Cycling Advocates Ride to Pro Walk Pro Bike 2006

Daily Trip Log

Jack

from Vancouver B.C. to Madison, Wisconsin

Picture of Vancouver, BC Grouse Mountain Vancouver B.C.

from to Rapid City to Wall, SD

Date: 2006-08-22
Distance: 93 Kilometres
Cycling Time: 5.06 Hours
Average Speed: 18.47 kph

Trip Distance since Leaving Vancouver - 2,588 Kilometres

Thoughts for the Day

Dancing with the Wind – a Cyclist’s Ballet

In the prairies now. The mountains are slowly disappearing in the horizon.

“I am cursed.”

So said John on his cell phone from marker 95 on the I-90.

A kind couple

Later it he afternoon as I was topping a hill I saw a van parked on the shoulder at the bottom of the hill. Then, as I was descending the van moved forward and parked half way up the hill. As I got closer the driver stepped out of his vehicle and moved to the back of the van. As I got closer he raised his arm and I stopped. “Do you need water, energy bar, or anything else? To that I replied that water would be nice. The couple was planning to cycle back to Milwaukee where they live but schedule made them decide to rent a van and start their cycle in Minneapolis. As it turned out he is a bike mechanic who had worked in Madison, Wisconsin and now works in Milwaukee.

Flat Tire Competition

John has now extended his lead to a comfortable 8 to 1 with about 2/3 of the trip completed. 2,588 km have been covered with about 1,200 km to go.

As we were preparing to leave the motel this morning, John noticed that his back tire sprung a leak. A piece of the tire was gorged out. Fix it and ride to the closest bike shop which was in eh downtown area. John decided that this was enough with his two 28 mm Specialized Armadillos tires. All the shop could offer him was some 32 mm Specialized Armadillos tires. They had tried a 38 mm tire but it did not fit his frame. He received very good service from this shop that was prepared to do a warranty claim with Specialized for the tires.

With new optimism he left Rapid City. This afternoon at marker 95 on the I-90 in a construction section a nail pierced one of his new tires. What can one say? The thunderstorm had just passed. To make matters worse, john is low on spare tire and one of them had a valve problem. So, now it is 6:26, John is fixing a flat tire, and he is still 24 kilometres from the motel. The sun will be setting around 8:00 pm.

Dancing with the Wind – a Cyclist’s Ballet

Departure from Rapid City was delayed until about 10:30 pm when a visit to a bike store was completed. When we got to the Interstate Highway we were bashed by a side wind that must have reached 50 to 60 kph in gusts. Holding the bike on course became a challenge. Occasionally., the front just decided to dart around as if it were dancing, I tended to warn cars to use the oncoming lane as I needed the lane for keeping the bicycle on course.

Today, we did try to minimize the riding on I-90 wherever possible. First we used Evans St. from I-90 intersection 60 to 61. Then we had to get back on the Interstate again. At intersection 63 we went on Highway 1416 that paralleled the Interstate for about 30 kilometres. At intersection 78 by New Underworld we went back to the Interstate for the rest of the trip.

Fortunately, the wind direction did provide some forward momentum for most of the trip. I was able to clear some hills at speeds in the 17 to 23 kph range. While most of the trip was rolling hills there were some very long climbs of 5 kilometres or more.

The Weather

At 5:55 pm, the clouds finally let the rain come down as the sun was trying to break in from the west. At 4:30 pm when I turned on the Weather Channel a severe thunderstorm warning was broadcasted. Apparently a thunderstorm was detected in Owanka with nickel size hale and was heading east towards the Interstate. Time to call John on the cell phone and warn him. TWC was advising people to get under shelter.

At 1:00 pm while sitting on a bench in front of the gas station/ restaurant in New Underwood, I mentioned to John that I wanted to be in Wall by 4:00 pm as I was uncomfortable with what the clouds would do. Now we know.

The Motel in Wall

The water in this motel s one of the few places where I have difficulty drinking it. Too much salt in it. Guess bottled water will be needed.

Cycling Facilities

I-90 Rumble Strip

For part of today’s ride the rumble strips were placed in the middle of the wide paved shoulder forcing one to cycle on either side thereby reducing the room to cycle on and to make corrections for the cross winds. Fortunately most of the trucks made wide berths and used the outside lane.

Some of the new construction sections did not have rumble strips. Hope that it stays that way.

Secondary Highways

At best there were a white line with maybe a half bike width paved shoulder.

Cycling Map - Internet

Rapid City was not very cycling friendly with no cycling facilities. The cycling map on the Internet was too small to read.