Day 62 - 8/8/16 Badlands National Park to Rapid City, SD

The first 16 miles of today were a slow hell traversing the worst gravel road I've ever been on.  I could tell tractor wheels were the cause of all the evenly spaced indentations that made the ride feel like an electric shock was surging through every part of me.  

Once the curse of gravel was lifted and the blessing of smooth pavement took hold, the rest of the ride to Rapid City was great.  With about 68,000 residents this is the biggest city I've seen since Chicago and it certainly pales in comparison to the windy city.  I made my way over to the bike shop to talk saddles.  

I've been riding around with a couple different seats now.  One being too soft, so I bought a firmer one in Iowa which ended up being too hard – my poor bottom.  There was one kid working at the bike shop, a few years younger than me but, the way he spoke to customers made it seem like he invented the bicycle, he was very knowledgeable.  

After looking over some of the seats, looking for something in between the 2 I have now, he told me his honest opinion on what I should get to ride more comfortably on my tour but, his opinion had a hefty price tag on it.  A leather Brooks saddle.  He assured me the price is so high because people usually buy just one and it lasts them forever.  Still sitting on the fence, he then told me he had one of the beauties at home on one of his bikes that he doesn't ride and he's willing to let it go for half the price of the shop.  Very intrigued at that point I told him I'd meet him when he got out of work to go check it out.  In the process of killing time it started raining, and then it stopped.  Then after I met him and got to his house a mile up the road, it started pouring.  And then once we were inside, it started hailing – gumball-sized hail pelts his house, rattling the windows.  Once the beautiful new saddle was on my bike, the hail stopped and the sun came out.  Walking out of his house his lawn looked like someone dumped 100 bags of ice on it.  Setting out for the park I planned to sleep at, I pressed my butt against the $100 saddle and felt like I was riding on a cloud.  And he promised me it would break in even more and mold right to my sit bones.  Perfect.  Not long after I laid my head down in my tent, just as I was about to drift away, a bright flashlight lit up my tent.  A nice security guard was patiently waiting outside and kindly asked me to move along, not the greatest news when it's 10:30 at night and you have to break down camp, find somewhere else to go and set it right back up again.  But I did it.  Rolling along the bike path that cuts through the city I found a patch of grass behind some trees and crawled into my sleeping bag not much later than 11:30.  Upon waking up, breaking sown camp and riding to the closest gas station to use the bathroom, I saw the same security guard that asked me to leave the park.  We both juast sort of laughed as we acknowledged each other.  I'm just glad he didn't fond me again, I might've had to kill him...

Day 61 - 8/7/16 Cedar Pass Campground to Sage Creek Campground, Badlands National Park, SD

Sage Creek is a primitive campground which means there's space to set up a tent and there's vault toilets but, no running water or electricity.  There was no way I could ride 35 miles through Badlands and have enough water to last me til the following day to fill up at the next town.  

Luckily, I met a couple guys in their big red school bus camper at the Cedar Pass Campground who were headed to Sage Creek and told me I could fill up my water when I got there.  And that's exactly what I did.  

I woke up at 3:30am to be on the road by 5 and hopefully get to the other side of the park before 10:00am.  The road is only 35 miles long but I knew I'd be stopping to take photos.  Today was easily the best ride of the trip so far.  

Meandering through all those sandstone spires while the sun came up is an unforgettable experience.  The colors of everything were completely dream-like – light blues, pinks and reds, deep greens and purples with splashes of yellow.  

The whole rainbow was present.  The entire rest of the day was spent napping, reading and wathing the herds of bison roam around the campground and the surrounding hills.  

There was no town for miles in each direction, it felt like a beautiful oasis amidst a beautiful oasis.  The sky cleared up beautifully before night fell and my only regret is that I couldn't stay awake to see the stars come out, tomorrow starts early again.

Day 60 - 8/6/16 Badlands National Park - Day Off

I had some real ambitious plans for today – an early bike ride to watch the sun rise, a hike on some of the foot trails this afternoon, and then another sunset ride tonight.  But, upon laying my head down last night, I realized there is no need to wake up at 4:00am, I'll already be doing that on Sunday.  And there's no need to go out and watch the sunset again, I can do that from tonight's campground and then tomorrow as well.  

And as for the hike, well that's still up in the air I guess.  It's just about noon and this picnic table is just getting more comfortable by the minute.  A lot of folks left the campground this morning.  I'm sure most of them are heading to Sturgis for some biker weekend there.  

Motorcycles, not real bikes.  Now it's quiet, a little on the windy sode and I still have a nice virw of the great big rock walls.  Yes, there is nothing wrong with right here and that is something to be thankful for.

Day 59 - 8/5/16 Wanblee to Interior, SD - Badlands National Park

Yesterday being such a good ride, I didn't even think today could be better but, it was.  Another early and chilly start to the day was shared with all the dogs that just wander and bark around Wanblee.  There were 3 or 4 dogs keep us company at the park while Derek and I got ready, taking note of the visibility of our breath. 

 

It was barely 30 miles to Interior and just beyond the halfway point the road turned to the North, we climbed a hill and from there we could see the otherworldly rock formations of Badlands in the distance.  I couldn't help but laugh with excitement going down the hills heading into town, I've never seen anything like this before.  Experiencing things like this is food for the mind.  

To bear witness to new landscapes and terrain and even dangera adds so much to the reservoir of thoughts, emotions and memories inside your head.  Never having traveled much in my 26 years on this planet, a simple experience like visiting Badlands National Park makes me wonder what else will blow my mind out there.  

I left Derek in Interior and rode a couple more miles to the campground on the Eastern side of the park.  I couldn't wait to explore more so once my tent was set up, I took the bags off my bike, filled up my water and took Ginger into the park. 

 

Riding and walking among these towers of rock was like visiting the ancient ruins of a cathedral crafted by the delicate yet forceful hands of nature.  After riding around for a bit I decided it was time to go back to the site for some food.  

It wasn't long before I went back out on a different road to find a spot to watch the sunset.  Morning and evening are the 2 most beautiful times of day for the softer light changes the colors of everything and gives it a soft glow.  

There's too much beauty here, it's a little overwhelming, kind of like my visit to the museum in Chicago.  You can't see everything in one visit – kind of like life but, see what you can and let it change you.