Big
Ride Updates...
25. Pierre to Miller, SD 7/12 Miles 73.6 Total 1636.7
We
crossed into Central Daylight time when we crossed the bridge over the
Missouri, so this morning it was much darker when my eyes popped open
at 5:00 am. I don't mind stealing an hour from the sun and the wind; the
cool morning rides are the best. US Route 14 took us right into the sun's
low morning rays in a straight line tapering to just a faint convergence
of its two white lines on 
the
sides of the pavement with the yellow one in between. The air was calm
and the pavement mostly smooth; everyone rode at speeds exceeding their
usual. The distance slipped by measured by the passing phone pole soldiers
carrying cables on each arm, the wap, wap, wap sound and the bump, bump,
bump feeling as the seams of the highway raced underneath tires, and the
longer interval
s
of changing colors in the field: amber wheat, green soy beans, brown-black
tilled earth, grey green grassland. At 69 miles we celebrated. We had
pedaled half way. 1625 miles from Seattle, 1625 yet to go to reach DC.
Miller, South Dakota has adopted "The Big Ride" as a civic project. They
have
made it a community (population 1600) project, planning their celebration
of our visit and the halfway point of the ride. The City Park was our
camp site: shade from old cottonwoods and elms, open green spaces and
a large pond with two water fountains. Cold lemonade helped wash down
the dust of the road and after a shower and setting up tents, we had a
shuttle bus to the pool, the high school or library for internet access,
the restaurants in the "downtown" or the fast food joints out on the main
road, or the laundromat. In the evening, the town "cooked" for us: fried
chicken, ham, two kinds of pasta salad, baked potatoes, carrots, 
cauliflower,
radishes, green beans, rice pudding, two kinds of cake and butterscotch
pudding. We ate on the picnic tables surrounding a pavilion where two
musical groups performed. Riders stood in lines for haircuts and even
longer lines for massages . The town folks joined us in the park for the
evening celebration. Some brought picnic dinners; everyone brought kids
to run through the playground equipment and to inspect the rows of bikes;
lawn chairs unfolded and everyone clapped for the "praise choir" and the
high school jazz ensemble. Conversations sprang up and continued long
after the stage was cleared and the sky 
colored
itself red and gold. It was an outstanding evening and all of us were
flabbergasted by the outpouring of interest in the Ride and in us.
The damper on our celebration was the accident. There have been a couple of spills with some nasty scrapes, and one cut that needed a couple of stitches. This time it was the real heart stopping event, in the afternoon, three riders were side-swiped by an RV. All three were brought to the hospital in Miller. Two were treated there, released to share the party in the park, but returned to stay in the hospital overnight. The third woman was helicoptered to Sioux Falls for further evaluation and we were told that she had a fractured hip that would require surgical intervention. No neurological injuries: bike helmets work.
26. Miller to DeSmet, SD 7/13 Miles 78.1 Total 1714.8
What have I learned riding my bicycle half way across the country? Here are three thoughts from this mornings ride.I am impressed by the physical response to this challenge. I'm fairly certain that I will be able to complete the ride. I was not so sure the first several days. My legs were very heavy at the end of 50 miles and it seemed that I would not be able to struggle through the longer distances, up the hills or into the winds. My body (and my mind) have changed since those early days. I am stronger. I ride faster, I can climb hills better, and my "mind" is not so quick to tell me to quit. I find it strange that someone who "orders" physical rehabilitation for others is so astonished by the physical alterations taking place daily as I ride. I have seen marvelous responses to rehabilitation programs in patients with severe lung and heart problems, and I, without respiratory or cardiovascular impairment should certainly be able to improve my functional level. I have. It feels very good. I know that I will not have the time to maintain this level of fitness, but I am glad to have the opportunity to get there this time.
Life
can be very simple. We eat, ride, sleep and do it all over again. How
much "stuff" does one need to do that. Very little. I packed little, but
I still had enough extra to fill a small box to mail home. Everyone did.
Miller arranged for a UPS truck and agent to help us with our surplus.
The line was long and the boxes large. The phenomenon exists outside the
ride. Several recent ride conversations have been about the "extras" in
life: possessions and responsibilities, and plans/hopes for simplifying
or narrowing ones focus. This one will take some more thought; fortunately
I have some available time.
Grab the moment. Ellen wrote a message that appeared on the GORP website the other day thanking me for caring for her father. I had been one of his doctors for several years when just before Thanksgiving I had to call him with bad news. I asked him whether he would like to begin treatment before the holiday, or would he like to wait. Being a direct and decisive man, he said he would like to begin right away. Then he paused, "can I take my grandchildren for a boat ride before I come to the hospital?" "Of course", and I thought, "grab the moment, carpe diem, make the memory". When my friend died, his wife told me how important that boat ride had been. Seven or eight months ago I would not have expected to have come this far, I was not planning this trip, but when a good man died, I decided that I too should "grab the moment".
Some people are smart enough to know these things without haveing to ride 1600 plus miles. Oh well.
Highlights
of the ride today through more of the "sameness": threshing machines as
wide as a two lane road lined up to begin a days harvest in the wheat
fields, a marsh harrier hunting successfully, a red winged blackbird that
chased me down the highway screaming out its warning cries and a pheasant
that sprang out of the tall grass at the side of the road.
27. DeSmet SD to Tyler, MN 7/14 Miles 78.8 Total 1793.6
When
I suggested yesterday that life can be simple I should have been fair and
pointed out how much support we have on this trip. It's what keeps my life
simple on the road. We have a mobile kitchen and crew that prepares hot
meals for us, morning and evening. . They start serving breakfast at 5:30
each morning so that we can be on the road before the heat has a headstart
on us. Their working space is not large. Their day is long. Breakfast is
over at 7:30 and they clean up, store all their gear, move down the highway
80 miles and set up, cook and serve dinner from 5:30 until 7:30 pm. And
do it all over again the next day. It's easy 
for
us, just line up outside the window (PHOTO: breakfast) and grab a plate
of good and plentiful food. We have not seen the same dinner selection yet
in the 20 nights they have cooked for us. We also have a mobile shower truck.
Step up inside and there are 7 hot showers in each half of the truck. Outside
are sinks for personal grooming
We have
support out on the road too. Volunteers mark the road for us. They prepare
water and take it out on the route to sites spaced about 15-20 miles apart.
And they stay at the site to keep the water coolers supplied and us entertained.
Vans ride up and down the route watching our progress and helping if there
are problems. Ron Goldsmith is one of our volunteers who, in addition
to his normal duties, organized several South Dakota towns into making
our trip through their state our best yet. One highlight was the "Tour
de Pie", a list of shops across the state that serve this special form
of biker "nutrition". Make mine cherry.
We
also have mechanical support. When a bike breaks down, won't shift, has
a broken spoke, bad chain or loose headset, or any other problem, we have
a mechanic, Harlan Krueger, who can help us out . Each afternoon, his
portable shop is open for business and crowded with customers. I haven't
had major problems yet except a rear wheel that was out of "true", but
I would feel unsafe if he were not around.
So, lesson number four from riding across half of the country is that it takes a lot of people to make it possible for the us, the riders, to play our parts. In the same way, it takes a lot of people talented, hardworking people to make my life possible outside this ride. I couldn't function as a physician without the support of Kevin, Curt, Berry, Lisa, Leonard, Maureen, Janet, JoAnn, Connie, Kim, Julia, Margaret, Deb, Becky, Judy, Teresa, Robert, Charles, Shiela, Emma, Neri, Bob, Dan, Lyn, Sue, Debra, Pam, Srinivas, Hector, Ken, Tammy, Wes and the list goes on and on and on. Thanks to all of you allowing me this time to take this trip, to make this ride.
And, thanks Ron, and thanks to all the people of South Dakota who made our days in their state so pleasant.
State number 6 today, Minnesota
--- Paul Fairman, Big Rider #2152.
< pfairman@earthlink.net>