After riding a grueling 1500 feet downhill we decided we better reload on calories so we stopped in at the GTO Diner and ordered a big breakfast where we met Clint (because he had a cowboy hat on). Clint chatted away with Jared but I didn't say a word because he was sitting to my left and my ear was still out of commission.
Then it was back to good ole Interstate 90 which looks pretty much the same for forever, but I'm pretty sure its just because of the state we're in. Aside from being boring its important to understand that in South Dakota there are marketing geniuses who place billboards from the same thing every 500 feet. By car you might well be able to breeze by some of them, but on bicycle you are going as slow as 6mph uphill and usually no faster than 15mph. You do the math but it takes awhile to go 500 feet sometimes and after entire days of seeing signs for the same things you sort of become brainwashed. Don't get me wrong, you know the places are going to suck (some more than others) but you can't help but want to make sure to prove yourself right and at that very moment you have become an idiot (otherwise known as a tourist). One such tourist trap we fell victim to was 1880 town which is famous for being used to film several movies. We decided to forgo the $9 admission price but we did go to the train car diner for our second large breakfast of the day.
We've been relatively blessed in our time in South Dakota so far as weather is concerned but today it started to become a factor as it made for rough riding along 90 in 105 degree heat with humidity.
I couldn't take much more heat so I got off 90 and headed toward a gas station that might as well have been an oasis. As we climbed the off ramp we met two touring cyclists, an uncle and his nephew, who are touring west to east and had just come through the Badlands. I had been against the idea of going through that area because I didn't want to pay admission (they told me it was only $7 for cyclists) and I didn't want to add miles (it only added about 10).
Only five minutes later we met Kyle, an ultra minimalist, touring from Portland to Chicago. When I say ultra minimalist I mean the guy had barely any gear on his bike, just a spare change of clothes, a small tent, and a sleeping bag basically. Just when we thought we had simplicity down Kyle shook our foundation. Not only is he not carrying any panniers, Kyle is touring on a fixed gear Rivendell Atlantis. Needless to say I respect his approach but to each their own on this one. I threw away some excess gear after this encounter but I'm keeping every gear I can get my hands on.
We said our goodbyes to Kyle and headed on to the Badlands which I will describe simply as breath taking. Don't get me wrong, its not the kind of place you'd want to live if you could but the way the sun hits the land, I never knew God liked to color.
I was getting hungry so after much debate I decided to splurge on the restaurant at their lodge where everything featured buffalo meat. I went with the loaded nachos while Jared did a buffalo burger.
Loaded up on calories, we set out in search of a good hidden spot to setup camp. But since we procrastinated we had to settle on a rock ledge halfway up a hill. After getting setup we found ourselves sliding throughout the night so I can safely say it was the worst sleep in awhile.
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