 117.5
Avg. Speed 16.0 MPH
Climbing 3770 Ft.
Total Miles Ridden 1763
Miles To Go 1866
This trip is organized around getting us from town to town on the prescribed schedule. That concept makes it possible to move 50+ people across the country in about 7 weeks but it demands that each rider gets on the bike every day, regardless of his or her condition. Without getting into the details, I'm blaming the water in Wall, which which was the foulest I've ever gotten out of a tap, for a night of misery that saw me take eight Imodium. Given the length of today's ride, we had to get up at 4:45 and get on the road by 6:00 AM. I felt weak but otherwise OK, so, after a big breakfast to prepare me for 117 miles I nervously complied. I would have much preferred to be sleeping late at home.
We covered the first sixty miles in a very fast three hours. We then turned north into what the ride staff called the strongest headwind they had ever seen on this route. I started feeling weak and didn't keep up with group I usually ride with. A couple of miles into the wind, I passed a woman who usually rides with her daughter but was alone and ready to give up and take a ride on the support van. I told her she could ride behind me at whatever pace she could handle and we slowly completed the twenty miles in about two hours before turning to the east and away from the headwind. It was another of the very difficult physical and mental endurance tests on the trip. I caught up with my riding group and we finished the last forty miles of a long day to Pierre. As a welcome for us, the hotel had a large cooler of beer on ice. First time that has happened on the trip and their timing was great.
One of the unusual features of the ride today was the incredible number of grasshoppers that littered the road and blew into us in the wind. The road was covered with dead and alive insects. They hit us in the face, got stuck in our helmets and bikes and were a day long nuisance. The infestation was heaviest near some of the wheat fields being harvested which made we wonder how much of our bread is actually grasshopper parts.
Pierre is North Dakota's capital and is located on the Missouri River which at this point is wide and slow moving. When we crossed the river we entered the Central Time Zone. We'll be following the river on the ride tomorrow on the way to Chamberlain.
Ranch 10 miles outside Wall
That's the entire international airport complex at Hayes. (population 412)
More sights along the road to Pierre
The Missouri River looking east from the bridge at Pierre
One more small milestone, tomorrow we hit the halfway point
Avg. Speed 16.0 MPH
Climbing 3770 Ft.
Total Miles Ridden 1763
Miles To Go 1866
This trip is organized around getting us from town to town on the prescribed schedule. That concept makes it possible to move 50+ people across the country in about 7 weeks but it demands that each rider gets on the bike every day, regardless of his or her condition. Without getting into the details, I'm blaming the water in Wall, which which was the foulest I've ever gotten out of a tap, for a night of misery that saw me take eight Imodium. Given the length of today's ride, we had to get up at 4:45 and get on the road by 6:00 AM. I felt weak but otherwise OK, so, after a big breakfast to prepare me for 117 miles I nervously complied. I would have much preferred to be sleeping late at home.
We covered the first sixty miles in a very fast three hours. We then turned north into what the ride staff called the strongest headwind they had ever seen on this route. I started feeling weak and didn't keep up with group I usually ride with. A couple of miles into the wind, I passed a woman who usually rides with her daughter but was alone and ready to give up and take a ride on the support van. I told her she could ride behind me at whatever pace she could handle and we slowly completed the twenty miles in about two hours before turning to the east and away from the headwind. It was another of the very difficult physical and mental endurance tests on the trip. I caught up with my riding group and we finished the last forty miles of a long day to Pierre. As a welcome for us, the hotel had a large cooler of beer on ice. First time that has happened on the trip and their timing was great.
One of the unusual features of the ride today was the incredible number of grasshoppers that littered the road and blew into us in the wind. The road was covered with dead and alive insects. They hit us in the face, got stuck in our helmets and bikes and were a day long nuisance. The infestation was heaviest near some of the wheat fields being harvested which made we wonder how much of our bread is actually grasshopper parts.
Pierre is North Dakota's capital and is located on the Missouri River which at this point is wide and slow moving. When we crossed the river we entered the Central Time Zone. We'll be following the river on the ride tomorrow on the way to Chamberlain.
Ranch 10 miles outside Wall
That's the entire international airport complex at Hayes. (population 412)
More sights along the road to Pierre
The Missouri River looking east from the bridge at Pierre
One more small milestone, tomorrow we hit the halfway point
NO MORE TAP WATER!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete