Ride for the Dominican: South Dakota Day 2

First things first... I needed a new tube. The night before I got a taxi ride to the local Scheels store because all the bike shops were closed. They had what I needed and so I purchased 2 tubes and we prepared to hit the rode. No more support vehicles, no more bike shops for 3 days. This had to work.

We had spent the night at the KOA in Rapid City and were off to Interior. The wind speed was insane. The gusts were hitting 30 mph from the Northwest. At one point Sharon was literally blown off the road. Thankfully she was OK! She had a full bike packed out with both rear and front panniers. I was pulling our Burley Nomad. In our first hour we covered nearly 20 miles which was incredible considering the weight of our bikes.

Day two was primarily down hill again. It turned out to be a great day to start out fully loaded. The wind took some getting used to but we were able to travel really quickly.

The scenery took a drastic change. No more Black Hills covered in evergreen trees.

We were in the plains.

After climbing a fairly large hill and dealing with some construction I recorded this video.

We saw a lot of prairie dogs, several cows, a buffalo, a snake and a dinosaur. No big deal.

The terrain was incredible. It changed from flat plains to large rolling hills. It was incredible!

It's like she has a third eye...

This video is a hill we went down. I reached 42 mph! The video has not been sped up nor did I add music so you can get the full vibe. It was a great time.

OK, let's talk about Scenic, South Dakota. I grew up in a small town so sometimes hearing people talk about them can be a little bit frustrating... but Scenic was unique. The name kinda sounds like a scenic place? Perhaps some sightseeing options?

Well, not so much.

Think wild... wild west. Scenic was formed when the railroad went through this area. It was a place where they would load cattle on the trains back in the day. When the railroad moved locations, Scenic kinda died. There is a lot of history here though the town was pretty short lived.

Those are cow skulls atop the former bar.

We took a break at the gas station across the street.

Scenic was kinda the midway point between Rapid City and Interior. It was also the door to the South Dakota Badlands... maybe that's where it got its name?!

It was like sensory shock.

We actually walked up to this one. It was like crunchy plaster.

And just like that, we were out of the South Dakota Badlands for the day.

Getting to Interior and camping.

When you get to a campsite to tent and want electrical they put you up next to all the GINORMOUS campers. Come on, are these people REALLY camping?

It's amazing how much gear you can fit on a bike.

Ok, so while we were there a really awesome couple "moved in" next door... about 2 feet away in a ginormous camper. They invited us over for refreshments and we shared our stories. He had just sold his sign company in Florida and was retiring from a life of business. They were traveling the US to celebrate his retirement. One of their unique ideas was to take pictures of people they had met with their gator. We were blessed. I don't recall their names, but thanks for the beer and the conversation. Best wishes to you both.