Biking Dude Blog

I traveled about 62 miles today.
Just crawled in my bivy sack to escape the bugs. There was a church event in the commons outside the library, so I ate dinner there. The event was songs and testimonials presented by Minnesota adult and teen challenge , which is a faith based program for people suffering from addiction. There were some really powerful stories shared by people from all walks of life. I donated some of the money I had on me, as these folks are on a much more difficult journey than I. I did a bit of research on the group, it seems like a very good and transparent charity. Had a shower at the campground before turning in. Looking forward to my ride tomorrow. It will mostly be along 7, which had faster traffic but nice, wide shoulders. Glad the weather cleared up, it's a nice night for camping

I traveled about 78.3 miles today.
This is Mark and Celeste, my warm showers hosts today. By some crazy coincidence, I already knew their son, Mike, from working at Many Point Scout Camp. I had recognized the surname, but thought it was just a coincidence. What's are the odds? Got an early start this morning, but highway 7 did not have the wide shoulders promised by the Minnesota DOT bicycle map. I'm still pretty upset about that, as a misleading map is worse than no map at all. I ended up rerouting north to take some less busy roads to Montevideo, which added about ten miles. Not a big deal, but I would have been SOL without my phone or cell service. Going to watertown tomorrow. I pretty much have to take 212 all the way in, there are no good alternate routes as almost all parallel roads are unpaved. Oh well, I'm not the first to go this way, and I won't be the last.

Crossed over into south Dakota today. Rode about seventy miles from Montevideo to Watertown along 212. Pretty good ride, there were a few places where the shoulder was a little tight, but nothing terrible. Strong wind out of the south today, made it difficult when the road turned south for a few miles. Planning on some longer rides the next few days, but forecast is strong winds from the west, so that may have to change. Stopped at the library when I got to Watertown, and they're showing the mighty ducks this afternoon, so I'm watching that now. Probably head over to the brewery later before getting dinner and finding a place to camp.

I traveled about 79.3 miles today.
Went over to the Watertown brewery after mighty ducks ended, a little after 4. I meet Scott and Marcus there, and talked about my trip a little and shared some pictures. Really cool guys, they were kind enough to pick up my tab. I was a particular fan of the IPA and porter. Got some subway for dinner (yum), then biked a few miles west of town to the Sandy Shores state park to camp for the night. This was kind of the textbook ideal day for a trip like this: early(ish) start, strong biking through the morning and early afternoon, finding a chance movie screening at the local library, meeting some cool people at the local brewery, and camping by a lake watching the sunset. I feel very fortunate and happy to be able to do this trip and be supported by so many people.

I met Charlie and Rita last night when I was getting water at the campsite, and they let me set up camp at their campsite so I would not have to pay for my own, which was really nice. I sat by the fire and chatted with them and their friends Mark and Barb until I started nodding off and went to bed. Thanks Charlie and Rita for your hospitality, sorry I couldn't stick around for breakfast.
Woke up early and hit the road just after sunrise. This is a picture from one of my rest stops. Apparently, there have been times when the water level reaches the road. Yikes!

Stopped in Willow Lake today to refill on water at a place called Scud's Bait and Tackle. Turns out, they were having a big family get together this weekend, and I met Caleb, who rode from Washington to Bar Harbour with two friends several years ago. We talked for a while about my trip, and Eaton gave me some fruit and banana bread to eat. Really nice group of people, I'm very fortunate to have stumbled across them. Caleb lives in the twin cities area as well, so hopefully we can stay in touch. Thanks guys, it was great to meet you!

I traveled about 88.2 miles today.
Battling strong head winds almost all day. Got a break in the last 20 miles to Huron when I turned south and the wind was out of the west. This is a picture of a field where I took a brief nap, you can see how much the wind in blowing the grass. Staying in Huron tonight with Eric, who is a professional cellist. We made spaghetti squash burrito bowls for dinner. It was really fun to cook, I haven't done that in a while. I'll be attempting to reach Pierre tomorrow, which is nearly 120 miles. Will try to get an early start and cover as much getting as possible before the winds pick up again in the afternoon.

I traveled about 121 miles today.
Will update more later. Short story is Kory triumphs over 120 mile ride to Pierre through 15+ mph headwinds and 90 degree heat. Piano is on the sidewalk in Pierre, open to the public to play

Took highway 14 from Huron to Pierre. Got an early start, hitting the road just a little after 6. Winds were lower in the morning, then picked up as the morning progressed and stayed strong until the late afternoon. Road was good for biking, with a few exceptions that were still passable. I met another biker named Nathaniel in Blunt, about 25 miles from Pierre. More on him later. His rear tire blew as we were arriving in Pierre, so we walked to the local bike shop. Unfortunately, it was closed Sunday (today) and Monday. After some frantic internet searching, I find the contact for the local bike club, the Oahe Wheelmen. Randy was very excited to help us out, and met us at subway with a pair of tires for Nathaniel and helped put them on. Randy had previously worked as a biking guide in the black hills area. Thanks so much Randy, for your generosity, advice, and stories.

I traveled about 89.5 miles today.
This is Nathaniel. We met quite by chance at a gas station in Blunt, SD, on my way to Pierre. He is riding from Ithaca to Seattle, and we've decided to travel together for a while, probably until devils tower, when I go north to Montana and he guess west to Yellowstone. It's really great having anther person to travel with for a while. Nathaniel had found a host on couch surfing in Pierre for last night, so I was luckily able to stay there as well. Thanks to Mary, Daniel, Hannah, Isabel, Willy, Jesse, Jade, Hunter, and Sawyer for welcoming us into your home. After yesterday's grueling ride, a 90 mile trek to Philip with a light tailwind seemed like no big deal. The saga of tire trouble continued, though, as I got one flat in they morning from a hard thorn (called a goats head), and then another just 8 miles outside of Philip. Other than that, it was a fun day of riding, with great scenery, good roads, and rolling hills. Arrived in Philip and got some groceries and dinner (pizza), then for a room at the motel. Nice place, and being able to split the cost is great. Tomorrow we bike 30 miles west to wall drug, then go south and back east a little through the badlands for another 30 miles. We'll take a rest day to hike/bike around the badlands a bit, then head to rapid city on Thursday. Also, apparently I hit the 2000 mile mark at some point yesterday. Hooray!