We went through the black hills (thus named because the fir trees are so dark they looked black to the Indians) in less than a day and then we’re back on the plains.
“America is like a wave of higher and higher frequencies toward each end, and lowest frequency in the middle. --- I looked out the windshield and saw nothing. A hefty trash bag against a barbed-wire fence, maybe, torn to pennants by the wind; a metal prefab building in the distance; brunch grass blowing; a road as straight as a string. --- Just grain silos, and flat brown fields with one cow on them, and wheat fields, and telephone poles, and towns with four to six buildings.“--- Ian Frazier, GREAT PLAINS
The winds were fickle today. First none, then a slight tail wind, then headwind, and once again tailwind. But more tailwind than not and very welcome on the last 33 miles. The route was pretty direct: get on the interstate for one mile. Exit at the first exit and take route 14 for 116 miles. There were a number of construction areas in the last 20 miles. One of these was particularly nasty; the watering truck created mud and there were deep ruts. I was afraid I would fall but didn’t. And didn’t hear of anyone who did – but everyone looked like they had been mud-wrestling. My clip-on fender saved the day for me (Two of the Brits also had mud-guards and escaped the bike-cleaning party at the motel.). 
Both yesterday and today we’ve had a lot of rolling hills. Yesterday’s were smaller – you climbed maybe 60 feet in 1/2 mile. Today’s were larger – you climbed 100 feet in a mile. -- Another environmental problem the last couple of days: grasshoppers. They jump in your wheel; they jump on your leg. I try to run over as many as I can. -- At mile 77 today, if we had taken the left fork we’d have gone to Sturgis. But we’re about 10 days too early for the 69th Biker Rally.
We had two indicators of our progress today as we neared Pierre. (The state capital is pronounced “pier”.):
- We entered Central Time Zone (“Texas Time”)
- We crossed the Missouri River. (See photo at bottom of blog.)
The Missouri River[8] is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. At 2,540 miles (4,090 km) in length, it drains about one- sixth of the North American continent. The Missouri in its original natural meandering state was the longest river in North America. Nearly 72 miles (116 km) of the river have been cut off in channeling[3] and so it is now comparable in length to the Mississippi River. The combination of the two longest rivers in North America forms the fourth longest river in the world.
Tomorrow’s ride will mark a milestone: the half way point. Amazing.
Day 24, 117 miles, 2,502 miles, 7.5 hrs. 1,823 miles so far
26 days remaining, 1,866 miles remaining
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