Thursday, May 28, 2009
- Start: Pickstown, South Dakota
- ATW: Fairfax, Bonesteel, St. Charles (which is on the map but literally nothing is there but a cross road), Herrick (pop 105), Burke
- End: Gregory, South Dakota
- Day Miles: Ride Time: Total Trip Miles:
We woke early being soaked by the dew and hauled our gear to the park just as the sun was coming up. We streached it out on the picnic tables to dry a bit as we ate our breakfast. Before long we were packed up again and on the road early. We crossed the Missouri at Pickstown and faced "river hills" for the morning. Later in the day as we told folks where we'd come from they all asked how we liked the hill out of Pickstown. It was another long slow roller that seemed to go on forever but we made it fine. The entertainment of scaring a flock of wild turkeys or having conversations with cows helps to keep us going.
editor's note: There is something there, not much, it just not on the main road.
In Fairfax we felt the call to ride the mile off the road into town to find lunch. We were stopped just before town by a guy named Billy Wagner. At 82 and a half he still mows his lawn with a push mower, helps raise goats and was currently trying to figure out how a calf kept getting out of the fence. He directed us to Louise's for a Judy Burger. He held up his hands saying it was yeah big, or about a foot tall. This sounded great for two hungry cyclists. Amazingly enough, the burger turned out about as big as he indicated. Double layered and stacked tall with all the trimmings. Our fellow diner at the bar wore bib overalls, a plaid shirt and as he talked with us asking all the usual questions. What made him fun was the excitement in the responses to our statements. "Jesus Crimminey" was how he reacted to every answer.
Back on the road we made our way to Burke but instead of stopping for the day in their city park we pushed on to Gregory. Just before town we saw a group standing outside what looked like a large equipment shop. We heard laughter and waves and one of the guys swung his arm in arcs. We waved back and were flagged in. Rolling up to the group we answered questions about our trip. The guy who waved us in, Dave, offered to buy us an ice cream cone at the Ranch House Drive In just up the road. We accepted then asked about a city park for camping. Dave offered his back yard. Little did we know what was in store for us. Then again, I don't think this Dave was ready either.
Pretty quick we were upgraded to a place to stay in the house, taken to dinner at a friends where we ate him out of house and home, then had a great night getting to know our hosts. Now they can't get rid of us.
