ABBN25: Pierre to Chamberlain, SD

We had some decent scenery as we left Pierre (left photo) and as we approached Chamberlain (right photo); both provided by the Missouri River.  And there was a little – very little – variety as we saw more farming, including corn.  But mostly it is an empty land.  This is a sparsely settled country.  ---  As the miles rolled on, again a single road most of the day, with little to catch your attention, your eyes focus on the road ahead of you.  I’m pretty sure I was close to being hypnotized.  I can even imaging falling asleep at the wheel.  --- But what kept you awake, and in misery most of the day, was the rough road surface. Not a continuous high frequency roughness like Texas’ chip seal roads, but breaks in the pavement, frost heaves I assume, that shake your bike and rattle your bones continuously.  They’re one to three bike lengths apart; some minor but many the size of your arm and they will jolt you unmercifully.  I began to worry about my wheels.  How can they stand up to this continuous pounding?  At one point near the end of the ride, on a steep descent, the jolting was so bad it scared me. I started jumping the bike over the bumps, but this can’t be good for the wheels, so I applied the brakes and wasted the down-hill momentum.

Dinner conversation: A week or so ago, in Wyoming, everyone was talking about looking forward to South Dakota.  After a few days in South Dakota, everyone is looking forward to Minnesota.  Last night someone said: “We’ll see things there – like trees and houses and churches.”

Today marked the half-way point of the ride.  We “celebrated” it at the first rest stop (which was probably 15 miles shy of the actual mid-point). Thoughts on the first half:

1. I can’t believe it’s half over. ‘Seems like it started just yesterday.
2. It’s been much easier than I imagined.  Basically no aches, no pain (except for saddle sores); I recover  quickly each evening.
3. And, the second half should be easier, weather permitting. (NO RAIN SO FAR!) See table below.

	1st Half	2nd Half
Miles / day	80	79
Feet climbed / day	3,157	2,213
Centuries	5	2
Rest days	2	3

 

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
25	84	1,802	6.5	1,907	1,782	25

ABBN24: Wall to Pierre, SD

We went through the black hills (thus named because the fir trees are so dark they looked black to the Indians)in less than a day and then we’re back on the  plains:

“America is like a wave of higher and higher frequencies toward each end, and lowest frequency in the middle.  --- I looked out the windshield and saw nothing.  A hefty trash bag against a barbed-wire fence, maybe, torn to pennants by the wind; a metal prefab building in the distance; brunch grass blowing; a road as straight as a string. --- Just grain silos, and flat brown fields with one cow on them, and wheat fields, and telephone poles, and towns with four to six buildings ---“  Ian Frazier, GREAT PLAINS

The winds were fickle today. First none, then a slight tail wind, then headwind, and once again tailwind. But more tailwind than not and very welcome on the last 33 miles.  The route was pretty direct: get on the  interstate for one mile. Exit at the first exit and take route 14 for 116 miles. There were a number of construction areas in the last 20 miles. One of these was particularly nasty; the watering truck created mud and there were deep ruts. I was afraid I would fall but didn’t. And didn’t hear of anyone who did – but everyone looked like they had been mud-wrestling. My clip-on fender saved the day for me (Two of the Brits also had mud-guards and escaped the bike-cleaning party at the motel.).

Both yesterday and today we’ve had a lot of rolling hills.  Yesterday’s (shown in Mike’s photo at left) were smaller – you climbed maybe 60 feet in 1/2 mile.  Today’s were larger – you climbed 100 feet in a mile.  -- Another environmental problem the last couple of days: grasshoppers.  They jump in your wheel; they jump on your leg.  I try to run over as many as I can.  -- At mile 77 today, if we had taken the left fork we’d have gone to Sturgis.  But we’re about 10 days too early for the 69th Biker Rally.

We had two indicators of our progress today as we neared Pierre. (The state capital is pronounced “pier”.):

1. 1. We entered Central Time Zone (“Texas Time”)
2. 2. We crossed the Missouri River. (See photo at bottom of blog.)

The Missouri River^[8] is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America^[9].  At 2,540 miles (4,090 km)^[1] in length, it drains about one-sixth of the North American continent. The Missouri in its original natural meandering state was the longest river in North America. Nearly 72 miles (116 km) of the river have been cut off in channeling^[3] and so it is now comparable in length to the Mississippi River. The combination of the two longest rivers in North America forms the fourth longest river in the world.

Tomorrow’s ride will mark a milestone: the half way point. Amazing.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
24	117	2,502	7.5	1,823	1,866	26

ABBN23: Rapid City to Wall, SD

After last night’s marginal dinner at Perkin’s Family Restaurant I decided to  skip it for breakfast this morning.  Besides, there was a Starbucks within 1/2 mile of the hotel! This was the first Starbucks cappuccino I’ve had in three weeks. This was augmented via the Safeway bakery.

Yesterday we had lots to see; today we had nothing.  Unless you like to look at blowing grass. We were headed due East and, looking at the blowing grass, it looked like a 90 degree side wind from the north. But it obviously had a western component because we were flying!

 

The only notable thing on today’s route was Wall Drug.  I’m not sure if the town of Wall made Wall Drug or the other way round.

Wall Drug Store, often referred to simply as "Wall Drug", is a tourist attraction located in the town of Wall, South Dakota. It is a sprawling shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores.”

I would change the description from “tourist attraction” to “tourist trap”. This shows what you can do with advertising; there are Wall Drug signs as far as Afghanistan and the South Pole.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
23	58	1,969	3.5	1,706	1,983	27

ABBN22: Hot Springs to Rapid City, SD

Last night (and tonight) we had/have Versus for the first time so I’m getting caught up somewhat in the Tour de France.

I was surprised to learn from the itinerary that today’s ride had more climbing than when we went over the Continental Divide – and only slightly less than Teton Pass. Of course I know there figures are suspect at best. They come from software and a database of elevations. The projected number of feet climbed is almost always higher than actual, typically 10% to 20% higher.  But what is actual? I have both a bike computer and a GPS on my handlebars and both tell you how many feet you have climbed. But these don’t agree either. For today, the software projected altitude gain was 5,690. My bike computer reported 5,520 and the GPS reported 4,606. I record the more conservative GPS data. Is it correct? Who knows? And more important, does it make any difference?

Today’s ride was both beautiful and interesting. See information below about Crazy Horse Monument and Mount Rushmore. Leaving town there were two 7% hills but most of the climbs today were 5% or less so not much of a challenge. The only exception were the hills when we turned toward Mount Rushmore; there were some 9% climbs. And the last 10 miles into Rapid City were pretty difficult, primarily because of the headwind. (Most of the day we had a slight tailwind.)

We passed Crazy Horse Memorial but we were so far away that I didn’t get a good photo.  Photo on left is “planned”; the one on right is “actual”; both photos are from Wikipedia. The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in the form of Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota warrior, riding a horse and pointing into the distance.

The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain on land considered sacred by some Native Americans, between Custer and Hill City, roughly 8 miles (13 km) away from Mount Rushmore.  If this is ever finished, it will be 9 times as large as Mount Rushmore..

Mount Rushmore was much more impressive. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941), located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of  America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).^[1] The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km²)^[2] and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.^[3] It is managed by the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial attracts approximately two million people annually.  I was surprised to learn that the monument was completed the year I was born. Shown on right is my photo, taken at the visitor center.

We had the second accident today. Coming into town, Vivian, the 18 year old who races bicycles, went down. I’m not sure exactly what happened. It was pretty treacherous coming into town, lots of uphill's and fast downhill's, the shoulder coming and going, pavement changing, bumps in the road. You had to pay very close attention. I think Vivian was trying to determine where to go and was surprised by a bump in the road. At 25 to 35 mph , things happen quickly. Apparently she’s not seriously hurt, just some “road rash”.

Tomorrow is an easy day; luggage load is not until 8:00 a.m.

 

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
22	74	4,606	6.4	1,648	2,040	28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of me on left is from Mikes’ web site yesterday. The others are from today’s ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABBN21: Lusk, WY to Hot Springs, SD

First I’d like to recognize the family owned and run motel we stayed in last night. It was first class with large rooms, flat screen TV’s, indoor pool, very large lawn with chairs and picnic tables. When we arrived the had very large cookies and very cold lemonade for us.

Today’s ride was a repeat of yesterday’s – tailwind for the first half and headwind for the second half.  My lunch was even the same, chicken salad sandwich and Starbucks espresso from the cooler of a truck stop.  On the middle part of today’s ride – 20 miles into the wind with continuous, long but not very high hills, I was dragging. My hands hurt, my butt hurt and probably everything else hurt to some extent. I couldn’t get comfortable on the bike; probably changed positions every 30 seconds. But after the second SAG, after lunch and the espresso, I felt surprisingly good for the last 25 miles – even though the headwind continued and the two biggest climbs of the day were in this segment. And we were rewarded at the end with a 2 mile, 6% downhill into town.  I rode mostly be myself today, although Jim drafted me most of the segment where I was hurting.  And, like yesterday, I was at the motel by 2:30. (To be honest, there were at least 20 of us at the DQ at 2:15.)

As we were leaving Wyoming, the scenery got a little better and it continued to improve into South Dakota. See photos at the end of today’s blog.

I forgot to mention the changes with segment 3 which began yesterday.  We lost two riders, Patricia (with the Rivendale) and Maureen (who pulled down my shorts) completed their segment(s). We picked up 4 new riders and a new ABB staff member. And, most notably, Nick who separated his shoulder and left the ride last week is back.

At the lunch stop today the cashier told us of “the old road” into town, she said it was flatter tant the main road and it was paved. It was tempting, but then I remembered David Lamb’s Road Lesson Number 1 from Over The Hills:

What people tell bicyclists about road conditions and what lies ahead is usually wrong. If they say the road is smooth and downhill all the way to the next town, it's probably rough and a damn rough climb. --- The problem is that motorists perceive their surroundings in an entirely different manner than cyclists. Or more to the point, they don't perceive them at all.

Yesterday I mentioned my bike is performing flawlessly. I can’t say that about the electronics, but I’ll save that story for another day.

 

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
21	93	2,050	6.9	1,574	2,115	29

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos above are the last in Wyoming. Those below are the first in South Dakota.

 

ABBN20: Casper to Lusk, WY

I’ve added a new slide show (my photos) in the right hand column of this blog.

For the bike techies out in blog-land I had my second flat yesterday when I rode over a large piece of metal. Also, I had my chain replaced today; it had 3,700 miles on it.

Today’s ride was really two rides.  The morning ride was mostly on low traffic roads (You have to forget the 15 miles on the interstate) and with a tailwind! Everyone was flying and feeling strong.  Then, after lunch, we had lots of traffic and headwind! We no longer felt strong and invincible.

As I type this there is all sorts of noise outside – a parade with horses, collectors cars, etc. And every emergency vehicle in Lusk County is driving by with their sirens on.

Back to today’s rides. They had one thing in common, a totally boring, vast and ugly landscape.  See photo at left and at the bottom of the blog.

I started riding with the Tasmania-Trinidad group but this group fell apart on the first big hill.  Sarge and Doc, both from Trinidad, stopped and waited for the others but I went on. Later, near the first SAG stop, John, Bill and Bud came up and invited me to join them. At the second stop, Anne joined us.  It was not always a disciplined pace line, primarily because John & Bud are at least 2 mph stronger than the rest of us. The group would fall apart and then re-group; we did come into town together.

The headwinds seemed to get stronger by the hour; we were glad we got to the motel a little after 2:30.   The slower riders must have had a more difficult time.  If you’re not into parades, there is not much to do in Lusk. Jim, the mechanic, is very busy. There must be 10 people lined up for repairs.  I got my chain replaced early because I made an appointment earlier in the day. So far, my bike has required no repairs; everything is working like a Swiss clock.

I don’t know much about tomorrow’s ride other than it is 93 miles with about the same amount of climbing as today. But I do know we leave Wyoming; I can’t wait to get out of this wasteland.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
20	106	1,780	6.8	1,481	2,207	30

ABBN19: Casper, WY Rest Day

Doug H (Do I know a Doug H?) asked how the maps get done (see Blog ABBN09). The short answer is they’re made with Map Source, a product that comes with some Garmin GPS products like the Etrix Vista hCx which is on my handlebars.  The previous map (ABBN09) is quite different from the one I’m showing today at the bottom of this blog.

• I have defined “waypoints” in Map Source for each town where we’re spending the night. Then, by connecting the “waypoints” (in order) you have a “route”. This is the route (roads) Map Source selects for you, not the Route that America By Bicycle is using. So the previous map of where we were going on segment two was this type of map.
• The map shown today is quite different; it is the actual route we’ve taken so far. The Etrix collects “tracks” as we ride along. I save these every night and have uploaded them to Map Source for the map shown today. You’ll notice there are two gaps, a’la  Richard Nixon’s tapes and Ronald Reagan’s brain. Somehow I screwed up these days.

On additional point re the maps displayed, I use a freeware utility, MWSnap, to capture the laptop screen and save it as a .jpg file.

I note this is July 10; we arrive in Portsmouth August 10 – one month to go!  Another way to look at it is the ride is 1/3 over. David Lamb discussed this point in his trip Over The Hills:

“Friends told me the middle third would be the toughest. The newness of the experience would sustain me at the beginning, the scent of destination at the end, but in the middle, I would fall into a sort of vacuum in which everything seemed far away and nothing felt familiar, except the routine of pedaling.”

David did have these feelings on his trip but I do not, at least so far (I’m just starting the middle third.).  Maybe the difference is I’m riding with a group and there is little down time. Yesterday, for instance, I was on the go from 4:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. And when there is slack time, they find a way to fill it (e.g. the scavenger hunt of a few days ago and the yet to be held t-shirt swap). Even on the bike in the pace line yesterday, Larry started a mind game.

It’s noon, Brenda is at the Laundromat (only one washer here at the hotel) and I’ve cleaned the bike so we have the rest of the day to relax. And I’ve got to re-pack. I’ll surely send some stuff home.  I’ve had enough pasta on our group dinners so we’re looking for a good steak house for dinner tonight. Tomorrow is another 100+ day, probably with headwinds again. On Sunday, we’ll enter South Dakota. 

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
19	0	0	0	1,375	2,313	31

ABBN18: Riverton to Casper, Wy

The ABB web site which advertises this ride states: “The westerly winds can kick up on the high plains. We should get a nice ride into Casper, Wyoming for our second off day.”  Well guess again. We had 120 miles of headwind into Casper.  Not a nice ride.

And more to the point 120 miles of nothing!  There was virtually nothing to see – for 120 miles.  Well, maybe we should give an exception to Hells Half Acre (photo at left) at mile 76.7.  The Indians supposedly ran buffalo into this canyon, butchered them for their tongues and humps – and left the remains.

Mike Monk said this is the most difficult this ride has ever been. And I felt it. After a late start, I hooked onto a 4-person pace line – one I could keep up with (see photos or right). John and Gene and Anne, and occasionally Larry, got me through today. Without them, I’d probably be an hour back.  (Several people barely made it in time for dinner at 6:00.) We started at the back of the  pack but eventually moved to near the front. During the first half of the ride, even the pace line, going uphill at no more than 12.5 mph.

After the third rest stop (91 miles) we found Brenda, riding with the wind, and, after a hug and a kiss, she joined the group for the final ride into Casper.  I was surprised at how I felt.  With the pace line I was riding faster then normal, and even at mile 115 – I was feeling good. No aches and no pain.

But I’m more than ready for a relaxing weekend with Brenda.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
18	121	1,598	9.0	1,375	2,313	32

 

ABBN17: Dubois to Riverton, Wy

At lunch yesterday, the TV was on. Bill glanced at it and said “The best thing about being on the road today  is that we don’t have to watch or even hear about Michael Jackson’s funeral.” Amen to that.

Also from yesterday, there were a couple of comments from Basically Boring Blog readers about the 3.5 miles on a flatbed trailer. Well, I’m not going to worry about these mandatory lifts. Besides, there were 3.5 miles extra today just to eat breakfast.

Re today, who would ever thought that an 80 mile day could be a day for rest and relaxation? Well, with most of the ride downhill, it can be pretty relaxing. To sweeten matters, the first half also had a tailwind. But either we changed direction of the wind changed because it was against us the last half.  -  Like yesterday, it was cold when we started, but warmed fast. The temperature went from 41 too 61 between 6:00 and 8:00, and was 90 when we arrived in Riverton.  -  There were very few cars today: Who wants to go from Dubois to Riverton? The road had hundreds, maybe thousands, of frost cracks but there was a wide shoulder all of the way.

We totally lost the great scenery we had yesterday as the Tetons faded in the distance.  Shortly out of town, we went through a red rock canyon but after that it was as desolate ad lonely as West Texas.

We saw two things of interest on the road today, both going in the opposite direction, but I didn’t stop to explore either:

1. First I saw a recumbent tandem pulling a Bob (single wheel) trailer.  I hollered “Hello” to the couple; then told myself I should go back and visit with them.  But it’s hard to stop the bike when you’re going downhill with a tailwind.
2. Next I passed a guy with a long gray beard riding a horse. I thought that would be a great photo of local color – but didn’t stop. Later I learned from others in our group that this guy is riding his horse across the U.S. And you thought I’m crazy!

NOTE RE TOMORROW’S BLOG: It may not be published tomorrow because (1) Brenda will be visiting me and I may have higher priorities :) and (2) it’s a 120 mile day. So it may not be published until Friday, but I think I can get tomorrow’s date on it.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
17	83	892	5.1	1,254	2,433	33

ABBN16: Jackson to Dubois, Wy

As soon as you enter Teton National Park (mile 6.3) you begin to see the Tetons (photo on left).

The ride is basically 57 miles up hill to the Continental Divide and 31 miles downhill to Dubois (my least favorite  place of all we’ve stayed). There was traffic and construction today. On the construction we got to ride over some rough roads, followed a lead car twice and were also ferried about 3.5 miles in a flatbed trailer by the contractor. The climb was mostly gentle, never more than 7%. We actually climbed more from miles 40 to 48 than we did from 49 to the top at mile 57.

The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Divide or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea), and 2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean (including those which drain into either the Arctic or Atlantic Oceans via Hudson Bay).

Although there are other continental divides on the North American continent, the Great Divide is by far the most prominent of these because it tends to follow a line of high peaks along the main ranges of both the American and Canadian Rocky Mountains, at a generally much higher elevation than the other divides.

On to Riverton, WY. tomorrow and then Casper on Thursday – longest day of the tour, 120 miles.  That West wind had better be blowing but the forecast is not good. However, Brenda is coming to see me in Casper.  This nine days before a break has gone fast.

Oh yes, we passed some riders going the other way today. They were fully loaded, ready for camping and cooking. I talked to one of them, the oldest rider at age 70. He looked pretty weather-beaten. They started from Virginia in May and were headed toward Astoria. He said the worst thing about their trip was the food (that they were cooking) and next the hills. “The wind hasn’t been bad.” They were not looking forward to Teton pass with their fully loaded bikes. My report of 5 miles of 10% grade didn’t help.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
16	84	3,755	6.6	1,171	2,512	34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABBN15: Idaho Falls to Jackson, Wy

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way." - Dr Seuss

Get on your way we did and it almost did me in.  Chuck Carlson had warned “Teton Pass is tough – 10% grade. Don’t wear your self out before you get there.”  But his advise was difficult to take since our first 44 miles had significant headwind. So I was tired by the time we made the left turn to the passes. 

Two days ago when we had the 102 mile day I was riding slow, at least in the morning. It seemed that everyone passed me before the first rest stop. And today, I certainly wasn’t with any of the faster riders. Or even the average riders.  You’re supposed to get stronger as the ride goes on; I seem to be getting weaker!

The climb to Pine Creek Summit (6,764 feet) was beautiful and we no longer had headwind. It was as if we were riding in an alpine meadow – may not have been one but felt like it.  The beginning and ending miles were relatively steep but the majority of the 14 mile climb was rolling.  We then lost 900 feet to the town of Victor for lunch.

We enter Wyoming and then begin the climb to Teton Pass (8,431 feet). It’s only 8 miles, but a tough 8 miles, the last 2.5 with a 10% grade. REFI was in jeopardy but I made it by stopping frequently. There were several riders walking part of the last 2 miles.  At the top of the pass there was no sign recognizing your accomplishment, but the view (left) was worth all the effort. 

The downhill was steep – 10% grade for 5 miles. Even though I was on my brakes the entire time, I reached 37 mph. 

Ride leader Mike Monk is fond of saying “If you liked today, you’re going to love tomorrow.” And tomorrow is another 88 mile day with significant climbing; we’re over 9,000 feet as we cross the Continental Divide.  -- See more of today’s photos below.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
15	89	4,132	8.25	1,087	2,600	35