TODAY'S TALES:  I wonder when was the last time people in South Dakota wore sweaters at noon on July 18th?  This weather is unprecedented.  In all the times I've been through here, I've never seen anything like it for sure.  I've told the riders they have not experienced the real South Dakota, but we'll take it.  No one was in a hurry today...no need to.  We weren't trying to beat the heat...heck, when we got in town at 1:00 it was only 69 degrees...one local I talked to said we should be here in winter...no thanks...but isn't this winter?  To a redneck from Alabama, this is pretty cold!

It was nice this morning to sleep in a bit.  We didn't load until 7:15 since Country Kitchen didn't open for breakfast until 7:00.  Several riders ate at the motel and got on the road early in anticipation of arriving in Sioux Falls in time to do some presightseeing.  Most everyone finally got on the road before 7:30...another great day in the saddle...another great day on the road.  I guess you could say it all came together today...cool temperatures, nice weather, great pavement, and a kicking tailwind at times that pushed the riders well past their normal pace...a nice rest day after some tough days over the last week.

Our terrain today was almost totally flat and we are definitely getting into crop land...a precursor to Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Everywhere you look you now see corn, soybeans, or wheat fields.  It's nice to start seeing farm houses along the road and it reminds me of home with all the silos and red barns standing behind the houses.  Someone said the reason the Soviet Union didn't launch their nuclear missiles at us was because they saw all the silos in the mid west and mistook them for strategic weapons.  Their strategic planners thought everyone in the United States had their own personal defensive missiles in their yard...they didn't understand there was only silage in them.  So we really owe the farmers of the mid west a debt of gratitude for warding off the Soviets during the Cold War.  We may address this at a later date...stay tuned. 

Today, like much of yesterday, riders rode pink highways, the chips in the chip-and-seal being that color.  Some of the chip and seal was fairly fresh, but in most places it was well worn in. We also rode through cornfield after cornfield, the houses few and far between and sitting like small treed islands in a sea of corn.  The cornfields in this part of the country must be filled to overflowing with pheasants.  Today I saw a "ring-neck" (male pheasant) fly across the road right near where I was parked waiting for riders.  Yesterday, I saw at least half a dozen female pheasants that had been killed on the road by passing cars.  Now when you think about how scarce cars are on these roads, that's a very high number.  And why all female?  Maybe the female pheasants in this area took the "How to cross the road" course from an Alabama armadillo.  There's never been a successful road crossing ever recorded by an armadillo...that's a fact.  That's why there are no Armadillos in these parts, they can't get across I-20. 

It seems the people who laid out the state lines needed to do some research and keep all the topography the same in each state.  For instance, as we came across SD, it appears the eastern line is too far east.  Minnesota should have this area we are in today since it matches the rich farm land there.  It's the same in Kansas; if you moved the state lines about 80 miles to the west, then all of Kansas would be similar...Colorado would have all the mountainous regions and Missouri would get the eastern Kansas hill country.  Then Kansas could just be...Kansas.  I guess every state should have a bit of variety though.  Speaking of Kansas, after we left Mitchell this morning I thought we were in Kansas Toto.  As we were closing in on the small town of Hanson we could see their grain elevator for about 10 miles out...the first one I've really noticed.  In eastern South Dakota, like in Kansas and Illinois, you will see a grain elevator about every 10 miles or so no matter how many, or how few, people live in the area.  These little towns sprung up every 10 miles because in the early days that's how far a steam engine could go without refilling with water.  It's nice to start seeing civilization every so often which is much different from just a few days ago.  The new scenery prompted Lu to comment that it reminded her of home in Indiana.

I think everyone is ready for a day off and enjoyed the flat terrain today.  This is probably the flattest day we've had so far.  I think we had only about 1000 feet of climbing before we got to Sioux Falls...that's just a bump compared to what we've done over the last few days.  Even though we are in scenic farm country, there is still nothing out here except the occasional convenience store.  If we get into trouble, there's also a few farm houses, but other than that, not much.

The days going into rest days are usually pretty busy for the staff.  We try to get all the maintenance done, bike shop runs done before dinner, the vans straightened out, and several other odds and ends before the new riders come in...a busy time for everyone.  After all the hustling before dinner, we gathered next door for a buffet meal and to say goodbye to Dennis, Tom, Skeeter, David, and Paul who were only riding to Sioux Falls.  Paul will return in Latham.  We'll welcome 3 new riders tomorrow.

Tomorrow we don't ride and there won't be a journal entry.  We'll pull out on Monday to enter our next state and to begin the rest of our adventure.  We really don't get another real day off until Niagara Falls since we will ride the ferry across the lake on our next scheduled off day.  Hope you'll tune in again on Monday to see how we do in Minnesota.  See you then.

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