Highmore to Fort Pierre

Brian’s Ride Miles Biked: 62.7 Average Speed: 11.7 mph Max Speed: 26.1 mph Time Pedaling: 5 hours 20 minutes Total Feet Climbed: 1670 Start/Stop Time: 7:45 am to 3:30 p.m. Wind: More wind (low velocity) from the south.

Comments: The terrain was flat and so was I. I didn’t have my normal energy today and the terrain didn’t help. Although flat, it was very repetitive and became uninteresting. There were a few nice vistas from an occasional rise and a beautiful view of a field of purple flowers. I was very happy when we entered Pierre, South Dakota. Seven miles later I reached our campsite at Army Corps of Engineers Oahe Park.  Joan’s Version Celebrating Soy and Amber Waves of Grain Needing a day away from the bicycle, Dave hung out with me as Joan and Brian cycled on. I did some administrative stuff while Dave scoped out the campsite and gathered samples of vegetation, including wildflowers and leaves from trees.  Dave and Brian, who worked together at the EPA, share many interests, including ecology and geography, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that many of our dinner conversations center on environmental issues. Of course, most of their discussions fly north well above my head. To help answer my questions and to satisfy his own curiosity, Brian loaded the RV with all kinds of books and reference materials. Tree books, bird books, atlas books, map books, stat books…we’re a roving bookmobile. (Actually, we later discovered our van is better stocked than the only bookstore in Pierre which inventoried only 2 of the top 10 selling books. Dave ended up buying Dante’s Inferno…a subliminal statement about his body temperature.) With Dave as my co-pilot, my normally mundane ride to the next campsite was filled with interesting narrative. Throughout the trip, Dave would point out different species plants and profess interesting morsels of information promptly earning him the title of trip botanist, ecologist, weatherman, historian and professor.