South Dakota has an interesting way of memorializing roadside fatalities. The first time I saw a sign like this I thought it was a general piece of advice. Then I noticed that the 'think' signs were in peculiar locations, in multiples and some decorated. When I looked more closely I saw that they say "X marks the spot" and on the bottom it says "Why Die". They have no names or dates. I have seen dozens of them in my trip across the state. Soybeans, corn, cattle, soybeans, corn, soybeans, corn, cattle...that was pretty much the picture for our 72 mile ride to Sioux Falls yesterday. The exception was a gigantic Cargill collection facility on the railroad in Emery, 24 miles into the ride. From miles away the silos looked like skyscrapers rising out of the plains. When we arrived we saw lines of trucks waiting to unload wheat-- but there was no wheat being harvested anywhere along the ride. We surmised that it must be a huge centralized collection site.
The other element of the ride was heat and humidity-- the kind of ride I have been dreading but since the ride was so relatively short I did manage to get through it. As I have mentioned, I pour water through the holes in my helmet and down the front and back of my jersey and it evaporates and has a cooling effect as I ride along. We can afford to be profligate with water because the staff vans are waiting for us every few miles with ample supplies.
We had dinner at the "Royal Fork"; one of the all you can eat places that I really hate because there are no holds barred. Most of them have too much mediocre food; this one had too much reasonably decent food and since I had had no lunch, I was famished. Lunch is often unavailable along the rides-- then you reach the hotel mid-afternoon and it makes no sense to eat a meal when dinner starts at 5:00.
Now we are at our rest day-- in a vast sprawl of hotels, malls, chain restaurants and parking lots. Our bikes have had a good cleaning and I am about to walk over to the mall and get a haircut.
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