Day 23 Rapid City to Wall SD. 58 miles with 2006' of climbing.

I will start out today's story with one from yesterday that I heard this morning at breakfast.  Bill who lives in Colorado was going from Mt. Rushmore to the 2nd sag stop yesterday and just after he entered town there was a cross walk and a family had just started to cross.  Bill stopped to let them cross and while trying to get his foot out of his pedals he got the wrong one unclasped and lost his balance and fell over on to the street.  The little girl that was with this family and about 4 years old looked right at Bill and shook her finger at him and said""" that is the reason you should not ride your bike in the street.'''  Bill kind of smiled and left that statement alone.  The dad did come and help Bill up and all went their separate ways with another great adventure story.  You think maybe the little girl had been told to stay out of the street with her bike???

Well we had a fairly short day today so the luggage was not until 0800.  The temperature at the start was 72 degrees and the forecast was for mid ninety's in Wall.  The wind was out of the north at 15-20 at the start and was with us all the way on today's ride.  A cross wind is not as bad as a headwind and it felt good with the heat as the day wore on.  We only had 1 stop today and it was at the worlds smallest biker bar.  Well with this group the imagination is not limited and the pictures below tell it all.

After leaving the 1st stop we were riding on a rural frontage road with rolling hills all the way.  At mile 37 our road ended and we had to get on the shoulder of interstate #90.  The rumble strips were away from the lanes of the road and in the shoulder and we only had a 2 feet section to ride for about 5 miles before the shoulder opened up to a normal 4-5 feet of space.  You really had to stay alert as the narrow strip we had to ride and the guard rail on the other side at times you had to track in a straight line.  Everyone got by OK without incident.  We came to a rest stop and 5 of us went in and enjoyed the cool air and I filled my water bottles once again with the water from the drinking fountain.  After leaving the rest area we had a 1 mile climb out of the valley we had descended into.  We then road for 12 more miles and arrived into the town of Wall, SD.  After checking into the motel, the luggage truck was ready to be unloaded and then shower time and we got something to eat.  It was then time to go and see the famous Wall Drug.  I made one look around and had enough as it is a big tourist trap.

Tomorrow is another 100+ mile day with the heat and depending on what the wind does, it may be a big challenge for all.  I will update tomorrows blog with this new adventure day.  Today's ride was rolling hills with fields of corn, cattle and a few horses.  Some of the riders saw rattlesnakes in the road but it was kind of like a rest day with the short mileage and everyone getting in early to save something for tomorrows ride.