Before we came

Bowman, North Dakota to Buffalo, South Dakota Sunday, August 1, 2021

This entry is going to be short, I need to get to bed early, tomorrow is a huge day. Today was just 47 miles due south, recrossing back into South Dakota, en route to the Black Hills. I was just as happy to say goodbye to the “Legendary“ North Dakota after eight days, but regretted my flippancy as soon as I saw what happened to the shoulders on two-lane US 85. I guess South Dakota spends less on highway maintenance. The nice broad shoulders I had been enjoying vanished into crap, and I was forced to ride on the main roadway, on a fairly busy route, also known as the CanAm Highway. I guess I was lucky it wasn’t five years ago, when the oil-fracking fields of Williston, North Dakota (not to be confused with my Vermont hometown) were really humming. Then, I was told, the trucks were nonstop. Now, they were just intermittently frequent, at a rest stop I saw dozens of identical flatbed trucks hauling the same piece of huge, complicated equipment, fracking-related, I assumed. The drivers were generally courteous, passing me in the other lane, but one truck beeped me since there was oncoming traffic and I had to ditch into that crappy shoulder. Harrowing, but I didn’t fall, was able to keep my balance. I have to do 72 miles of this same highway (there’s no alternative) tomorrow, so I’ll try to start well before dawn.

When things were quieter I was able to listen to more of the audiobook The Journey of Crazy Horse, and imagined him riding on the same sweet grass South Dakota prairie I was. As it happened, Eric had sent me a link to a Jesse Colin Young song, Before You Came, just two days ago. Talk about capturing the mood.

While I’m busy pasting, another germane song is the Eagles The Last Resort, all about Manifest Destiny https://youtu.be/4ETN21RZwwI

Everything is drawing me towards Wounded Knee. I hope it’s feasible.

Distance 47 miles, 4,722 total. Time 6 hours with stops. Elevation gain 1,301 feet

©️ 2021 Scott Luria