CC20 - Day 8

It was a short day today since I didn't want to plan too much with the cut I have on my right hand. I didn't know whether I could stand riding, but it worked out okay and I'm going to keep moving tomorrow.

Today I rode some very nice roads in the Black Hills, Custer State Park, around Mount Rushmore and so on. It all started out in a motel in Lusk, Wyoming, where I saw something I didn't think I'd see again:

"Back to the Future" on an old TV

The hotel was old, but very clean and nice enough for a night. This morning I "glued" the cut on my right hand again with "Liquid Bandaid", basically like a super glue with an antiseptic component in it. For riding I put an additional normal band aid on top and it worked out okay.

Cut from the Headlight Protector

I had some discomfort and pain today, but it wasn't too bad. Didn't hold me back much and I hope that it'll heal fast. It's not a long cut, just deep.

Rode into South Dakota today:

South Dakota

There I enjoyed riding some very beautiful parks, see route below. The state parks were great, Needles Parkway, is really enjoyable. The main problem there are the speed limits (25mph or 40km/h) and the cars going even slower. It was an exercise in slow riding, going around a hairpin turn at around 3mph was ... interesting. As soon as I left Needles I also left most of the tourists behind and went back to normal riding. 

So, visiting the parks for the nature is absolutely worth it, it's very beautiful. Visiting them for the nice twisty roads might not work out, which was okay for me, since I wasn't in a hurry. 

Bisons in Wind Cave State Park

 

Needles, South Dakota

 

 

I also rode past Mt. Rushmore and actually did something Andrea and I were always laughing about since we saw a presentation by Iron Butt rider Steve McCaa about Long Distance Riding: he said he's the type of rider who just keeps going, saying "Hey, there's Mt. Rushmore" while zipping past ... did exactly that today. When I saw the people there, the logistics for parking etc, I didn't want to stop and instead rode to one of the viewpoints where you can see Mt Rushmore in the distance. I have no long lens with me on this trip, so the phone with the "tele" setting was the best I could do.

Mt. Rushmore in the distance

From there I rode backroads to Rapid City and checked in for the night.

It was a nice contrast to yesterday's ride.

Route Day 8

I'm still figuring out how to create the route picture for the day in the simplest way for me that is still acceptable looking. I'll keep playing with it, but if you like a specific style more than others, let me know.

CC20 - Day 7

Somehow this tour is not under the best omen, I think. Today I tried to do a nice route before heading North and through Wyoming. I researched the route and avoided the closure on 14, but my alternative route was closed as well, open to residential traffic only, and I had to turn North towards Laramie. 

Now, on 287 from Northern Colorado to my destination in Wyoming today, it was one of the most miserable rides I can remember. The side winds had me sit nearly next to the bike, my right knee on the crashbar, looking over my right mirror, just to get out of the wind and noise a little bit. I remember days on end riding in rain, sleet, cold, miserable heat – you name it, but for me personally, strong side winds are the about the worst, since I absolutely can't stand the noise, I have enough hearing issues already, I didn't need that today.

To top it of, I cut myself while cleaning the bike from bugs. I should have either shipped the low quality headlight protector back or gotten a different one to start with. The one I bought, an AltRider lexan headlight guard, looks like it was cut by a five year old with a jigsaw. But since it arrived just a few days before I left I installed it, only to give myself a really deep cut on my right hand today in a place that will definitely hurt badly with gloves. 

We'll see how it goes.

Today, there was nothing worth taking photos of, so here's just the route, this time with a track from my satellite tracker (Spot):