Kadoka, South Dakota to Rapid City, South Dakota

Brian’s Ride Miles Biked: 106.9 Average Speed: 14.4 mph Max Speed: 33.4 mph Time Pedaling: 7 hours 25 minutes Total Feet Climbed: 4110 Start/Stop Time: 75:45 am to 3:30 p.m. Wind: From the east (yea).

Comments: I got an early start because of the predicted high temperatures near 100oF. This should be no surprise since the average high is 91oF. At least the humidity was relatively low near 49%.

The ride began with rolling hills on an access road to Interstate 90. In South Dakota, it is legal to bicycle on the interstate but I stayed off of it. Our guests, David and Joan did venture on the interstate and preferred it over the access road because the elevation changes were leveled off and the road surface was smoother. Their preference for the interstate influenced me to change my route in Wyoming. I will take the interstate there to shorten a day or two of riding. At least I say that now after riding 106.9 miles.

Back to today’s ride. The first 20 miles on access road was not fun because I was tired, hungry (Powerbars were not working), and nervous about the long ride. At mile 20, the road turned south on State 240 towards the Badlands. At this point I stopped for some food and rested. Things started turning around. The hunger subsided and the road surface became very smooth and the hills leveled off or became in my favor. Now the fun began, as I approached the Badlands National Park, I passed a woman on a bicycle with full panniers going in the opposite direction. Seeing other bikers on the road always energizes me. Another encounter on the road was the world’s largest Prairie Dog; a 15 to 20 foot statute of a mammal that is part of the landscape here and a holdover from the 1950s.  Beside this statute was a tame Prairie Dog colony that allowed close ups.

Upon entering the Badlands National Park, I was greeted by spectacular views of intricately molded cliffs and bluffs. Formed over many eons, the Badlands are a mixture sedimentary rock and volcanic ash shaped by wind and water erosion. Descending Cedar Pass, a 300 feet drop in about 1 mile, I was continuously greeted by new shapes and colors. This was biking at its best.

Joan’s Version

A large convoy of parked 18-wheelers lined the exit path of the RV park, ready for their load of wheat from the harvesters. Seeing the process of wheat production and the tremendous amounts of energy and manpower required just to produce a loaf of bread was an enlightening experience for me. If Americans saw how much effort was required to get food to their tables, perhaps we’d reduce the massive amounts of wasted food in our rich country.

Pulling away from the campsite, I felt sad after witnessing both the living conditions of the migrant workers and the attitude of people of Kadoka.  After interacting with some of the town folk, Joan concisely summed up the situation: Appalachia. The town seemed dirt poor, both in moral and money.

I wondered if any, especially the younger residents, would ever escape this decrepit little town the tour books brightly describe as "a friendly little gateway to the Badlands."

This town totally relies on tourists heading to Badlands National Park and the residents imposed a self-derived tax on everything to siphon maximum buckaroos from the vacationers. Exorbitant prices were affixed to everything from hotel rooms to laundry to the newspaper.

Doing laundry at Joan and Dave’s one -star hotel was the highlight of my visit to Kadoka, and I could not wait to leave this dreary place and see the beautiful scenery ahead.

As I drove toward the park, I encountered a gigantic prairie dog, yet another "monument" to South Dakota’s animal kingdom; we had just seen the world’s largest paper-mache pheasant in Huron. Hurrying to reach Joan and Dave at the visitor center, I missed taking a closer look at the statue and to pet prairie dogs.

Not really knowing what to expect, I drove into Badlands National Park and was greeted by desolate, jagged stones carved over 150 million years ago.  Since I really hadn’t heard much about this park (compared to Yosemite and Yellowstone I guess), I was amazed how these unusual geological formations sprung out of the wheat fields. The gray, craggy hills looked liked clumps of wet clay flung from the hands of an artist using a pottery wheel. 

Only a sliver of the park could been seen on my way to pick up Joan and Dave and our tight schedule prevented us from exploring further. We needed to reach Brian to replenish the water and food supply as there were no real services available until Rapid City.

We efficiently accomplished our list of things to do: go to the bike store, the grocery store, the bakery, get the rental car and hotel for Joan and Dave, find and set up the RV site, get our arriving friend Shelley Gerson from the airport and await the arrival of Brian.