Day 22, Kadoka to Pierre, SD

Today's forecast was for a chance of afternoon thundershowers and wind from the east building to 10 to 15 mph. Wait, aren't we headed east? Per the cue sheet, this is Dances With Wolves country (the movie was filmed in this area) - long hills and wide open spaces.

Hoping to beat the wind, we started out as early as we could and pressed a bit in the early morning, trying to get miles in before the wind increased as it tends to do during the day. I hope these pictures convey a feeling the the real emptiness of this part of the country. These pictures could have been taken at 9 AM or 3 PM. This is what we saw all day.




















We were a bit tired, but doing OK until we turned east at mile 34. For the next 60 miles we would push the bike against a 15 mph head wind. We faced long rolling hills, no trees to break the wind, and low reserves because of our push for a sub-six hour century on the previous day. We eventually decided on taking a short break every hour for a snack and "mental health" reasons. Later we found out that everyone was having a tough day.




Finally the sight we were waiting for, a view of Pierre (pronounced "Pier"), and the Missouri River. Yes, the descent to Pierre was pretty nice.






Once we crossed the Missouri River, the extent of the flooding that Pierre has suffered, and is suffering became apparent. The National Guard was at work in the parking lot behind the middle school at which we stayed, loading sand bags onto trucks and transporting them to where they were needed.

This first picture is of the park where we were scheduled to stay, but it was under four feet of water. We were told by residents that the river is still rising - slower than before, but it has not stopped yet.



















Today's ride was 99.1 miles. Close enough to a century for us. That's two tough centuries in a row. Tomorrow we ride 72 miles to Miller, SD. Shorter, but another head wind is forecast.