Day 25, July 9, 2015, Pierre, SD to Chamberlain, SD, 84
miles and 2550 feet of climbing. Well….the second beer did not keep me from
finding were dinner was served last night.
When I got there I learned that our table would not be ready for a ½ hour
so the two beers I drank earlier talked me into having a glass of wine. I ate a wonderful dinner consisting of a
delicious tossed salad and a wood fire backed pizza that was great. When I got on the road this morning I felt
awful. I had no energy, could not get
into a good spinning pattern and felt weak.
At the first SAG stop at 25 miles I figured out that I was probably
dehydrated from last night’s “indulgences”.
So, I drank several bottles of water, ate some fruit and continued to
drink more water. It did the trick and I
was back to feeling good about being out on the road. We pretty much followed the Missouri River
all day long. The river and surrounding
hilly grasslands provided some awesome views.
The river is much wider than I had anticipated. I was struck by the fact that there are very
few homes on the river. There were a
few public access sites and campgrounds but virtually no development. Though the overall climbing totals were
rather modest i.e. 2550 feet, the hills were long, steep and downright
brutal. The temperature reached 80 degrees and while
struggling up the hills I could have sworn it was in excess of 100 degrees. The hills got longer, steeper and hotter as
they day wore on. I am not a “climber”! In my next life I want to come back as
one. Today we passed the ½ way point of the
tour. Most of my riding brethren are
going all the way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
They will be on the road for 50 days.
I knew right from the beginning that there is no way I could stand to be
away from home for that long so I opted to end in Mt. Pleasant, MI after 37
days. (Also, I have already ridden that
part of the route 4 years ago when I road across the country) I can only assume that the rest of the riders
do not have a wonderful wife/life partner waiting at home for them like I
do! Miss you Rose. Oh yeah and you too Jack!!!
Leaving Pierre, along the Missouri River
This picture does not do justice to the climb!!
Riding into Chamberlain, SD
Today's elevation profile
Miss you too Jay! So glad you were able to make the journey but glad also that it is almost over and you will be home soon. When you do get home you will not recognize the person living in our house. He has learned a lot with his new job. He now understands how hard it is to work eight hours a day. More surprising he appears to have learned about all the meats and cheeses he is selling at his job. He told me last night what a good sale they were having on N.Y. strips ($9.99# compared to $14.99#) and sirloins ($6.99# instead of $9.99 #). He then went to the fridge pulled out the cheeses I have and identified them by their color!. Who would have thought just a few short months ago he was asking me what kind of cheese he liked! There is hope. (P.S. I did go out and buy some N.Y. strip to freeze for your homecoming when he informed me that the sale just lasted until Saturday)
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