Day 23-- A ribbon candy road full of rollers. . .

July 13, 2004

ROUTE: Rapid City to Wall, SD             
DISTANCE:  57 miles             
WINDS: 5 to 10 mph headwinds

WEATHER: Sunny & warm                  
TERRAIN: City streets, then flat to rolling, first on a frontage road and then on I-90                  TOTAL CLIMBING: 2,290'

RIDE OVERVIEW: (Susan, here, with the OOD--Overview Of the Day): After a peanut butter English muffin and o.j. at the motel, I was Float so took to the road solo at 6:45 a.m., beating most riders out of town . . . this because many, in addition to the meager motel breakfast, stopped for a second breakfast at our "official" breakfast locale, the Perkins Family Restaurant, a hop and a skip from the motel.

This morning we had nearly 10 miles of right-left/right-left city cycling, the longest stretch without a turn being 2.4 miles.  Last night at route rap, Mike joked that he was taking odds that no one would get through the first 5 miles without making a wrong turn.  I quickly came up behind Ian and Russell and we joked about running through three-quarters of our route sheet before getting out of town! When I hit Hwy 1416, however, it was up and down over rollers but straight ahead to the SAG Stop in New Underwood.

Karen and Box were handling the SS, giving Barb a chance to ride. I found Pam and Mary Jo at the SS, so rode the rest of the way to Wall with these two women. We took turns pulling our little paceline into the headwind on the Interstate.  I had one odd experience on 1416 before we got on the Interstate:  A nighthawk came from the fields to the right and flew along beside me for 30 seconds or so at eye level about two feet from my head. Seemed to be checking me out with its large soulful eye.  We also saw four mule deer running on the left side of the road. They came to a place where they wanted to cross and the front two, which were antlered, jumped the fence, while the back two squeezed under it. When they got to the fence on the right side of the road, the front three leaped it. The last one did too, but almost didn't make it because it was looking for a way under right up to the last minute. They were fun to watch as they bounded away across the grassy hills. They run two front feet and two back and seem to bounce.

Today we are back into grasslands with rolling grassy hills and fields of golden wheat dominating the landscape. The road was undulating and in places the rollers were perfectly spaced for effortless climbing. The other dominant items along our route were Wall Drug Store billboards.  We've been seeing them ever since we left Astoria, but now they appear every mile or so--something like the Stuckeys and fireworks signs on the east coast route to Florida.  Each has it's own message, such as "Free Coffee to Honeymooners," or "Classic Western Art at Wall Drug."

We three discussed what we wanted to eat when we got there. I expected an old-fashioned soda fountain and craved a cherry phosphate. What we found was not an old fashioned drugstore or even the mother of all drugstores. We found a block-long tourist trap (below, right), selling all manner of useless touristy things.  But it was so kitschy that it was fun. We did find a soda fountain of sorts and food. I had a veggie-burger and a blackberry soda.

Barbara in front of Wall Drug Store

I would like to know how much they've spent on advertising over the years as there must be a million signs all over the world pointing to this place.  It started out as a small drug store that was off the beaten path so it got little or no traffic.  It was the wife's idea to entice travelers with the offer of free ice water.  It caught on when the owner and a friend started putting signs out on the main road to advertise. (Last year Mike says that the mayor told him that Wall Drug now has a $300,000 annual advertising budget. That's a lot of signs).  By the time they got back from putting out the first signs, people were lined up . . . that's the power of advertising. They still offer free ice water and they have more than 2 million visitors a year . . . it all started over a glass of ice water . . . the rest is history.

Now for THE REST OF THE STORY . . . the water tastes (and smells) horrible!   Something like a combination of tar and sulfur. At least it did today. Shortly after getting to the motel, I walked across the street to a convenience store and bought bottled water for tomorrow. Wall is just a spot in the road and would be more aptly named "Hole in the" Wall, but tourism keeps it going.  Only 818 people live in Wall, but the town can seat over three times that in their restaurants, and there's over 2,000 available motel rooms.

By limey, here's another limerick from Andrew:

Peter Jr., and Peter, III
This duo cannot be beat;
They have never tasted defeat.
They're an elegant pair,
Father and heir,
I speak of Pete and Re-Pete.

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: 

• "Biiiii-cyclists, biiiii-cyclists!" [prairie dogs, yipping]  
• "Mooooove along, mooooove along!" [cows lowing] 
• "And  amber waves of grain. . ." [me, singing] 

DUH! OF THE DAY:  (Actually yesterday's duh) Bill Gaither, who rides a recumbent with the water bottle cages mounted almost at eye level next to his right and left hands, forgot his water bottles yesterday . . . didn't even notice their absence until he was 10 miles down the road. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Mine, all mine, y'all!

The wheel within the wheel, Mike's artful shot of Karen as they ride side by side.

Josh and the bossies having a bull session, but most of them didn't seem to be in the "mooood."

Lawn art run amok.  How many animals can you spot in this picture, boys and girls?   A score of 12 is excellent, 10 is good and 8 is fair. [My question is, why would anyone in this area want a cement
prairie dog when they could have the real thing?]

WHOA!!!!  What happened to the road?  Where did it go??
This must be how Robert ended up so "far afield"?

To Paul's wife who thought he was out on a bike ride--he's really in Anchorage living it up...he said he
 was having a great conversation with this floozy, but after he thought about it,
he thought she seemed a little stiff. 

Bill B. enduring an ancient coming
of age ritual at Wall's Drugstore

Ride-'em cowgirl! Evelyn's decided that this ride is much more comfortable than her bike (even though it's a bit more jarring). Said she's going to talk to Mike about switching them out.  Does she mean the saddle, or what's under it?

Evelyn, Pam, and Mary-Jo pose with a secret admirer...
I knew these girls would go "Ape" over the critters at Wall Drug.