Day 15 - Rapid City to Mudo, SD

Yesterday was a rest day... a leisurely 45 miles in and around the monuments in the Black Hills. Today was not a rest day... 149 hot, windy, bug infested miles through the Badlands and across the plains of central South Dakota. Our ride started earlier than usual to accommodate the longest mileage day of the tour. Up at 4:30 instead of our usual 5:30, we rolled out of bed and made our way to the parking lot for an excellent breakfast of sausage and eggs in addition to the usual fare. The morning temps weren't as cool as we have become used to, but that was a sign that today was going to be a warm one.

OK... we said we'd answer questions today, but we're going to postpone that blog post another day or two since we're both exhausted and we haven't come up with enough witty replies. But we will answer Gary Schmidt's question, since we know this is an issue that is acutely important to him. Yes, Gary, we have enjoyed a cold beer after the ride on a few days.

We typically roll out of town in groups of three or four, but this morning at least one large group formed and fifteen of us pedaled away from Rapid City along Rt. 44 (Omaha Street in Rapid City) towards the airport. I was happy to sit in and let the strong men pull as Paul and Phil might say. They apparently weren't interested in pulling us all the way to Murdo, so we broke into smaller groups and I joined five other riders in a nice rotation that helped us make decent time despite the winds. Dave joined a similarly sized group as well. Eventually, we ended up riding a good portion of the day individually.

The heat was bad... the winds weren't helpful as they had been on many previous days... but the real negative on the day was the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of grasshoppers alive and dead that littered at least a hundred miles of our ride. They would jump up, flutter, or fly when you rode by. Some met their demise quickly by pinging off a spoke. Others hit riders in the face, ears, chest, legs, everywhere. I had my jersey open because of the heat and only narrowly missed a direct hit on the nipple (for those who have heard my dragon fly story). Dave had two get stuck in the vents of his helmet. A few landed and decided to ride along. One rested on my shoulder for a few moments, but the two in the picture I tool while riding were the bravest. There's a large one on the bottom of my shoe and a small one on the crank arm. The small one rode with me for over 20 miles, probably too scared or nauseous to let go. I even stopped and took a picture of one on the black top at the top of today's post. They ranged from 1 inch to about 2 inches and were everywhere.

The Badlands were interesting, but not nearly as spectacular as some of the scenery we've enjoyed earlier on the ride. I've attached a couple of pictures of the Badlands and one of the seemingly endless road we followed today. We paralleled the Interstate on a frontage road that was nearly devoid of traffic, but covered with bugs.