Worst: The chain lubricant we are using for this trip washes off with any rain leaving a chain that literally screams oil me.
Most Unexpected: Waking up at 3:30 with the start of a thunderstorm.
After walking to our restaurant in downtown? Kadoka and eating meat loaf, we returned to our campsite and got ready for a clear day of riding. That's what the forecast said. That's what the forecast lied. At 3:30 I heard a very faint sound of raindrops on my tent, about one every three seconds. I got up and tied the flysheet down, covered my bike seat and went back to bed. Lightening flashes, thunder rolling, and rain falling is what went on from 3:45 with strong gusts of wind. The alarm went off at 4:30 and unfortunately the rain did not abate, so a wet tent went into my gear bag. We rode back to the restaurant where we had the fabulous meatloaf for breakfast, (we did not have meatloaf for breakfast, it is just a confusing sentence without an appropriate comma). It looked like we might escape the rain, and we took off with a tailwind for about 5 miles with drizzles, Then the heavens opened up, the tailwind became a strong gusty sidewind, and the rain flew horizontal. Visibility was not good, and a 3 degree shift in road direction meant either a tailwind or headwind because the sidewind was so strong. Fortunately after 15 miles, the rain abated which meant the overall experience could be rated as very cool. We made a left turn at 20 miles at 1880 town and the tailwind resumed. The tailwind turned into a sidewind until mile 45 when we made a right turn into a strong tailwind that we rode into Pierre which everyone knows is pronounced Pier. We are staying in the gym (everyone but me who found a cool niche without overhead lights.) I relubricated my chain with Kevin's lube which I had applied two days ago and kept my chain from yelling at me today in the rain like most other riders who were using the supplied free lube.
Pictures with appropriate captions follow. If you a former Playboy reader, I know you only read this blog and never look at the pictures.
Classic sign denoting where we camped last night. We had small kids yelling at us that we couldn't camp here; they were so well trained. Mosquitos were plentiful in this area and dined well on us this morning.
Conditons when we left the diner. Note the heavy thunderhead we were rolling under. Also notice the cool reflection of the blinker that I caught at the exact moment it blinked.
I am not sure I get this. It is 1880 town with a 50's diner. What?
Looking back at the thunderhead we are trying to run away from. We succeeded!
Why are all these horses eyeballing me? Haven't they ever seen a naked cyclist before?
Little church on the prairie, a new TV program starring Gus Lopez. (Shout out to my brother in law)
We met up with this group riding across America in the opposite direction. The group is 4k for cancer. The rider next to me has a hand injury from falling (the one that is behind my back), and the two ladies are taking the day off to drive the sag wagon. They said they didn't prepare for the ride, they just started to do it, and of the 23 riders in their group, many had injuries. Hmm, I wonder why.
Visualize this hill going up and you get an idea of todays ride. Either going down, or climbing back up. Flat is just so overrated.
The mighty Missouri looking a little different from my last picture of it about two weeks ago. The center of the bridge marks the time zone change. We are now two hours ahead of PST.
Guess what this is.
No comments:
Post a Comment