Jacob Usher
Another day of doom and gloom. The past two days of tough headwinds has taken a toll on us. We set out this morning and I was feeling pretty unmotivated. More easterly wind was on the forecast and it didn’t feel like we had a big objective to look forward to.
The wind wasn’t super strong to start out with, and we rode two-wide for a little while. The skies were overcast and it seemed to be getting colder out. Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas are known for Sioux Quartzite. This is a hard pinkish rock. Highway 14 wasn’t pink, but the railway stones to our left were.
Pink Sioux Quartzite outside Huron, SD
We stopped at a store called the chop shop. It was a gas station, fast food, liquor store, butcher, and bar. It may have been more, but I can’t remember. It was surprisingly well stocked and the people inside were all friendly. A beekeeper asked us where we were heading for the day. He recommended going to DeSmet. Laura Ingalls Wilder (author of Little House on the Prairie) is from there and it has some attractions.
Going off route is something we usually are skeptical of. The ACA puts a lot of thought into the routes and usually there’s a reason they don’t send you down certain roads. However, going to DeSmet would just keep us on Highway 14 longer and the man said the shoulders were good. Easy decision.
The shoulder was not great as it turns out. It wasn’t super wide and there were patches of rumble strip every 5 yards that took up the entire width of the shoulder. They weren’t super deep so riding over them was annoying but not terrible.
The ‘nice, wide shoulder’ on South Dakota’s HW 14
The temperature dropped and the overcast skies became more of a fog. It wasn’t really raining, but the humidity must have been 100%. It was dreary and damp. The wind also picked up. At the beginning of the trip I would have called it a strong headwind. It still wasn’t nearly as strong as the previous two days thankfully.
Farmland and foggy conditions
We didn't end up visiting any of the attractions in DeSmet. However, I spotted a gas station with indoor seating which was a lot more exciting to us anyways. We left Highway 14 after eating lunch and did get some time on a pink road. There was hardly any traffic during this time which was nice. There was also hardly anything else happening. I asked Michael what was wrong at one point to which he said I’m ‘bored, cold, bored, and tired.’ We noticed more and more trees throughout the day. I have never really thought about how much they can block the wind.
We passed a dog. It was pretty far away but decided to chase us onto the street. We all had wildly different reactions to this situation. Michael got aero and sped away. Brian and Friend hit evasive maneuvers. I jumped off my bike and scared it away. This wasn’t very graceful and I almost ran into a ditch. I am told it looked like I was excited to scrap with the dog. Really I just didn’t want it to run too far out into the street. It seemed like it wanted to play.
That little bit of excitement and a brief period of tailwind just about got us to Oakwood Lakes State Park where we are staying tonight. Today wasn’t as comically hard as the previous two days. Still a slog made less enjoyable by the weather. I am excited to get to Minnesota tomorrow even if the conditions won’t immediately change at the border.
The gang arrives at Oakwood Lakes State Park