Daily Summary

Update On Hospitalized Person

Well, it was worse than the initial assessment. He actually has 14 broken ribs, a broken scapula in his shoulder, and a punctured lung. Due to the lung, he can’t fly anytime soon due to the pressurization. So, he’ll have to be driven over 2,000 miles home to Florida by his fiancé. We are all glad that it appears he’ll make a full recovery in time.

The Ride And Town

It was a short and mostly uneventful ride. You can see the rolling hills in the starting view, the entrance to Ellsworth Air Force Base we passed, and a picture of a lone tree all by itself. Nothing much of note was seen. You can see that we mainly paralled I-90 when not on I-90.

We’re in Wall, which has the famous Wall Drug a few blocks away. I got a chance to go and check it out. I had a piece of blueberry pie. A tourist trap for sure!

You can see we’re in another old-style motel, but it is nice.

Finally, I saw the huge wood Jackalope at the wood carving place. If you look closely, you’ll see that there is a balcony up top and you can walk inside the Jackalope to it.

The Physics Of Crosswinds And Trucks

We had moderate crosswinds pushing us toward the side of the road. It was manageable by itself as it was only in the mid to upper 20 mph range. However, that means you’re leaning over toward the road a bit to not run off the shoulder.

When a big truck or RV blasts by, it causes a burst of wind pulling you toward the road and a pause in the crosswind. So, you have to lean away from the road to not get pulled onto the road. That passes in a second or two and you have to lean back toward the road again.

Needless to say, it requires constant diligence to see the trucks coming and to plan for the blast. Not my favorite thing.

I Was Good With Being On The Interstate And Good With The Wind Level, But Not Both At Once!

We went on the interstate for about 2 miles early in the ride and I got a taste of what it would be like on the 20 mile interstate stretch planned for the end of the ride. It wasn’t looking pleasant, relaxing, or remotely enjoyable. Traffic was much heavier than I expected in such a remote area.

I also just paid ~$400 on the break for some bike repairs, which included having to replace my fairly new heavy duty rear tire that got compromised last time we had an interstate stretch and finally gave way.

So, between not wanting to deal with the trucks and wind, and not wanting to have a new tire get messed up, I sat out the final 20 mile interstate stretch with another guy. At least one person did get a flat from the interstate debris. Naturally, the wind died down some right after I made my decision. For a brief time, I was regretting it. But …

I was really happy I made the decision I did when we came upon bridge construction that forced everyone into a single lane and over into what is normally the left lane of the other direction. So, no shoulder at all with interstate traffic funneled into a tight lane next to the riders.

Luckily, in less than a mile, after crossing the bridge, it was possible for the guys to walk their bikes across the grass median and start riding again on the closed side of the road until the detour ended. Since the lanes were split by the wide grass median, it was several miles before the cars came back. But, I am glad I didn’t have to deal with it and wanted to error on safe given the incident from the other day. I’ll also be super fresh for tomorrow!