Sandman redeemed himself last night…made a visit almost as soon as I laid my head down. And it was a good night’s sleep that’s for sure. Guess those hours riding in the sun and extreme heat served a purpose, although I didn’t see a purpose for the heat and wind when it was happening.
--------------------
Up around 8 a.m. and on the
road about 10:30. Kim fixed a hearty
breakfast of eggs, pancakes and sausage while I packed up our stuff. Then I set about finding a place to stay
tonight somewhere in the Custer State Park area. So many choices so it took a bit of
time. Since the Black Hills area is our
end game I booked two nights at the Horse Thief Campground so we have the
freedom of taking a full day to see the sights around here…and Kim can ride
without the trailer chasing behind him. He’s
looking forward to that.
We arrived long before dark
today out of sheer necessity…the camp office closes at 5 p.m. this time of
year. Arrived before 4:30 and had our
camp set up before 5. In fact, we went
into Hill City to eat and pick up a couple of things and still got back before
dark. We should get bonus points for
that.
--------------------
There was a bicycle tour
riding through the park…lots of cyclists and several chase cars. The road
through the Badlands isn’t flat…in
fact, it’s mostly hilly and curvy.
Didn’t see a lot of smiling faces as they pedaled along; it had to be a brutal
ride because at one point I saw 100o on my bike. One hundred degrees! Shoot, I was sweating buckets and I wasn’t
even exerting myself. Obviously they couldn’t have known what the weather
conditions would be when they signed up for this ride; I admire their
dedication to see it through in the face of that kind of heat. I was concerned about them staying properly
hydrated…there weren’t many water bottles visible on the bikes. Later when Larry and I were talking about it,
he mentioned the exact same thing…no water bottles. They could have been using
a Camelbak type hydration system…but it seems that would promote more sweating.
But really, what’s a little more sweat when you’re already bathed in it?
--------------------
Wildlife sightings: Several prairie dogs in the park and two
pronghorn along the highway heading to Rapid City. Usually we see bighorn sheep
in the park also but not today. Probably were hunkered down somewhere to beat
the heat.
-------------------
Seems most every store or
restaurant in Hill City has a railing; the city is on an incline and the
sidewalks are high. I’m sure the
railings are a safety thing but they also serve another purpose: people like to
lean on them and watch the world go by.
Or motorcycles…maybe it’s the bikes they like to watch. Because Hill City was hopping with bikes
tonight.
I have always been parking challenged on my bike. I struggle to properly execute the pull ahead and back up against the curb type of angle parking that is typically done along a street. Which is exactly the type of parking we had to do in Hill City tonight…with people leaning on the railing and watching. 😧
--------------------
Today’s miles: 182
Total miles: 1267
No comments:
Post a Comment