June 18, 2018
Evil Wind, Pass Me By- Pierre to Bob's Resort
Evil wind, pass me by... -Bad Company
6/18/2018
56 miles. Felt like 95.
3327 elev gain
Winds at 18-20
We ate the hotel breakfast in Pierre (Governor's Inn) after 2 great days of rest and got on the road.
The road through and out of Pierre climbed steeply and we gained about 440 feet in the first two miles. We leveled out and rode with only mild winds for about an hour. Then the predicted 18-20 miles per hour winds started, and our day went downhill from there. Except the route went uphill. You might recall the Winds of Insanity video from a few days ago. Here it is so you can get a sense of what we rode against.
The prairie scenery in South Dakota this far has been a pleasant mix of grasslands, hills, some trees, and farmland. Today we saw much more farmland, and it really was pretty dull. Apparently we have entered the Farmlandsy region of South Dakota, which is also very Headwindsy.
We are considering a leap frog through some of the remaining Dakotas. We're not afraid of discomfort or hard work, but if too many more days are hard slogs, we will look to jump ahead. But for now we will roll, as our friends Curtis and Jenny might say. Our view of retiring on a bike is to enjoy it most of the time. But we will see how it goes.
Riding with Gay has been great. He is hilarious, interesting and insightful. I'm not sure why he hangs back with us because he could ride much faster. But he is good company and we will enjoy it as long as it lasts.
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We finished the slog from Hell at Bobs Resort, near an area called Forest City, which is weird since I haven't seen a forest since Missouri . As we pulled up, a woman in stopped in front of Jen and Gay (I was further back) and offered up her lodge at $100 for a cabin or $25 to camp near a cabin. She said it was down a steep hill, which meant a steep climb tomorrow, so we declined and went to Bob's. The campsite was $19, which included electric and water, and it was right next to the showers. He also had a convenience store and a Steakhouse, which was excellent. I had a hamburger steak, tater and salad, Jen and Gay had grilled chicken with salad and mashed potatoes.
We were all tired, whipped bikers, so we turned in, hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 682 miles (1,098 km)
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