Week 6: Badass Badlands

Week 6

Day 36

Chamberlain, SD-Pierre, SD

Sunset in Pierre

Van Day. Ben and I got to have a directors’ hangout day as we drove around Pierre looking for food donations. Walmart and Perkins gave flat a flat out no, and then Subway saved the day with 21 sandwiches and Pizza Ranch with an assortment of pizzas. We have been biking through flat corn fields with the occasional hill for about 3 weeks, and today we finally made it “west”. Junipers sprung up, there were hills, a tumble weed was s

potted, and the wind was horrific. Yes, we are in the west.

Our hosts that night provided us with an insanely good baked potato bar and a large array of fruit. Watermelon season is in full swing, and it is the perfect post biking treat. We then rode our bikes to second dinner at an Italian Restaurant that hosted us for free. We got to drink ice water out of goblets, and eat the best bread we’ve had all summer. The ride back was all uphill but we timed it perfectly so that we were struggling up the hills parallel to an incredible western sunset.

Day 37

Pierre, SD-Midland SD

Our morning started out shrouded in clouds and a bit cold and windy. The best way to start a morning. We also had a potato, cheese, and egg bake made for us by the church who hosted us. The one catch was that it needed to started cooking at 3:30 am to be ready by 6:00am, so I set my alarm for early in the morning and jumped up to start breakfast for everyone.

By 12:30pm, however, we ran out of clouds and the day got brutally hot. The wind also picked up, so were fighting a headwind the whole day. Hot, headwind, hills. I forgot to mention the hills. Halle, Hannah, and I got through the hills by having raging feminist conversations.

About ten miles from Midland the crosswinds where so bad that we had to tilt our bikes sideways to go straight and not get blown into the road by an especially strong gust. Two miles from the host the road curved and turned into a large downhill. The crosswind turned into a headwind was strong enough that to make it down the hill you had to pedal hard, and we still were going at a slug pace.

When we finally arrive at the host at 5pm we still hadn’t had lunch, and were all extremely hangry. I also walked in to find that the only vegetarian food left was one small piece of pizza. Until I found more food, I had to warn everyone that I was starving and to not take anything I said seriously. Luckily there were some leftover veggie subs that I scrounged from the bottom of the cooler and scarfed down. Crisis averted, we had dinner a few hours later that was graciously provided by our hosts, and then soaked in the natural mineral hot springs down the road.

Day 38

Midland, SD-Badlands, SD

Riding for our lost friends and family

We woke up at 5:30am with a host-provided breakfast and adrenaline pumping with the promise of the Badlands later that day. I rode for Steve Headrick and for all the friends that our team has lost  because I know they would have loved more than anything to be riding through the Badlands with them, so I brought them in spirit. I rode for Camilla, Joey, Zach, Stephan, Wes, DLove, and Josh. 

In the Badlands

We are all excited to be in the west and out of flat county, but big hills accompanied by headwinds, brought moral down. Luckily, I had Mia in my group and we passed the time by swapping our life stories. One of the jokes is that before the ride started, Skylar, our ride coordinator, told us there would only be one gravel road for the summer. Fifteen surprise gravel roads later, it was borderline hilarious when we biked up to a long gravel road that rose straight up in front of us. Sherwin had his speaker and he blasted music as we powered over gravel hill after gravel hill. It was all worth it when we crested the last hill and saw the Badlands in the distance.

Jake showing Aaron and Connor how to hold chickens

We got free entry into the park because we were a non-profit organization, and promptly spent an hour taking photos of the crazy rock formations. The ride through the park was incredible, and we got to eat lunch overlooking most of the park. Since we were on bikes and didn’t have to pay, the rangers didn’t give us National Park Information pamphlets. A major highlight was when I found one on the side of the road, and thrilled the rest of my team by reading about the geology and history of the area.

Our host was a guest ranch host called Circle View Ranch and was about five miles outside of the park. We stayed in actual beds in their house that overlooked the river below and the Badlands to the East. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have visited. There made us burritos and chocolate cake, and after dinner, we helped Russel (5) and Jake (7) feed the chickens and calf. I had a great time catching and carrying around the chickens.

Day 39

Badlands, SD-Rapid City, SD

Team sunrise got up at 5:00am to watch the day start in the Badlands. After being chased back into our beds by the mosquitos, our day started for real at 5:30am. We were welcomed into the kitchen by the sound of farm fresh eggs being cracked into a bowl and the smell of blueberry whole wheat pancakes. The owners of Circle View Ranch own and farm 1,000 acres, and the wheat we ate that morning was home grown.  At breakfast, another guest of the lodge named Valarie donated to our fund in the memory of her father David who passed away from cancer.

Phil and Amy Kruse, the owners of the ranch, joined us for our dedication circle and laughed at our absolutely ridiculous cheer that we do every morning before we ride out. If you are going to be in Seattle when we arrive, be prepared to be amused.

I was part of Team Stop/Team Turtle this day, and we stopped to explore Scenic, SD: population 4. We first stopped by the Trading Post to buy some wacky shirts and talk to the store manager. We also took photos in an abandoned, stone jail. We realized the other teams were far ahead of us, and most likely not pleased about waiting an hour on the side of the road without shade. They were good sports about having to wait for us, but they all looked frazzled and hot so we stepped on it the rest of the day.

At one point in the ride we biked straight through a mass of grasshoppers that were covering the road. At first I tried avoiding running then over, but it was inevitable, and I crunched many under my tires. They hit us in the head, legs and feet, and hung onto our socks until we picked them off mid peddle.

Day 40

Rapid City, SD: Rest Day

Top of Mt. Harney

We didn’t have a service event, so we were free explore and sleep as much as we wanted. First things first, we headed to Mt. Rushmore to take the same photos that are on all post cards ever seen. It still was an epic experience, and completely worth it. We then took a map to a ranger and said, “we want to hike on dirt trails for a long time.” He highlighted the Harney Peak trail (7,244 ft), which is the highest peak in South Dakota and in the Black Elk Wilderness area. I can never say no to wilderness, so our “rest day” turned into a gorgeous 8 mile hike up and down a mountain.

Day 41

Rapid City, SD-Belle Fourche, SD

Hanging with the Presidents

Our entire day was spent climbing and descending the Black Hills. We all were impressed by the scenery, and SD redeemed itself. The day was supposed to by an 85-mile day, but as we peaked the last giant hill at mile 55, a dark and ominous cloud loomed over our head. It looked as if we raced down the other side we would be able to ride out of the rain that had started to fall. Wrong. It kept raining harder until it turned into hail, and all of the sudden I was flying down a mountain that was turning while with ice. It was way too dangerous to ride anymore but we didn’t know what to do besides pull off the road and stand in the mud while being pelted by hail on. Luckily we had helmets, and one of our vans drove past looking for us, so we had somewhere warm and dry to sit while we waited for the storm to end (thankful for supported trips). The ice wasn’t clearing up, so we racked our bike the half mile to a restaurant down the hill and holed up under their awning for an hour. Unfortunately, the stormed didn’t clear up in time for us to bike to the host before sunset, so we all racked the rest of the way to the host. Racking to the host is heartbreaking, and we avoid it at all costs until the roads are dangerous. We are happy to be back in the mountains, but that means we have to work with temperamental mountain weather. Our host had dinner waiting for us when we arrived, and there was wifi so I was able to order new tires and send them to the next mail drop. This was a chore I had been avoiding for about a month because so far I have not gotten a flat in the 2,800 miles I have put on my bike.

Day 42

Belle Fourche, SD- Broadus, MT

Van day. I was in the host van and was responsible for getting food donated for lunch for our team. I also had to take Rachel to the bike shop to get her derailleur fixed, pick up new brakes for the team, and take Halle to the doctor to see if they could find out why her shoulder in bothering her so badly. Essentially, I was a soccer mom for a day, and it was far more stressful than peacefully biking for tens of miles every day.

Finally: A state sign!

We walked into Safeway gave our spiel, and the store director handed us a $100 gift card, subway donated vegetable egg sandwiches for the vegetarians, a health food stored donated gluten free food for Rachel, and Perkins donated lifesaving muffins.  It was a great day for food donations, and our team was very grateful and excited to see carrots and apples from Safeway for a change. Along the route we got to briefly pass through Wyoming, and then we started our two week journey across Montana.

Our host was the Savior’s Lutheran Church, and Julie, their pastor, organized a potluck dinner and breakfast for us. Complete with gluten free pasta and a Vegetarian Hot Dish, it was one of the best host dinners to date. Julie was a wonderful host, and also owned a beautiful springer spaniel named Tina. The entire community was excited for a group of new comers, and welcome us to their tiny town with big smiles.