I'm sitting in the rectory of Immaculate Conception catholic church in Winner,SD. I rode 57 miles today with about 4:10 on the bike. The riding was hilly, and I had gale-force North sidewinds, but it was mercifully short. Tomorrow I have 53 miles in to Platte, 86 miles the next day into Parker, and then 52 miles into Rock Valley on Thurday night. Rock Valley is that start of RAGBRAI. I may end up staying somewhere close instead depending on lodging; I'm considering getting a hotel for a couple nights for a full rest day full of doing nothing but sleeping
About halfway into Platte tomorrow I will cross The Missouri River, the unofficial division between the West and the Midwest in South Dakota. The signs are everywhere that I am entering the midwest. I haven't seen irrigation equipment for days, today had much less desert and scrub brush then yesterday, and the crops are about half corn and half hay. The corn here is pretty stunted compared to Iowa corn, but it's corn. The towns are also getting closer together now, so I don't need to carry 60 miles of water anymore, just 20-30. That makes a difference.
I'm going over many many rolling hills, but that should end tomorrow after I cross the Missouri and hit the flats of South Dakota. The 86 miles from Platte to Parker should be fairly quick compared to other 86 miles days I've had, if the wind doesn't fight me
I slept well last night, and got out at a good time if I was still in the mountain timezone, which I left yesterday. Disappointingly, Ruben and Myrna weren't around so I couldn't buy them breakfast and enjoy their company more, so I headed out. I went about a mile before the FPMITA (see yesterday for abbreviation meaning) super rutted roads re-appeared. I had been told they were done, and even had re-aired up my tires in optimism, but part of me knew this was a possibility and I was mentally ready to deal with it this time. Yesterday my hope that the bad roads were temporary inhibited my ability to redefine the situation in my brain. This time I stopped, let the air back out of my tires (60psi instead of 90 on 700x32), and told myself that this was just what bike touring is now. I told myself I was going to have nothing but these roads until Vermont, and that this suckfest was just the new normal and I needed to adapt. Sure my mid-weight touring bike isn't designed for those kind of roads, but it had survived 20,000 miles so-far and could handle it for another 2,000.
My life is built on the twin pillars of strategic overconfidence and tactical self-delusion. They haven't failed me yet.
17 miles into the ride I hit Wood, SD and had a reckoning. In 2007 this was as far as I got in South Dakota, because right in the middle of a very blissful experience, Iris and I got evicted back home. This was through no-fault of our own, but it was real. I needed to get home, fast, so I called the Bike Whisperer in Rapid City and he came and drove me back to Rapid, helped me pack my bike up, and put me on a plane. We handled the situation and I flew back to Iowa in time for RAGBRAI. It turned out to be a good thing because our new place was much better - but it still hurt my tour flow. Part of why I chose this route from Missoula to here was so that I could do the 5 days that I missed in Montana for a wedding and to successfully bike past Wood.
After Wood the roads returned to normal (YES!) and I rode another 22 miles into Witten (pop 60ish). There was only one shop open, but I hung out in there for about an hour and half talking to the owner about just about everything. Other people came in and out, some staying to hang as well. The store was about half store half town meeting area. I really love towns like Witten.
About 3 central time I rolled into Winner, Pop 3,000ish. These larger towns are harder to find a place to stay in. I asked around a bit and got a few hits that one of the parks was OK to stay in. On the way to check it out I passed the city hall and decided to go in and ask. They said it was fine as long as they told the police first. Win! Always ask someone official, 9/10 it works out in your favor, and if it doesn't there is always churches and backyards.
On a whim I checked a few churches near the city hall to see if I could upgrade from the park. At the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church I met Father Andrzej. We chatted for a bit, and he ended up inviting me to into his guest room in the rectory. This place is amazing! I got my first shower since Rapid City, have a full kitchen, guest bed, computer to use, the whole shebang. The Father is from Poland (several years ago) and it fun to talk to. He's a big fan of old TV, so I got to watch a few episodes of Gilligan's Island while I updated this journal.
I don't know what else is to come tonight. It's interesting what paths our choices send us down. If I'd gone to the park I could have ended up spending the afternoon alone reading or playing music, or I could have met fun crazy people. I don't know. It's best not to worry about what could have happened and fully embrace what does happen. Take a risk and jump. No FOMO! I'm having a great time with the Father so far, although I wasn't prepared for this level of hospitality and it took me a little bit to adjust.
I student taught at a school once that had several tenets. My favorite and the only one I really remember was "be open to outcome." Indeed.
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