This morning we left in the dark at 5 am because we had big miles, high winds were in the forecast, and we were going to lose an hour due to entering the central time zone.
Unfortunately, we rode through the main part of the Badlands in the dark. The sky was clear, the stars were shining and the white hills glowed eerily in our headlight beams.
When the sun rose the mountain goats were everywhere. They didn’t seem to be too concerned by people on bicycles.
We did get to see a little of the Badlands when the sun came out.
After the badlands we passed through a corner of Wall, South Dakota. Wall Drug is celebrating its 90th anniversary and still has free ice water and sells a cup of coffee for 5¢.
For the next 60 miles we didn’t see much of anything. For a while we could pass the time by reading the backside of the Wall Drug billboards. The hills were green and there were some cattle.
Farm report. We did not see any irrigation equipment today. There were a couple of cornfields with short stalks of corn. We saw two giant fields of sunflowers.
And a couple fields of sorghum.
All day we battled head and crosswinds. We also climbed a lot of hills It was our toughest day so far. We’ll sleep well tonight.
Stats
- Interior to Murdo, South Dakota.
- Distance: 126.5 miles (204 km)
- Climbing: 4843 feet (1476 m)
- Temperature: 45 – 72°F (7 – 22°C)
Sundry
We saw Alex and Jeff again today. Jeff took a tumble off the road from a gust of wind while looking backwards. Not knowing the extent of the damage they stopped at a clinic in Kadoka. A nurse checked him out and fortunately there weren’t any serious injuries. He had a bloody ear, road rash on his arm, face and leg and a cracked helmet. Tonight they are staying in Midland, South Dakota at a place with hot springs. Hopefully the spring water will heal everything by morning. Good luck guys and hopefully you’ll be home for dinner tomorrow!
Adventures of 4 MAMILs* 