TREV:
Why does hotel breakfast end at 9 am, don't they know people sleep in? We missed it and wandered "downtown" which is basically a couple blocks on Pierre Street to find the one cafe and have some food. After lounging for a bit we checked out the bike shop to weigh the options for shipping Steph's bike back and decided to bring her ride down to the shop to have him take care of it. Along the way we detoured to see if the Dakota Spirits Distillery was open since they have a tasting room. Unfortunately since it's a new and small distillery they were closed at 3:30 but at least we got in a little bit of exercise riding out there.
The bike was dropped off and we were drawn to the outdoor seating of the American Legion Post #8 lounge on the banks of the Missouri. A Bloody Mary and two beers later we moved over to Mad Mary's Saloon for dinner, drinks, and desert. The food was good for a dimly lit saloon and we strolled back to the hotel. A great thing about the humidity here is that you can leave the warm air to eat in an air conditioned place, and leave much later at night and it's still warm out. We had been sweating just walking around but the warm evening was a delight to walk through.
This past week has been a bit of a break for me, not typically riding as far as I'm used to and more beds than grounds. Although my pace has been slower, we still covered 378.66 miles during our trip here in South Dakota! Oh yeah, and Steph was here for it all providing a sublime joy and freshness to the whole experience. Tomorrow's going to be really hard saying goodbye and getting back into my former rhythm.
On a side note, a couple days ago I recalculated my route and found that to go from here to Minneapolis to Milwaukee to Chicago in the next 12 days would require roughly 90 miles a day, a feat I can't achieve. Nor do I want to push and push and not be able to enjoy the areas I pass through. So I think I'm going to drop Minneapolis and save a day and a half. I'll be riding along I-90 until probably Austin, MN, at which point I'll start to angle down to Milwaukee. So with the updated route let me know if you have any recommendations!
STEPH:
It was bittersweet waking up this morning knowing that it was my last day with Trev but also having the whole day ahead of us to just hang out. Our day was uneventful, but I enjoyed walking around, riding a bit, and just sitting and talking with him so much. As sore as I was, I was sad not to be climbing back on my bike for another long ride.
Every day has posed it's own challenge for me -adjusting to riding on a busy road with cars, climbing hill after hill (turns out South Dakota isn't completely flat!), the heat, and just the sheer length of our rides, but it has been an absolutely incredible adventure. I have so much fun with Trevor and I am so glad that I got to share in his experience on the road. It's weird to think that tomorrow I'll get on a plane while he gets on the bike and sets out for a day full of riding, and the next day, and the next day, and the next... I'll miss the simplicity of our days, in the sense that all we had to do was get from point A to point B, and I'll of course miss Trev's company. We're talking about possibly meeting up in Toronto or Boston, so I'll have that to look forward to, but nothing will compare to the thrill of touring. Well, we both have all the gear now, so I guess we'll just have to plan another trip - perhaps this time international!
Happy riding, Trev. Stay safe and enjoy every moment of your epic journey. You impress me so much!
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