Hiccups

16 June 2018

The first day!

Photos

The first day is never easy. Lots of hugs, lots of pictures, some more hugs, some goodbyes, and then you hop on your trusty steed and head away for a journey.

Those first ten miles are a mix of joy and relaxation as you realize all you have to do the rest of the day is ride along and stop for gas on occasion.

Then, as you’ve just left a stopsign, you hear the characteristic CLUNK CLUNK skiiiiiiiiid noise of your pelican boxes falling off your bike and skittering across the pavement. Fortunately, you’re on a two lane road in Iowa, not the interestate. Upon investigation, I found that the pins that hold the boxes on the bike can work themselves out if the boxes rock back and forth - and its made worse when they’re full, so I didn’t find it when I installed them. I did some precision roadside filing with my leatherman and got the pins to seat better so it takes more bouncing before they’ll come off, screwed in the “extra security” knobs on the inside of the box, and then strapped them down anyway so they won’t move. They weren’t a problem the rest of the day, thankfully.

The ride across South Dakota was pretty uneventful. Warm, with wind out of the south, which gradually turned to the north as I got closer to Rapid City. Gas milage wasn’t amazing - between 37 and 45, depending on the wind. Probably the worse part was getting stung in the neck, by some sort of insect as I climbed the entrance ramp after getting gas once. I’m pretty sure that this is what gave me a case of the hiccups the rest of the day, and all of the morning the next day. What fun!

Wall Drug and their hundreds of signs along I-90 did not disappoint. I stopped in for a picture with their jackalope, some stickers, and one of their tasty donuts. Everything else seemed a bit overpriced - $5.79 for a thing of floss? Its worth a stop anyway just to see how something 100% touristy can be interesting in its own way.

I got to Spearfish somewhere around 6pm local time, setup camp in Spearfish City Park, and grabbed a burrito at Barbacoas. Apparently it is now $25 to camp in the park; it was free when I was here 7 years ago. I’m not really surprised at the change, they do a really nice job keeping it up.

Other than the hours upon hours of rain, it was an uneventful stay, thankfully.

Next stop, Lewistown, Montana!