So we didn't quite make it to our destination today... story to follow.
After the hellacious storms passed last night, we were able to check out the Laura Ingalls history in town. We walked the old streets of downtown and went over to the Surveyor's Shanty where the Ingall's first resided upon arriving in De Smet. We also saw the house in town that "Pa" built and a church that "Pa" also helped build. ( I never read the "Little House" books but I was a fan of the TV series.)
I was really eager to get on the road in the morning as we had the trifecta of conditions for the day - tailwinds, sunshine and moderate temperature. It was a gorgeous day for a ride! In fact, it was one of those days that you dream about when you envision bike touring. We had gently rolling hills, gorgeous scenery and the best part... we were rolling along at a 17 mph average. Nice!
Everything was idyllic until we arrived in Brookings, SD. On our way through town, Marc stopped suddenly and asked me to listen to his bike. It was making a clicking noise when he pedaled. After further investigation, he deducted that it was coming from his rear wheel's hub. It appears that the wheel could no longer handle all the weight that he was pulling. As he investigated the noise, I pulled out my phone and starting searching for a bike shop. Luckily there was one in town, unluckily it was not open on Sunday.
With a bad hub, you can't chance riding on it. So we had to forfeit our plans of riding the additional 35 miles to Tyler, MN. We were really bummed as it was the perfect day for riding!
We got a room at the local Super 8 and decided that we just take today as a rest day. Brookings is a beautiful town with the University of South Dakota campus nearby.
After checking in to our hotel, we decided to explore the town. Our first priority was of course... pie! We found the Perkins Restaurant and I had a selection of 12 or so pie flavors. I was quite tempted by the Strawberry Pie, but wanted to save that for my mom's so I chose the Caramel & Crumb Topped Apple Pie. It was delicious... not too sweet, with a lovely hint of caramel and sweet crumb over a tart apple filling.
After our pie break, we stumbled upon the University of SD Gardens which supposedly boasts the most beautiful 70 acres in South Dakota. I beg to differ as the landscape in the Black Hills and Badlands is much more scenic.
As we wandered around town, I stumbled upon a Goodwill thrift store and begged Marc for a few minutes inside. I have been so embarrassed wearing my WalMart Shoes, so I was thrilled when I found a nice black pair of Kenneth Cole Sandals to switch them out with. I also found a brand new Dolce & Gabbana T-shirt and just had to buy it! I love finding great deals - where else can you get designer shoes and a t-shirt for $6!!!!
So plan for tomorrow is to hit the bike shop at 10 AM and unwillingly lay out $150-200 for a new wheel for Marc's bike and then hopefully get on the road by 11 AM. Our new destination is Springfield, MN and from there we are off to Mankato to stay with the Lorentz's (my friend Jess's parents.)
Marc's Stats:
Total Miles: 44
Average MPH: 17
Winds - 15 -20 mph (tailwinds)
Riding Time: 2 hrs 41 minutes
Showing posts with label SD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SD. Show all posts
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Day 24: Philip, SD to Pierre, SD
I tried to get Marc to write the blog today as he had a much more eventful day than I, but he's in bed already. He hit the wall way to early in the ride and could not recover.
It was hot and windy today! I originally thought that our ride from Sheridan to Gillette would be the most isolated ride of the tripbut today tops it. We rode 90 miles today and only had one town with services at mile 20 and that's it!
All I can say about today's ride is that it was boring and the crosswinds were brutal. I think I wore down the side of my tires today as I was tilted sideways so I wouldn't topple in the wind.
We left our hotel in Philip around 9:30 this morning after a breakfast of potato salad and a banana. (There were no breakfast restaurants so we picked up some food last night.) We stopped to eat our packed lunch of summer sausage and melted cheese (it was so hot today) at the town of Midland. Luckily there was a large park in town with a water fountain, as there was practically nothing else in town. According to the placard in town, Midland was a boom town back in the early 1900's when the government was selling parcels of land for $100. Now its more like a ghost town consisting of an Ace Hardware, a bank and a 5 room motel.
After we left Midland, there was nothing but hilly prairie land for the next 70 miles. This was one of those days that you need to keep your mind positive and busy or the boredom will drive you crazy - if not the boredom - the 20 mile/hr winds will do that for you.
I kept my cool today, but Marc did not. He had a horrible day. He said this day was the worst of the trip for him. He said " If there was a Sag Wagon - I'd be on it." ( A Sag Wagon is a support vehicle for cyclists for those that are wondering.)
Poor guy! I kept waiting for him and then I got sick of waiting as I just wanted to get to our hotel and jump in the pool. We finally arrived in Pierre around 6 PM or actually 7 PM as we crossed the time zone when we crossed the Missouri River. Pierre is a beautiful town with not much going on. Its the capital of South Dakota and has gorgeous government buildings, but the restaurants and stores leave something to be desired.
We ended up walking about 2 miles to find a restaurant. We ate at Mad Mary's Saloon and Steakhouse. It was decent food - no pie though. I ended up eating a Mrs. Freshley's Blueberry/Blackberry Pie from the convenience store. I left it in the microwave way too long and had a gooey mess to eat. It was still good. Kind of like a cake donut wrapped around a blackberry-blueberry pie filling.
Our hotel, the Capitol Inn, is surprisingly nice for the price - only $45/night and they have a pool and free breakfast. Things in South Dakota are cheap!
I hope Marc has a better day tomorrow - I was ready to get my own hotel room (the way he was acting), especially since the price was so cheap. (He's in a much better mood now, but he was a crabby boy today!)
Tomorrow we are off to Miller, SD. We were going to try to push to Huron, SD but its a 113 mile ride and tomorrow is supposed to be hot and windy again. Ugh!
It was hot and windy today! I originally thought that our ride from Sheridan to Gillette would be the most isolated ride of the tripbut today tops it. We rode 90 miles today and only had one town with services at mile 20 and that's it!
All I can say about today's ride is that it was boring and the crosswinds were brutal. I think I wore down the side of my tires today as I was tilted sideways so I wouldn't topple in the wind.
We left our hotel in Philip around 9:30 this morning after a breakfast of potato salad and a banana. (There were no breakfast restaurants so we picked up some food last night.) We stopped to eat our packed lunch of summer sausage and melted cheese (it was so hot today) at the town of Midland. Luckily there was a large park in town with a water fountain, as there was practically nothing else in town. According to the placard in town, Midland was a boom town back in the early 1900's when the government was selling parcels of land for $100. Now its more like a ghost town consisting of an Ace Hardware, a bank and a 5 room motel.
After we left Midland, there was nothing but hilly prairie land for the next 70 miles. This was one of those days that you need to keep your mind positive and busy or the boredom will drive you crazy - if not the boredom - the 20 mile/hr winds will do that for you.
I kept my cool today, but Marc did not. He had a horrible day. He said this day was the worst of the trip for him. He said " If there was a Sag Wagon - I'd be on it." ( A Sag Wagon is a support vehicle for cyclists for those that are wondering.)
Poor guy! I kept waiting for him and then I got sick of waiting as I just wanted to get to our hotel and jump in the pool. We finally arrived in Pierre around 6 PM or actually 7 PM as we crossed the time zone when we crossed the Missouri River. Pierre is a beautiful town with not much going on. Its the capital of South Dakota and has gorgeous government buildings, but the restaurants and stores leave something to be desired.
We ended up walking about 2 miles to find a restaurant. We ate at Mad Mary's Saloon and Steakhouse. It was decent food - no pie though. I ended up eating a Mrs. Freshley's Blueberry/Blackberry Pie from the convenience store. I left it in the microwave way too long and had a gooey mess to eat. It was still good. Kind of like a cake donut wrapped around a blackberry-blueberry pie filling.
Our hotel, the Capitol Inn, is surprisingly nice for the price - only $45/night and they have a pool and free breakfast. Things in South Dakota are cheap!
I hope Marc has a better day tomorrow - I was ready to get my own hotel room (the way he was acting), especially since the price was so cheap. (He's in a much better mood now, but he was a crabby boy today!)
Tomorrow we are off to Miller, SD. We were going to try to push to Huron, SD but its a 113 mile ride and tomorrow is supposed to be hot and windy again. Ugh!
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