Day 17, back in the saddle again, to West Whitlock rec. Area

Sunday June 14, 2020, 62 miles (100 km) - Total so far: 960 miles (1,545 km)

Wow! Incredible, so many things. Tammy and Scott were great Warmshowers hosts. Tammy is training to be a wellness coach and I think she understood I was nervous getting going. For a number of reasons:

The weather. Last night the winds picked up again. These were blowing non-stop 30 mph winds. I could hear the windows rattling. So when I woke up I already felt defeated. It was also supposed to get into the mid90s today.

The roads, SD terrain is tough. Rolling hills are doable, bluffs are energy sucking. Hills with serious sidewind is scary.

I'm also recovering from breaking down, a feeling that left me feeling vulnerable.. Now the very fact that everything worked out is one successive miracle after another. I am in God's hands. But it really struck me how close I was to catastrophe, flying downhill on that old wheel. The new wheel is great. I have confidence in it and the spokes are heavy gauge.

Finally, there would no towns, gas stations, places to refill water.

I got going the first time at 9. That's when I discovered the magnet for my odometer, trip computer was on the old wheel in Dusty's garage. So we loaded up my bike and went over to Dusty's. We couldn't synch it, so I said I'd just go. Tammy offered to take me to 1804, which was a big help, that way without a computer wouldn't have to guess distances to get out of town.

On the road I finally met Scott who'd been gone fishing. We passed on 1804, and pulled over. Of course he fixed my odometer. I gave him a hug and took off. It was about 10:30. With the strong winds pushing me I made great time heading north. There were 3 places where I needed to turn east and it was hell holding on to the bike in the crosswind.

I got onto the 212, a busier road and the trucks and wind made things tense. I stopped at South Whitlock Resort. They could let me camp for $17 without bathrooms, water, or showers. I had West Whitlock on my phone, knowing it was about 7 miles off-route. But part of that was going north, so a push. Let me just say the 7 miles getting here were cruel. Steep ups and downs. Those 7 miles took me to the middle of nowhere. I'm hoping I can get a pickup ride out tomorrow a.m.

At least at the very end, at West Whitlock, a dead end peninsula into a "bay" of the Missouri is a bit of a resort. The bait shop sells food. So settled in with tea and pizza and WiFi.

**

The kindness of strangers

The WHY part of my trip is getting filled in. I have met so many kind and interesting people. From the Native American man on the Yankton Sioux lands to Tammy, Warmshowers host in Pierre. Though only chatting, I am see a broader America, than what is boiled down and simplified through media.

I do know that old labels like conservative and liberal mean a spectrum of things. Mostly, so far can say: we are not the sum of easy categorization.