Greetings from New Ulm, Minnesota

Hi, All,

Six more days on the road have taken us 500 miles, from Rapid City, South Dakota,on the edge of the Black Hills, to New Ulm, Minnesota, rich in German heritage. The days were challenging due to the long miles and high winds, which finally turned against us forty miles west of Pierre, SD (pronounced "Peer"), the state capital, and then remained strong and contrary all the way to Minnesota. We also had to contend with rain for the first time since Avon, Montana, when a cloudy day turned to showers in DeSmet, SD. The rain stopped in the evening and held off overnight, but then just as we were packing up our campsites the next morning, a drenching downpour began, and the day remained rainy through the first half of the day. Overall, though, our good luck with the weather has held: the days have been generally cool and cloudy, making riding comfortable; so while the wind slowed our pace, at least we weren't being scalded under a hot sun as we crossed the high plains. The warmest temperature we faced was in the low-90s through the Badlands, which given the low humidity felt perfectly comfortable, especially given the tailwind that sped us along that day.

Riding through the Badlands is one of the highlights of the Big Ride. The scenery is stunning, and while the day was partially cloudy, there was enough blue sky to liven the colors of all the striated rock. The landscape is desolate but beautiful, and we were able to take our time while riding through it thanks to the day's ideal conditions. We were facing a 102-mile ride from Rapid City to Kadoka, but we set off in cool morning air, the temperature in the low-60s, and as the sun rose, so did a strong westerly wind. Several riders called it the easiest century ride they'd ever experienced. Setting off at 6:30 a.m., I managed to ride the 75 miles to the entrance to national park by noon, and then, with less than 30 remaining, spent several hours lingering at several viewpoints, visiting a sod house from pioneer days, taking pictures of prairie dogs at a roadside stop (where the prairie dogs are as tame as New York City squirrels), and stopping also at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, commemorating South Dakota's contribution in the Cold War against the Soviets. Tours were available of both an underground missile silo as well as an underground launch control center, but it would have taken several hours and an extra ten extra miles of riding.


Riding into the Badlands


Nearing the park entrance ...


View from Cedar Pass




Prairie dog photo op


Sunset - Kadoka, SD

The landscape east of Rapid City, besides the outcrops in the Badlands, was mostly uncultivated plains, and through much of it that first day, while the land at times was rolling, sections of it were pancake flat. The next day, between Kadoka and Pierre, was much hillier, and nearly as long - 97 miles. The morning was beautiful, the temperature again in the low-60s; the wind was light for the first 40 miles; and the plains were far greener than they'd been in '06 because of this year's late spring and unusually high rainfall. The riding became difficult, however, as the day wore on. Everyone felt fatigued by the second straight day of nearly 100 miles, and climbing the hills became laborious especially once the wind picked up. It was a desolate stretch: 60 miles with no services - not even a gas station - between Midland (pop. 145) and Pierre (pop. 57,501), and over the last 40 miles we rode straight into a headwind. The temperature never rose above the mid-80s; it was cloudy, and the air was thick with humidity. We arrived in Pierre exhausted, and much later than we were used to; we'd also lost an hour by crossing into Central Time. The city of Pierre was besieged; the Missouri River had risen over its banks, causing the shoreline - including the riverside park where we were meant to camp - to be under several feet of water. A wall of sandbags lined the downtown streets, and we ended our day by riding to higher ground and staying at the high school a few blocks from the capitol building.


Gabe riding east of Kadoka






Flooding in Pierre, SD

The next two days were mercifully shorter: 77 miles from Pierre to Miller, SD, and another 77 from Miller to DeSmet, a childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Both were also cloudy and cool, the temperature staying in the 70s while to our immediate south, in Nebraska, it was 30 degrees hotter. The landscape also once again flattened; we rode past vast wheat fields and stretches of grassland for grazing cattle, with grain elevators and water towers visible for miles. The problem was the strong winds, blowing consistently out of the southeast and strengthening in the afternoons, impeding our progress. (Whereas from Rapid City to Kadoka I'd averaged 15 mph, on the days east of Kadoka, my average dipped to 12 mph.)






Flooding west of Huron, SD

In DeSmet I spent the afternoon in the town library hiding out from the rain and learning about Laura Ingalls Wilder: I read an on-line biography, the first chapter of "Little House on the Prairie," and also the first pages of "The First Four Years," a posthumously published book about her time in DeSmet. (On a more high-brow note, I also have been reading George Eliot's "Adam Bede," but that afternoon I was feeling decidedly sleepy.) Then the next morning came the first heavy rain: I had packed up my tent and nearly had everything safely stowed in my duffle bag when I went to the restroom to put on contact lenses. While staring into the mirror, I heard a sudden crack of thunder, and seconds later the deluge began. We had risen particularly early that morning - 4:30, while it was still dark - before a 5:30 breakfast in a downtown general store (Ward's) provided by the DeSmet Chamber of Commerce. By 6:00 a.m. it was still raining and just getting light when we rode off in the gloom. The rain stopped after 40 miles, by the time we reached Brookings; and the wind again stiffened as the day wore on. We passed a lot of dairy farms, and as we crossed into Minnesota, there were wind farms in an area called Buffalo Ridge. Five years ago the wind turbines were located only on the Minnesota side of the border. It was good to see that South Dakota has caught on. Unfortunately the winds recently became too severe: a tornado struck the area on July 1, and as we rode through the area, we saw evidence of the damage: a flattened barn, a caved-in silo roof, broken telephone poles, downed power lines, and several of the wind turbines had been stripped on their propellers. The damage was even more severe in the town of Tyler, Minnesota, where we stayed: many trees had fallen, tops snapped off at mid-trunk; fiberglas structures such as carports completely mangled, and many houses and buildings torn open.


Tornado damage in Tyler, MN





Our final day of this stretch, from Tyler to New Ulm, was longer - 87 miles - and yet slightly easier. It was overcast all day, and very, very humid: between the rising heat and humidity, the coming days will be uncomfortable. But the wind, while still strong, became less of an obstacle and even helped us at times, becoming southwesterly. We started early and made good time, riding thrugh the town of Walnut Grove, MN, yet another town that Laura Ingalls Wilder made famous. (We've been riding almost exclusively on U.S. 14 since Pierre, SD, by the way, and it's been designated the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway.) Towns were small and mostly farming communities; surrounding areas featured lots of red barns and cornfields. We breezed along until the final dozen miles, east of the town of Sleepy Eye, when a brief rain caused the wind to shift into a stiff headwind.





Corn field east of Sleepy Eye, MN

Luckily our visit to New Ulm this weekend coincides with one of their major festivals celebrating the town's Germanic heritage, dating back to 1854. We are staying in a dorm on the campus of Martin Luther College (preparing men and women for careers in Lutheran religious service), right across from the 102-foot Hermann Heights Monument (erected in the 1890s, and similar to one in Germany, depicting Hermann the Cherusci, whose army liberated Germany from Roman rule in 9 A.D. and whom Martin Luther made an emblem of German nationalism.) The town is hosting its annual Bavarian Blast at the county fairgrounds, and a group of about a dozen of us went to partake in it last night, listening and dancing to the largely polka music, soaking up the cultural elements, especially the people in traditional clothing and the costumed Narren (a word in German meaning "group of fools") who led the dancing and increased the revelry under the main tent, while under the second, less raucous tent there were less fearsome-looking gnomes. And for me the real highlight was Gabe's behavior at the festival: Gabe decided to come along, although at first he was wary since the beer was off-limits. He asked me, "Do you think there'll be anyone my age?" The answer proved to be yes: there were many young people. Most were children, but there were also some very pretty teenage girls, three of whom were honorary princesses of the festival. Gabe found the atmosphere energizing: he danced a lot; he sang, joining the polka band leader in a rousing version of "That's Amore"; and he also chatted up and danced with one of the princesses, named Morgan, who agreed to a date with him for this afternoon.


Big Riders heading for the Bavarian Blast


The Jolly Huntsmen (polka band)


Dancing with Gertie the Goose


Some of the Narren ("group of fools")


The Narren of New Ulm

Overall Gabe had a great week: he's been riding better, behaving better, and enjoying himself more. He's also becoming noticeably stronger. On the road we've been riding together more; at other times he's been passing me; and several days this week he beat me to the finish. He also handled the wind and the rain without complaint, enjoying the challenges and his ability to meet them. The improvement I've seen in him over the past two weeks - his physical and mental transformation - has been remarkable, and for me it's one of the major story lines of this ride.

Meanwhile on a personal note, 1,860 miles into this latest bike trip, I've now reached the 50,000-mile mark for total miles in my bicycle travels. The New Ulm Bavarian Blast was a great way to celebrate.


Gabe in dance contest with Big Rider Kat Narvaez


Gabe with his new friend, festival princess Morgan


Gabe, Morgan, and one of the Narren


Gabe joining in on "That's Amore"