7/16/05 Saturday was a tough day because of high temperratures and 25 mph cross-winds. At five miles outside of Pierre, Bob was about the flag down the "sag wagon" and ride the rest of the way in the air- conditioned van. However, he ran into a group of other riders who had managed to talk an electrical supplies store out of some ice and water. After a little rest, water and cooling ice, the group rode the last five miles. Bob sounded very tired when I talked to him, and he is ready for a day of rest tomorrow, Sunday. He says he thinks he has a touch of heat exhaustion. Pierre is the capital of South Dakota, with a population of about 12,000.

Always the school-guy, Bob was asked how the mid-west communities manage the long commutes to school for the kids. The answer is, they have many very small country schools comprised of 10 to 12 kids, grades K-8. The high school kids attend a regional school. Parents are paid to carpool children to both the country schools and high schools.

On Friday nights, there is a little award ceremony for the riders. Bob and Jane, from the Netherlands, split the "Most Improved Rider" award. He was very pleased. Bob had a "You are my Hero" award for Deborah Feiger. Deborah was the rider who stopped and helped Bob the day he joined the Cycle America group.

7/15/05 Bob is in the Bandlands of South Dekota today. He took lots of pictures, and I will post them as soon as I receive them. We have found that the best way to transfer pictures is for Bob to go to a photo kiosk, transfer the digital pictures to CD and mail them to me.

Bob was pleased to arrive at the picnic area at 11:00 am this morning, NOT the last one in. He has been seeing a lot of Prairie Dogs and has been trying to get pictures of them. They sit up and watch him go by, but if he stops, they beat the ground with their tails and dive into their hole.

South Dakota is called "Land of Variety." The East is completely different from the West.

Some locals think that the Dakotas should have been divided by the Missouri River, into East and West Dakota instead of South and North Dakota. South Dakota is in much better economic condition than North Dakota, and always has been. If they had been divided into East and West instead of North and South, each of the Dakotas would have have had a southern portion to help the norther portion economically.

7/14/05 Bob is in Interior, SD, tonight. Population 67. He says it is HOT! Most of the group got up at 4:15 am to beat the heat of the day. It was 80 degrees at 8:00 am. Bob did well, averaging 15 miles per hour, and arrived in Interior at 1:00 pm. It was 100 degrees! They are in the Badlands of South Dakota now.

7/13/05 Today was a tough day of riding. Bob reports that it was a lot of climbing (6,000 Feet!) with high heat (80 degrees at 8:30 a.m. and 100 degrees at the end of the ride!). He says that the trip was very scenic, as Cycle America directed them through the Needle rock formations. He also saw Mt. Rushmore from a distance while riding and took a van to see it up close after the days ride. I am anxious to see the pictures.

Much of the road in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota is through open range and there tends to be wildlife and cattle in the roads. Bob says it is like riding through someones pasture. He also mentioned that there are white piles of something in the fields and he thinks it may be salt.

7/12/05 Although Tuesdays ride was only 40 miles long, it was a tough one with a lot of climbing in the Black Hills and hot. Bob rode through the forest area that was burned by a woman distressed over the breakup of her marriage a few years ago. He says it is still completely destroyed. Some weeds are growing, but all the trees are black and dead. The group is staying at the Flintstone Campground. Bob says the owners have put a lot of effort into making the campground Flintstone-like, with bathrooms built like stone huts. Tomorrows ride will take them past Mount Rushmore.

7/11/05 Finally! Pictures have arrived! I will have a link to pictures soon! Bob reports that he had an exceptionally good day, even though it consisted of some significant climbing. He says he is no longer counting the miles to the end of the days ride. Tonight they are in Newcastle Wyoming, a place where George Custer stayed during his effort to annihilate the native population. They are in the Black Hills. They are called that because the pine trees growing on the distant hills make them appear black. Bob rode a few extra miles today when he missed a route arrow in Sundance. Luckily, he realized his mistake quickly and got back on course. After arriving in Newcastle, he took a ride around the town and saw a large doe walking down Main Street. The group is staying at a school-turned-senior-center tonight with railroad tracks running right past it. The staff calls it The Town of 88 Trains. They insist that 88 trains go through every night! Bob stopped and talked to a farmer who was feeding round bales of hay to the cows. The farmer said the cows began giving 25 percent more milk after going from square bales to round bales. This is because (are you ready for this?) one well rounded meal is better for them than 3 squares.