Day 12: Challenging day. Spent the morning and early afternoon tracking down media outlets and working on the upcoming solidarity ride at the Pine Ridge and Rosebud tribal sanctuaries, meaning we didn’t hit the road for Rapid City until mid afternoon. Given the lateness of the season, this left very little cushion for error. Rob got a flat tire right out of the gate, which wasn’t a good omen. I rode on ahead, only to discover the back roads we had planned were impassable. With the window of daylight starting to close, had no choice but to hop on I-90 and ride on the shoulder for about 10 miles. Not fun, with the semis blasting by and rumble strips to contend with every 20 yards or so, but made up the time I needed. A frontage road finally appeared, but a fence in the median blocked my path. Finally found a break in the fence, popped out and rolled the trike down the embankment and up onto the frontage road, for an uneventful ride into Rapid City. A Highway Patrol car was waiting for me on the side of the road when I rolled into town, but let me continue on my way. Raced through traffic and made the motel just as the light was beginning to fade. Today’s 42 miles somehow managed to make yesterday’s 110 look easy.
A very interesting thing happened today. Separately, Rob and I both had horses run with us while riding. First time that has ever happened to either of us. Something’s in the air.
Have been wanting to share this article about a recent study suggesting the worst-case spill scenarios contemplated by TransCanada are grossly underestimated (like that should surprise any of us): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/keystone-pipeline-leak_n_894526.html. Does the Obama White House even care?