Having a great time in the badlands. Next stop free ice water at wall drug.
Day 36 - FIRE works
Chamberlain, SD to Murdo, SD
Our ride today was almost as good as it gets, it was a bit rainy in the morning, but the weather the rest of the day was cool and perfect for exercising in. Since today was the Fourth of July, Cady got the Mosher this morning and treated us to the climax speech from the movie Independence Day, which was awesome, and really pumped us up for today's ride. We rode over the Missouri River today, so we are officially in the West now, it was really pretty, but we couldn't get any pictures because it was raining this morning when we went over it.
The terrain today was more rolling hills, and excess cows, as has been the case for the past week or so now. It is occasionally beautiful, but we are more often bored out there seeing the same endless grass and cows over and over, so much so that our most exciting moments of the day today came when we managed to scare some cows into running alongside of us, and we got way too excited to see cows that were not just standing there staring at us as we rode past. The way all the cows stare as we roll by makes me wonder if maybe we are the most exciting thing they have seen in a long time as well. Anyways, yeah, if you're wondering how we entertain ourselves out there, singing and telling jokes can only go on so long, and yes, yelling at cows is the next most entertaining thing to do.
We met some awesome people today, including the Holder family, who we met on their way back home to Sturgis. They were some of the nicest people we have met so far on our trip and even gave us Native American nicknames, Conor was Two Lashes, and Clinton was Pretty Eyes, haha. They also wanted to get pictures of us, which we were more than happy to oblige with, and the kids were all really cute, we are hoping they will send in the pictures so that we can post them up on the site.
We got in early again, and picked up some fireworks for the night at some local stands. Murdo is very small, its hard for me to imagine anyone living here, since the population of the town, 679, is almost the same as the size of my high school graduating class. The Murdo high school graduated only 17 kids this year, it's strange for me to imagine what that's like. Zernyu and Cady cooked up some good spaghetti for dinner, and then we went out to test some of our fireworks out. Cady accidently set a small part of a field on fire, but with the help of the fire department, the fire was kept extremely limited and nothing bad happened, other than Clinton cutting his leg trying to hop a barbed wire fence trying to put the fire out. We were happy to show Sae-bin what the Fourth of July was about(he's Canadian and Korean and this is his first Fourth of July in America), and right in the middle of the excitement, he ran up to me and said, "This is the best Fourth of July ever!!" Needless to say, we are headin out to see some professionally run fireworks just outside town in a bit. All in all, it has been a great holiday, and tomorrow we get to see the Badlands, which everyone keeps telling us is beautiful, so I am super excited about that, even though the ride will be a long one, clocking in at 99.7 miles, on the way to Wall, SD, which is also the home of the world famous WallDrug, which we plan on spending lots of time in!!
Animals seen: Pheasants, turtles, endless staring cows
States traveled through:14(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD)
Distance today: 70 mi
Total Distance traveled: 2249 mi
Day 35 - Buffalo Rain
The ride today was cold and wet. We rode from Mitchell, SD to Chamberlain, SD, a ride of 75 miles, and it rained on and off for the entire day, but we saw some more interesting things. We rode past a herd of longhorns, and then just past that, a herd of bison ran along with us for a bit, they may have wanted to join in on our ride. I think it may be the first time I have seen bison live and in person, so I was excited about that. We also got lost for a bit today, so added about 8 extra miles to our route, but it was ok, days don't seem long any more unless they are over 100 miles or in really bad weather or rain. Thats the good thing about really hard days, they make the rest of the trip a lot easier to bear. The end of the ride had a really nice downhill into Chamberlain, which is located on the Missouri River, and we are about to begin to see the prettier hilly side of South Dakota.
Animals seen - Bison, Longhorns, turtles
States traveled through:14(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD)
Distance today: 83 mi
Total Distance traveled: 2179 mi
Independence Day
For the past two days we have been riding in the rain off and on. Today for the 4th of July, Matt Cady did an inspiring speech from the movie "Independence Day." We crossed the Missouri River this morning, which was really scenic, but we couldn't get any pictures because it was raining. Once we crossed the river the terrain became rolling hills which were very pretty. We stopped at a gas station for lunch and got a $100 donation from the Holder family of Sturgis, South Dakota. The entire family was extremely nice, as has been the case with most of the people we meet in South Dakota. It still amazes me how nice everyone has been to us, it is really awesome. I also want to think Marilyn Seymour who helped me bandage my knee when I cut it. Tomorrow we ride through the Badlands, so I am pretty excited to see that.
Independence Day!
It's hard to believe its already July 4th! We are currently in the town of Murdo, South Dakota awaiting the fireworks display that will be starting soon. I am disappointed to be missing my neighborhood's annual display, but at least I am missing it for a good cause.
Yesterday's ride was just about 75 miles entirely in the rain. Fortunately, it was warm out which made the day easier. With the rain coming down, I usually kept my head down and just focused on riding with the group, but kept thinking how beautiful everything would be if it were not for the overcast skies and rain. Then today's ride, which at first seemed like it would be a repeat of yesterday, turned out to be a very awesome ride in the end. After crossing the Missouri River we rode through some continuous hills that made me really love South Dakota even more than I already do. Throughout the route there were very ominous clouds that filled the sky that only made the ride all the more epic in the end.
Tomorrow we are headed to the town of Wall, SD home of the Wall Drug drugstore. On our way, the team is making a worthwhile detour to see the badlands which I am totally psyched for. I have been looking forward to this for some time now and can't wait!
Independence Day
Today we started our day with a motivational speech from Matt Cady (borrowed from Independence Day, Thank you Bill Pullman). Today will probably be remembered as the day of flat tires, our total peaked around 10, all of which belonged to just 3 riders. The weather was great and the hills and clouds were gorgeous, but it was great to finally make it to our stayover and be greeted with showers!
Tonight we will all be viewing Murdo's fireworks extravaganza and enjoying an extravaganza of explosives thanks to Saebin's lunchtime splurge.
A special thanks to Pastor Holder and his family for a very generous donation, and the Indiana family for breakfast.
Where the Buffalo Roam
Thought I'd update this now since we will be in some extremely small towns the next couple of days and likely wont have internet.
Today we road into Chamberlain, about 75 miles from Mitchell. It rained all day long, but it wasn't too cold and turned out to be one of my favorite rides of the trip. Just took it slow with a few other guys and made tons of hilarious jokes all day. We saw a herd of buffalo running together today too, which was super cool.
Went for a nice run when we got in. Chamberlain is right along the Missouri river so we ran across that and then along the river tonight.
Zernyu, my new duties partner, and I, were on dinner duty today. We made fifty grilled cheeses and a large pot of tomato soup. I think everybody was impressed by our ability. Zernyu is a good dude.
We need to find fireworks for tomorrow night. Its definitely possible Murdo, SD does not have town fireworks
Little bikes on the prarie
Excitement is running high as we begin to enter the western frontier. While the terrain has not changed much in the past day the next stretch of South Dakota is sure to get hilly, lush and hopefully filled with buffalo. Today was rainy but the teams spirits were still high, I think it was the most chatty we have been while riding this whole trip. Perhaps it had to do with the wonderful rest day we had in Mitchell.
In Mitchell it was a great experience to go to the cancer center there. It is amazing the amount of different information we get at each visit we do even though it centers around the same subject. Also, it is nice to see that our question are becoming more sofisticated and specific. One thing that I thought was really interesting was that the radiation equiptment not only cost 1 milllion dollars but also have to be replaced about every 8 years because of technology advancments. Also, to get the equiptment out the floor and sometimes walls ahve to be demolished. The center we were at sent their old equipment to Brazil for free, which is raelly phenomenal. Visiting the centers always brings a great reminder and connection to the reason why we are doing this.
Tomorrow is the fourth of July so hopefully we will see some fireworks, sing some patriotic songs and have Matt Strick show us how to be an American.
Also, we are supposively close to Laura Engle Wilder's house, exciting!
with love,
caroline
Beware of Dogs
So my updates that were supposed to happen promptly...did not. Since my last blog, I hit a dog, others crashed, Matt Cady got a pseudo mullet (which is currently being transformed into a legitimate mullet by Tim), and we had a rest day.
I hit a dog while riding my bike and It sounds just as ridiculous as it was. I have some cuts and bruises, and a heightened fear of dogs on the road, but both the dog and I pulled through.
The next day Caroline's front wheel kissed Christine's back wheel and they crashed, but luckily met an emt on the road who cleaned their cuts. The day after that Tim crashed and also met an emt on the road... Coincidence? I think not. They are definitely following us around, and I think we are getting the most out of this relationship.
The mullet explains itself and I'm sure photos will be updated in the near future. But as dashing as Matt is, he won't have anything on the Jan Yourist mullet.
On the rest day we saw some crazy machinery at a Cancer Center and i gained a better understanding of how radiation therapy works. The hospital we visited in Mitchell had a machine that cost a million dollars which is pretty incomprehensible to me. Our guide also told us that a machine like that had a life span of about 8 years before it became technologically obsolete and in need of replacement. Their last machine was donated to a hospital in Brazil which seemed pretty cool. After our hospital visit there wasn't much to do. Mitchell's claim to fame is the Corn Palace, and I would have rather visited the grocery store for a third time than admire corny murals.
Anyway, I was glad to get back on the road today, especially because it rained which meant a lesser threat of dogs on the road and I got to test out my new (actually waterproof) jacket. The night was then topped off with several rounds of boggle and tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. ~Sigh~
cold wet and dirty in that order.
Today was supposed to be a beautiful day. Nice flat to rollin terrain. Deacent weather. Alas, what we were treated to was more along the lines of a cyclocross race. http://image.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/cyclo.JPG
Today was supposed to be a nice 70 mile day with nice roads and little chance of cues being wrong. but little did we know what we were in for. The temperature was perect the wind was calm. the terrain was awesome. the weather...was well wet. The group i rode with today consisted of Clinton, Zern. Conor and myself. we rode prettyhard for the most of the day until we came across the gravel roads. not sure what to do, we chose the best option at hand I-90. after a five mile stretch on the interstate we arrived in Chamberlain. where wefound hat once we stopped spinning our legs like madmen we got really cold really quickly. all in all it was a solid day of riding. cant wait for another go tomorrow.
Where the Buffalo Roam
A few days ago I passed the 2000 mile mark, signaling the half way point in our journey across America. The countryside has been steadily changing as the miles pass by. Gone are the fields of corn we rode through in Illinois. Gone too are the rolling hills, forests, and lakes of Wisconsin and Minnesota. We have entered a new scene in this American adventure, one populated with cattle, buffalo, grass, and not much else. With these changes my excitement grows. New sites and experiences are all that is left for the next 2000 miles. We head ever westward.
In the next few days we will be heading towards Rapid City, South Dakota and with it the sites of the Badlands and Mt.Rushmore. The Badlands are an additional 20 miles to our route but most seem set on making the addition, since whats another 20 miles or riding on a 4000 mile trip! I am also looking forward to the legendary 5cent coffee and tacky attractions at Wall Drug in Wall. We will get to Mt. Rushmore a couple of days after the 4th of July celebration, which is unfortunate, but I am still very excited to see both Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse.
We still see, everyday, random acts of kindness that really put a smile on my face. During our rest day in Mitchell, we met a great guy named Rich Brown when several of us were having dinner and singing karaoke in town. He not only donated to the cause and motivated others to do the same, but came by the church we were staying at the following evening with his grill to cook for use. He promises some incredible scenery as we head further west. I'm looking forward to that promise being realized.
More from South Dakota
Yesterday was a rest day in Mitchell. We had a hospital visit, which was very cool and really educational. We learned about radiation therapy, and in particular the machinery that is used. We had most of the day free, and we took a trip to the Corn Palace. It's definitely interesting to see the attractions in some of the towns we pass through! Every place is so different!
Today was an awesome ride. When we woke up this morning, it was pouring outside. When we finally got around to leaving, the rain had let up some. But when we got moving, we were cruising at a pretty constant pace, and all the riders were in before 2 pm. We're hanging out at a coffee shop right now, which is really relaxing and a nice change of pace.
I'm not really sure what's in store for tomorrow (July 4th). I'm hoping we will be able to see some fireworks, but we're heading to a very small town so it seems unlikely. It's also my turn to drive tomorrow, which is kind of a bummer, but we all have to drive at some point.
nothing better than some hot c...
nothing better than some hot cocoa to keep warm in the middle of July.
Dearest Matilda
Dearest Matilda,
How I loved the ride today, despite the rain.
It was 74 miles, but there was no pain.
We were close when we embarked on Main.
And finally made it to Chamberlain.
Yesterday we had a rest day in Mitchell. We had a hospital visit, which was really cool. We learned a lot about radiation therapy, and saw state-of-the-art equipment/machinery. The hospital guide was extremely intelligent, and generous-she even gave us a comb/mirror/lint remover!
We also spent a decent amount of our time at the Corn Palace. It's the world's only, you know!
For dinner, a man came to the school and grilled for us, which was awesome since we did not have access to the kitchen.
As the poem stated, now were in Chamberlain. Our ride was easy even though it was rainy. We're lounging at a cafe in town, but nervous about the near future in which Zernyu and Matt Cady are on cooking duty!
Yours Truly,
General Ernest T. Cornwell (The Illini 4000 invisible rider from the civil war era)
Day 33/34 - A wonderful palace of corn
Sioux Falls, SD to Mitchell, SD.
We had a fun riding day today, since there was very little wind, and we knew we only had 75 miles to go until our rest day. Once we got in, we were able to shower for the first time since our last rest day, which was nice, and I also got to do some much-needed laundry. Mitchell is also the home of the world's only corn palace, so we went and visited that, which was kind of cool with the murals made of different types of corn all over the walls. There is a basketball gym inside the palace, and actual high school and amateur games(150 a year!) are played in the gym, to this day! After that, we went hung out in Mitchell, and had some fun singing karaoke, and the people were great, donating over a hundred dollars on the night for us.
The next day was our rest day, and we were able to get a tour of Avera, the biggest hospital system in South Dakota. The facilities were great and we were able to see so much cool technology of what goes on during cancer treatment. After that, I visited a local bike shop, Ron's Bike Shop and Locksmith, which are two of my favorite things, bikes and keys, and the owner hooked me up with a free shop t-shirt, which is another thing I love, so if you ever end up in Mitchell, visit this bike shop, because its great. We also met Rich the night before at karaoke, who volunteered to come over and grill for us, so huge thanks to everyone in South Dakota who has been so great to us so far. Rich grilled me up some sweet South Dakota corn, and amazing cheese brats, so I was really full and happy after a well-fed dinner. Tomorrow we head to Chamberlain, and hear rumors of a tailwind, which would be absolutely amazing, for the first time this trip.
States traveled through:14(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD)
Distance today: 77 mi
Total Distance traveled: 2081 mi
South Dakota = Gone With the Wind
I don't want to speak too soon, and this will probably come back to haunt me because there is a lot of South Dakota yet to cover, but so far the wind in South Dakota has not affected us a bit. The people in South Dakota have been extremely nice. Everyone is very friendly and we have been getting honked at and waved at everywhere we ride. We have been in the town of Mitchell the past two days, the home of the world's only corn palace. Unfortunately, since the palace is redone every year, the outside was not yet completed. We checked it out anyway, and on the inside it was full of pictures of the corn palace in previous years, and I have to say, I don't think we really missed much. We met some great people at a local bar and grill where we got some food. We ended up leaving with over $100 of donations. One guy that we met, Rich Brown, even came to the school where we are staying with a grill so we could have ourselves a BBQ today.
I BLOG WHEN I WANT!!!
So its been about a month now and I feel it’s time to TOTALLY blog about it. “It” being this trip…that I am on… at this moment… right now…
Michel Jackson’s death effected me in ways I still do not understand. I feel like I lost a father… or a really creepy neighbor who watches you eat through the window.
To be serious, I found it hard to blog about something I didn’t fully understand. I still can’t grasp the scope of this trip or the impact it will have on me, but I can begin to try. First of all I am blown away at the level of generosity that I have witnessed on this trip. I have a new found faith in people, that much I know. There have been moments on this trip that words will never be able to describe. More moments are coming. Finally, I have come to understand that a life rich in experience is the richest way of living.
A whole palace of corn
TonightI right from Mitchell, SD, home to the world's only Corn Palace.
The ride in yesterday was pretty nice. The wind finally died down so not riding into a headwind felt amazing. The ride had some beautiful parts too. We were on one road for probably 40 miles and saw maybe 4 cars. plenty of nice rolling hills. I don't even know what we call this part of the country. A little nicer than the midwest, but not quite the great plains?? maybe its just the great plains, I don't know. You could probably look it up on wikipedia.
Last night was probably the most entertaining night of the trip. After hitting up the corn palace, we went to the bar down the street, Jackpots. It was a combination bar/casino/western museum with a basketball court and a volleyball court. It was kareoke night and a bunch of us really stepped it up a notch. We pretty much took the place over. I did some Bob Seger- Old time rock n roll, my kareoke go-to and later did some ac/dc... There were a few other times where we all ended up on stage, not always wearing shirts. We pretty much dominated the place. Word also got out what we were doing and why we were in town and the dj took up a collection for us. People in the bar loved us enough to put together $107- and there were not a lot of people in this bar at all.
On the walk home, we were picked up by a local, rich, who we had meant at the bar earlier. He gave us a ride back to our stayover in the back up his pickup truck and offered to come grill some food for us today... sweet dude.
gotta take advantage of the rest days. Or as Clinton put it today, the night before therest days.
Waking up this morning was not easy, but I managed to get in a good run in before we had a visit at the cancer clinic here in Mitchell.
This afternoon I took care of some things- laundry, food, haircut. Then Rich grilled some meat for us at the church... He's from Wyoming so he gave us some pretty good insight as to what lies ahead.... I'm pumped, but I'm also feelin pretty bloated and tired... good night
between the lines
Even though there have only been four days of riding since our last rest day, this one in Mitchell, South Dakota seems more than deserved. Three days of head winds buffeted us as we left Rochester, MN. And I must say, despite the difficulties, this is the best I have felt all trip. Each day is a mystery, and it's hard to say if you'll feel accomplished, demolished, or admonished by the end of he day. Some days you just don't feel like riding, but there will be little occurrences (like a town with a population of 16, or a friend offering you a piece of gas station cheese) along the way that remind you why this trip is so fantastic.
Just two days ago during our ride into Sioux City, everything seemed to be going well until Tim took a dive on some less than well maintained pavement. He is fine, but got in the van just to be safe, and not a mile later after we hit the road again my chain snapped while climbing a hill. Fellow riders helped me take out two links so that I could continue riding (with a slightly shorter chain). All of this and only eight miles out from our destination. It goes to show that unexpected moments can change the ride in an instant.
I've been trying to rationalize the amount of time we've been biking, and understand these new situations, modes of living that I've thrown myself into. I'm even starting to develop a nostalgia, dejavu, even a slight hypnosis whenever I hop on the bike for our daily ride. My mind will start to drift and take me back to other parts of the country from other times in the summer (I think its bound to happen when biking becomes your primary activity). This last stretch leading into Mitchell sent me back to the planes of Illinois. Familiar to a fault. One observation that forces me to wake from this cycling trance is the subtle yet pervasive shift in scenery. South Dakota has become a cross-roads. Not only in that we have surpassed 2000 miles. The colors around us are growing warmer ad the landscape grows more sparce. We are on a threshold: east and west, young and old, known and unknown.
Rest days go by so fast. And despite the word rest, I have a lot left to do before tomorrow. blog you soon.
-MH
And now, for number three!
South Dakota is officially the friendliest state in the nation (so far). As soon as we entered South Dakota, Tim took a really nasty spill from hitting a pothole and lip in the road. Apparently it's the fourth time of the year that a cyclist has crashed in that same exact spot... someone isn't doing their job.
The reason why South Dakota has earned the friendliest state position is because almost every single driver that passed by stopped to see if he was okay and the fire department was called. The fire marshal, chief of the fire department, a fire department ambulance (??), and an ambulance from the nearest hospital showed up to check on Tim. Unfortunately they arrived 10 minutes after a woman who happened to be an EMT drove by and performed a very thorough check up and fortunately he got away with just a few bumps and scrapes and an enormous hole in his shorts. Half a mile later, Matt Harlan broke his chain and while we were fixing it up, some more passersby checked to see if we needed any help. People seem to really like lending a helping hand in this state. A funny side note: we had to put his chain back together twice because Matt Cady routed the chain through the derailleur completely wrong.
Today is day three of brutal headwinds and crosswinds. The winds were so bad that without saying a word, everyone naturally figured out how to draft and ride in formation to make the going a bit more manageable. It's a pretty cool sight to see, especially when we tuck into the shoulder to let cars pass and spread out again right after. We had a group of twelve, with three rows of four at one point, almost like a flock of birds.
It's been a month since starting this trip and I still haven't gotten into the habit of writing blog entries, seeing as how this is only my third... I'll try to write more often from now on, especially since the trip is going to start getting more interesting as we ride deeper into the scenic West.
These past two weeks have been a roller coaster ride; going from the best days of my life to some really terrible weather conditions. The day between leaving the amazing stayover at Greenwood, Indiana and riding into Champaign was a blur because I was so excited to go back to somewhere familiar and visit my friends. It felt strange being back in Champaign and not needing to read direction cues to return to my apartment after being in a different foreign place every day.
Getting to Champaign was no easy task, however. The day started out with a mean headwind while riding into Illinois from Indiana, welcoming us back to the windiest state in the United States (my opinion is skewed). I was relieved when the wind died down not long after, but the relief was brief because it soon began to rain heavily for the next fourty miles or so. On top of that, we had miles and miles of gravel and clay road to ride over - mountain bikes would have been nice. Fifteen miles from campus, we met up with our awesome sponser, Geoff from That's Rentertainment, along with several previous year riders to ride into campus together. Two of them showed up on the most terrifyingly old and rickety tandem bike I've ever seen. Once we rode into the alumni center with humorously little fanfare, we all jumped into the fountain right outside of it which turned out to be surprisingly refreshing. There must have been someone watching because the fountain shut off a few seconds after everyone jumped in.
I was really sad to leave Champaign the next morning because we barely had any time there, especially since my usual bed time is around 10 pm. I was surprised by how easily I got over it because of how incredible the next week was. Unfortunately, I have to end with a cliffhanger since it's way past my bed time.
As a side note, I hit 1999.1 miles today. 0.9 miles tomorrow morning and I'll have ridden a bimillenia!