How Shall I Begin?

Like This, I Suppose

I like the Great Plains. Something I don't like is when people criticize them as being "boring," "ugly," "neverending," "featureless," "monotonous," and other adjectives of negativity. I don't rip on your long mountain ranges with peaks that pierce the clouds. I don't denounce your deep, dark canyons with fast-flowing rivers and slowly-revealed secrets. I don't disparage your weirdly-eroded rock formations, your fantasmagorical coastlines, or your great green forests. I have a high regard for all those things. (Granted, I have occasionally called trees "view-blockers" in my journals, but still, I do have an appreciation for forests--especially forests of Saguaros and Joshua Trees.) There is something to like in all landscapes and that definitely includes the Great Plains.

The exact boundaries of the Great Plains is arguable, but I like the ones suggested by Ian Frazier in his aptly titled book, The Great Plains. Basically, he defines the Great Plains as the vast region east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the line where there is less than 20 inches of rainfall per year. As Frazier explains, an annual rainfall of less than 20 inches is too little for any kind of European-style farming. Early explorers called it "the great American desert."

I'm guessing that was before those explorers discovered the Chihuahua, the Great Basin, the Sonora, and the Mojave. Even so, I'm sure this land came as quite a drastic change from what they had seen in the eastern part of the country. Though not as hot and dry as the true American deserts, the Great Plains is certainly greater in size. Below is Ian Frazier's map of the region.

The shaded area is, unfortunately, one part of the U.S. that is too often neglected in the bike touring world. Usually the Great Plains is written off as nothing more than a painful, but necessary, obstacle for completing a cross-country tour.

Thank goodness, THIS character--Mr. Nice Guy--has come along to make the northern part of the Great Plains the main feature of a bike tour.

Only recently did I come up with this plan to ride my bike in the northern Great Plains. In the cold winter months, I had a tentative fantasy of riding in the extremely scenic deserts and canyons of western Colorado and eastern Utah. But, in the end, the logistics and the time frame aren't going to work out for me, and I know with great certainty that my limited photographic and verbal skills will have nothing to add to such a scenic and well-documented bike touring wonderland.

My alternate idea is the badlands and grasslands of the northern Great Plains, which I've often said would be a great place to explore by bicycle. Now, I figure, is the time to back up my words. Maybe next year, Utah.

I'll finish this introduction with a couple of semi-relevant quotes:

"In the minds of many, natural beauty means something that looks like Switzerland. Images of the plains are not a popular feature of postcards or scenic calendars." -Ian Frazier (From his book, The Great Plains)

"In the mind of ME, natural beauty means something that looks like the mid-section of America. Images of long grass, eroded badlands, sunflowers, prickly pears, and dusty soil will be a popular feature on the program at my funeral." -Gregory S. Garceau (From his journal, Mr. Nice Guy Goes Bad)

I'm considering many options, but I'm 99% sure my entire route will be within these boundaries.

Heart

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