Winner winner chicken dinner

Lower Brule to Pierre, South Dakota Tuesday-Wednesday , July 20-21, 2021

The opening line to the movie 21, about an MIT professor who trained his students to count cards in Las Vegas. In my case, that chicken dinner was no winner, and I could only choke down a few bites. So it wound up being Cheetos and root beer that sustained me over those five big hills today, I left by 6:30 in the morning, but I should’ve left earlier. I encountered a small pack of dogs wandering free in the reservation at the top of one hill, they were mildly threatening but no major problem. I hear this is not uncommon. I sure I hope I don’t have to use that pepper spray.

About 10 miles in I encountered a disheartening sign “road closed.” Rats. The only other option was to turn back and backtrack 25 miles, over to huge hills and that pack of dogs. I decided to press on and try my luck. After 3 miles of gravel, I encountered a construction worker who told me I could press on if I wanted to, but that they were digging a pipeline up ahead. Sure enough, in another half mile was one of the most dauntingly steep down-and-ups I have ever encountered.

So steep I didn’t dare ride down the soft dirt, I dismounted and inched down clutching both brake levers. A guy in that white pickup rolled by and said “it won’t be fun going up the other side!” He was right. I could push the 100-pound bike ahead only a foot or two, then clamp on the brakes and take a step up, and repeat the process, almost like using a walker. Charming. Took me almost a half hour to cross, and I was pretty grubby at the end. Luckily though, pavement started soon after. I didn’t think to ask what pipeline that was, since they’ve abandoned the Keystone Project.

The rest of the day was a drama-free, and only moderately grueling. It turns out that root-beer-and-Cheetos, while a nutritional disaster, does give you the energy to kick you over those hills, without resorting to caffeine. I did get sweeping vistas of the Missouri, and realized the landscape had changed, I was on the edge of the Badlands.

Not a scrap of shade anywhere, had to eat my snacks with the bike propped against a sign and sitting on the grass. There were crickets everywhere, bouncing off me constantly, one determined little fellow hung on for 20 miles despite my hitting 38 mph and being buffeted by crosswinds, I wanted to call him Jimminy.

I’d better be careful, though, this is a public blog. Disney is very protective of their trademarks, on Cape Cod there was a sweet little mom and pop pizza shop called Geppetto’s, until they heard from the Disney lawyers.

Finally the last hill was behind me, and I could cruise downhill into the 96° heat of Pierre, the state capital. They pronounce it “Pier” here. Spent a couple of hours shuttling between the post office and the FedEx stand, collecting my new tires, mirrors, pedals, the warranty replacement of my raincoat with the broken zipper, only the new camp pillow was delayed. Mailed in the frying pan and some other stuff back home, it was nice not to have my panniers so stuffed. The mile and a half to my warm showers hosts had a few more hills, but their home is perched on a bluff with a sweeping view.

Scott and Tami have recently retired from public service with the state government, and are both doing freelance work. They have been enthusiastic warm showers hosts, the only ones for miles, they’ve already had 11 guests this year. One was still here, Nathan, just graduated from Princeton with a masters in economics, he is biking across the country to meet his girlfriend and start his career in Philadelphia. My recent tailwinds were his headwinds, and he was taking a rest day.

I wound up following his example. We had a lovely dinner at the local popular steakhouse, but had to wait over an hour for a table and didn’t get back till well after dark. Installing my new equipment led to discovering new mechanical problems, and that I had misplaced my next Adventure Cycling map. Dealing with all this in the cool of the evening meant I didn’t get to sleep until 3AM, and I woke up still sleep-deprived, with Nathan departed, the coolest part of the day gone, and still a lot to do. It’s really Scott and Tami’s fault. If their house wasn’t so gorgeous, their hospitality so genuine and complete, and their company so enchanting no one would stay two days.

Distance 66 miles, 4,209 total. Time 10 hours with stops. Elevation gain 2,986 feet

©️ 2021 Scott Luria