What's the difference between 80*F and 90*F? Far more than just the number '10', as far as this delicate flower is concerned! It is the difference between OK and misery!!! WOW! We awoke this morning, and the initial look-see checky thingy outside was all it took for this tenderfoot. Yep, I dug out my Gerbings liner and chaps for additional layers, and that proved to be a very wise choice!
The storm the day before had been a doozy with strong winds and periods of heavy rain. No hail, mercifully, although we did fret some about that possibility. The bikes fared well, and so did their riders. The ‘mom’ part of that mom and pop motel operation had come by to check on us that first evening, and she’d even offered to let us park under a shelter. It had already begun seriously raining by then, though, so we reluctantly chose to roll the dice… we didn’t crap-out, so all was well.
The motel had a pizza restaurant next door that also served a buffet with a salad bar, fried chicken, and assorted veggies... We did indeed dine well! In fact, the fried chicken there was so good, any Baptist minister I’ve ever met would have been mighty proud to have joined us, and even Crazyhorse would have been beaming! Late that afternoon following the storm just before sunset, a rainbow appeared giving us the promise of better days ahead...
Things were definitely looking up!
photouploadA clear, brisk morning of departure, but it felt oh so very nice... especially after all of the previous days being... not so very nice. The temp at ‘first-light’ was in the mid-40s, and the temp all the way to Rapid City never rose above the low 70s. No rain forecasted for the next several days and the temps will remain in the tolerable range, so... more miles per day to crowd in more riding while the opportunity lasts.
I can't tell if Jerry actually tolerates non-perfect weather better than I do, or if he is simply better than I am at faking it... Either way, he appears to be holding up rather well, and I'm still hanging in there... He doesn’t complain much, he is not intrusive or bothersome with non-stop chatter, and, so far at least, he hasn’t stunk. A big plus here, he does not wash his undies in the coffee maker, either! Not bad qualities in a riding partner, so… I just hope he can say the same about this sometimes not-so-sociable rider…
We rode back-roads towards Badlands NP... right up until the road entered the Pine Top Sioux Reservation, and a couple of tribe's members stopped us just past the entrance and informed us we would have to turn around... The Rez was closed to interstate traffic, read 'out of state' travelers. Dang, I remembered reading something about that a month or two ago, but I had completely forgotten. Not a biggie, we just made the necessary adjustment to our route and rode on...
Badlands NP
We stopped at the Visitor’s Center, which was closed, but at the door two rangers, one paid, one volunteer, and both retired high school teachers, engaged Jerry and me in some most pleasant conversation… while our rides waited patiently for us.
host an imageFollowing the weird sights in the Park, we stopped in Wall, SD, at the 'drug store'. While Jerry did a bit of shopping in order to garner favor with 'she who must be pleased', I weighted down one of the benches in the shade along the sidewalk... We both accomplished our objectives.
From Wall to Rapid City we beat it down the super slab... at a leisurely pace. The wind had been quite strong all day, and it seemed to have picked-up some in the mid to late afternoon... plus it was from the northwest therefore in our face all day. The wind buffeting us, though, was the only major obstacle to pronouncing this a near perfect day... and that was certainly not out of the ordinary for this area and this season, particularly just after a strong weather front has passed through. No complaints here!
DDT
