6/22/2003 3:11:50 PM | Steve Largent] 19 Jun 03 106 miles 8:14 riding time Pierre to Selby, S.D.

I should mention Chris had his first flat in Pierre at the laundromat, so he comes in the air conditioned space with a sink to fix it. The luck of the Irish!

We deviated from the AC (Adventure Cycling) route again today, up the west side of the river, across the dam, and back to the east side (Central Time- the river is the time zone line which is a nuisance local apparently ignore and all use central time). David was feeling especially strong and eager to remove any "weak man" image after hitch-hiking into Pierre. He had in mind all day making this 106 miles into Pierre, but I felt they were both tired after the last century and wasn't going to press for another century so soon. Strong winds from the S.E. kicked in today adding to his desire to get in some extra miles. The campground we'd planned to stay in was a bare knoll in the hot sun with some new saplings that gave no shade in the rural spot, so I was eager to go to the next town giving us about 75 miles. Making that campground less appealing was the fact that we'd arrived there about 1:15 (Central Time) with some 8 hours of daylight left with nothing to do, no stores, no people, etc. Anyway when we rode down to hwy 1804/83 junction David and Chris discussed whether to go to Gettsyburg, SD or Siebly. Complicating the decision was the fact that the road to Siebly was closed for constrution. A guy who claimed to be the construction superintendent talked to David and said it would be no problem to cycle through. David and Chris disagreed and said since I hadn't weighed in on the discussion that I could decided. I voted for Gettsyburg, and the next thing I knew we were cycling toward Siebly and a century. I'd told them earlier I'd never be the one to complain about excessive miles unless they planned centuries multiple days in a row. About 3 miles up the road, the surface was removed. About a mile later, the former road bed had a disk like machine turning over the soil! A construction worker said he'd take us 3 miles to the end; three huge dirt movers going about 45 MPH drove by, and I threw my bike in his pickup with the other 2 surprising David and Chris that I'd take the motorized support. I viewed it like a pilot car! Riding through the nearly crop lands would have been easier than getting through that muddy surface! Chris was pretty tired by the 106 mile ride despite the great tail wind, and David is always in favor of a motel, so they got a motel and I camped as we had all planned for that night.

20 Jun 03 57 miles 4:37 riding time from Selby SD to Stateline ND With Chris tuckered out from the 106 mile ride yesterday, I was well ahead of the motelers this morning. David and then Chris showed up as I finished breakfast with a couple doing the L-C trail on a racing tandem. They weren't packed or ready to go, and I was planning a side to to Pollock, where my mother's grandparents had homesteaded and left in 1901. The strong tail wind of yesterday had turned into a horrible 40 to 50 MPH wind from the south. Great most of the time when I was headed north, but a killer for the 15 miles I had to go west. Chris and David altered course to go only north this day! With help from a local historian in Herreid, SD, I found the site of the old family church and graveyard where two great-aunts were buried as children. However, my good luck seemed to sour here. The 50 MPH gust blew over my bike. My camera would not allow the film to be taken out of it, and a 36 exposure roll is likely ruined. I rode to Pollock's (population 339) newspaper. No one knew anything there about darkrooms, bicycle trips, the Lutheran Church, or anything else I could ask. No, they didn't even interview me for the local paper as a descendant of the original settlers. The Lutheran pastor had taken the day to go shopping in Bismark. However, the janitor at the local school let me into their dark room which I believe leaked some white light, but where I was able to force the film out of the camera. He suggested I visit a couple older Lutheran woman who had lots of info on the old church and Norweigan community my great-grandparents were part of. I tried to catch the pastor that evening, but they had family issues so this also wasn't a good time to see him. The wind was still howling at 30 to 50 MPH, sand blasted me in the face, and I felt like escaping Pollock, so I rode to State Line a small resort. Wind howled all night but was still from the south. Riding just a mile or so south was nearly impossible, but necessary to get out of town and take advantage of the wind for a while longer.

Stateline ND to Mandan ND 88.6 miles 7:00 hour riding time The wind continued howling all night and even once picked up the end of my tent raising my feet slightly and awaking me for the few minutes sleep I was enjoying when the noise of the wind didn't have me awake. I enjoyed a good breakfast with the help in the little cafe and rode off into the wind. No towns to pass through, but there was a little road side table about mile 50 where I had a lunch as I tried to hold onto it from the howling wind. This was some hilly country with steep rises as the terrain rises above the Missouri and and the road passes through ravines that feed into the river. Most of the ride was with a tail wind, so not too bad. Bismark sits in the draw, and as I descended to it the wind seem to moderate down to 15 MPH or so. Chris had needed a new cassette, so I knew they were headed to the bike shop. I went there, had my derailer adjusted, and found out they'd gone to a motel/campground just over the river in Mandan, which was closer to town than the one we'd planned to say. Surprise, surprise, when I got there, they'd checked into the motel. The motel also has a campground, but tornado watches were posted north of Bismark and the clerk wasn't going to let me camp. Fortunatley, he eventually relented. The wind continued abating, and I finally had a good night's sleep without 50 MPH gusts!

22 June 2003 Layover, Mandan & Bismark ND Layover days pass much too quickly. We had a leisurely breakfast, discussed the route and the best way through Montana at length. I'll have trouble meeting the planned drill dates in Montana, but they haven't responded to my e mail! David and I visited a museum and the capitol. Back to the bike shop for David as his old old old Brooks saddle is coming apart. Fortunately, they fixed it for him. My crank or BB is making a bit of noise, but they didn't get to the bottom of that noise!

Happy Cycling for Fun, Fitness, and Transportation!

Steve