Day 26 Pierre, SD - > Philip, SD

Tuesday 16 August 2011, Day 5 Week 4

It was already blowing 25 mph at 7AM and we knew it was not going to be an easy day.  Our plan were to make the Triangle Ranch, a Bed and Breakfast INN outside Philip, SD over 100 miles away.

A few miles out of town we spotted a sign that said “Next Services 66 Miles”.
Well now I can tell you for certain that they are not kidding when they say no services.  For the first 35 miles we did not even see a farm house, just rolling hills of sunflowers and grass.  A simply beautiful landscape as long as you do not break down and your water holds out.

The wind picked up quickly and soon a 30 to 35mph wind was beating us up badly. Our average speed was down to just 8.5 mph!  Do the math, the trip to the ranch would take us over 12 hours!  That would not work for us because the owners of the ranch were going to make us dinner.  We could not be rolling in at 9 pm and expect to have dinner waiting for us.

After a few hours of severe punishment our route changed direction for 28 miles.
Now for the first time we had the wind at our backs!
FANTASTIC!
It did not take long to see why 95% of the cyclists ride west to east.  With the assist from the wind we could move our heavy bikes down the road at 18-20 miles per hour even UP the hills.
It was almost like having a motor on the bikes!
This 28 mile run pumped up our average and our spirits.
When the route turned back into the wind it seemed like it may have fallen off a bit.  This is very unusual for the Midwest.  On our last trip, as on this one, we found the wind normally peaks in speed from 3pm until just before dark.
It looked like we would not be that late for dinner after all.  The thought of no dinner terrified us and who would want to miss some home cooking after 25 days on the road eating garbage.

Another break came our way when Joe looked at his cell phone and realized we had crossed into Mountain time!  We picked up another hour!!!!
Soooo nice!
We definitely won’t be late for dinner now.

The Triangle Ranch is part of what was once an 8000 acre family spread that is well out of town.
You have to ride down a well maintained gravel road for 8 miles to reach the ranch.
Once at the Ranch Ken and Lyndy made us feel right at home.  Lyndy cooked us a fantastic chicken dinner which we complemented with a bottle of wine.  The dinner was followed by coffee, apple crisp and ice cream.  We all sat around after dinner and talked until it was way too late.
Breakfast was at 7AM and again spectacular.
We ate until we could eat no more then headed out to tour the Badlands.

106 Miles
4951 Feet of Climbing
Temperature 70- 80 degrees

Mid Day Report:

Seen leaving Pierre, SD, the capital of South Dakota..

A supporter!