Closing in on Pierre, SD

Currently in "Whitlock" SD. I say currently because there really isn't a name for this place but I'm staying at the South Whitlock RV park. Which is awesome.

Total miles ridden: 1733. I finally sat down and went through all of my maps and did an exact total. Given some route options I've chosen I will end up riding closer to 4400 miles. So I'm well over a third of the way done and figure given my 60mpd average I'll be home around July 22. Give or take.

The riding has been mostly hot, windy, and hilly. There is something quite beautiful about north and south Dakota. The views are amazing, wildlife is plentiful, and you can see the curvature off of earth a lot as there aren't mountains to obstruct the view.

I am not meeting people as I had planned through warm showers. To be honest that has turned out to be a bust. I had four great hosts, but most people simply don't reply to requests. I suppose it is their way of avoiding saying No. Or they're just rude.

I have met some other awesome people though and one man probably did more to lift my spirits than I can ever thank him for. Kory Scanmon is a fourth generation farmer on his family's land. His grand daughter now lives on the farm so six generations of Scammons have cashed it home. They live in Wibaux, MT, which is just a few miles before I crossed the border into ND a week ago. I stopped for lunch in one of those brutally windy days when I just wanted to quit. Kory struck up a conversation with me and then joined me at my table. We talked about a lot of things, including his son who is a Chief Petty Officer stationed in HI.  Sometimes a simple hello makes a huge difference and his time saved my day. A couple hours later as I was riding along the highway a truck honked and stopped. I figured just another curious person. It has happened before. Nope, it was Kory, stopping to see if I wanted a ride to Dickinson, ND, which was about 50 miles away. I hated to say no but I would always know I didn't rude the full 100%. I would have enjoyed the additional time talking to a good man who made a huge difference in my day. There have been a few like Kory, who made a huge difference with a small gesture.

Funny enough, immediately after that the wind shifted and I had a tail wind for two days. The next day I rode 135 miles. My daily distance record. With a tail wind in excess of 25mph it was easy.

I have answered one of my questions on the road, I definitely want to work with other people, on a team. I like time to myself, but being a hermit is only for crabs.

Oh, and the Brookes saddle has finally become somewhat tolerable. Turns out it takes 500 miles per seating position and I have three: on the brake hoods, on the drops, and on the aero bars, so it took 500 for each of those as they are just different enough. My point is, if you choose to do something like this, buy one of those ergonomic saddles. There's a reason why Brookes haven't changed their design in over 100 years!!