Injun Country

 

At first I thought I was in Johannesburg in summer as I woke up to thunder and lighting. I looked out of the window to see torrential rain bucketing down. This was not a morning for motorcycling.

Then I realized I was in Watertown South Dakota and this rain was the reason there was so much water everywhere and where the name of the town came from. 3 ½ inches overnight! So back into bed with fallback plans rolling through my head. Should I stay for an extra night? I was tired so this option was appealing.

Two more hours of sleep won the day.

On the second go things had improved remarkably. The rain had moved on and the day was improving. For me this also meant cooler conditions.

Packed everything up, had a quick bite and then the first interesting event. I decided  to move my bike closer to the hotel entrance to load my gear. Started it up and moved off slowly. Fortunately!

Suddenly everything came to a grinding halt. The bike stopped in its tracks and over it fell. I just walked off it, but it was now lying on its side in the parking lot.  I immediately realised that I had not removed the wheel lock, which is a security padlock on the disk brake. It did its job.

The old flying adage came into my head. Always do a preflight inspection even before taxing. Part of my pre ride routine is to do this as well. A quick walk around before starting off. But in this instance I had neglected to do so because I was only moving the bike a few feet. Another lesson reinforced. Always do the preflight walk around.

The issue facing me was that the bike still had its panniers on and these were fully loaded making it was too heavy for me to pick up, which meant, either taking all the panniers etc. off or getting help.

So help was acquired in the form of the garbage truck driver. Thank you Mr. Garbage Truck driver. Together we picked up the bike with no damage to it. I removed the lock and the bike was moved and packed.

Off from Watertown later than planned and a big day ahead, the GPS telling me it was 365 miles to Rapid City South Dakota.

Immediately I realised that this was going to be a great day for motorcycling. The road was clean and clear. I thought someone had turned on the air-conditioning. Unlike the previous three days, it was cool and the post rain visibility was forever.

The topography was also changing. The corn and wheat fields of Wisconsin and Minnesota were becoming rolling hills and grazing. More and more cattle. It struck me that this was the country of the mighty Cheyenne, Sioux, Seneca, Navajo and Iroquois. This was the country of Custer and his last stand. This was where Sitting Bull once held sway. Where herds of bison roamed free. This was where the west was won!

This was Injun Country!

Here I was, all this way from my roots on a motorbike. The 21^st century equivalent of my horse.  Given my roots going back to my father’s cattle farms in Koster I felt immediately at home as herd after herd of Black Angus cattle slid past. Small town after small town. All in great shape. None of the decay so prevalent in rural SA.

Agriculture is on a high in the US and it is boom time rural America and it shows. Tractor and implement dealers are stocked to the hilt. John Deere is the name of the game in town. The big Green is everywhere. Occasionally a Case dealer, but gone are the Massey Fergusons, International Harvesters and Fords of my days.

 

If you have ever wondered why the tractors and harvesters are so big, it is because the areas they have to work on are huge. Even by the standards of the Golden Triangle in SA (Viljoesnkroon, Klerksdorp and Bethal), these areas are enormous. Millions of acres under cultivation. Corn, Wheat, Oats and Soya. New infrastructure going up everywhere. Silo’s ethanol plants, rail depots.  This is not an economy in recession.

So on the I 212 West – Henry, Clark, Raymond, Dolan, Redfield. Then South on the 281 to the 14 and West again. Stopped for lunch at “The Virginian” in Miller. Parked and a local rushed out to warn me that parking there would for sure end up in a ticket as the local sheriff had his office around the corner and my bike was on his route to lunch. Moved it. Lunch was simple but delicious. All of $ 7.95 for soup, a huge main of beef and a jug of Coke (Just for you Dane).

Then back on the 212 West. Highmore, Harold and to Pierre which is on the Missouri River. So this is my second great American River. These are the rivers that the US Army Corps of Engineers tamed and made navigable and stopped the devastating flooding and in so doing added to the economic might of this country.

I stopped briefly in a dump called Midland to get some water. This is as close to the anus of the USA as it gets. The skies were changing. Rain was on the way and big rain. Stay or go? I went. 20 miles on the road I was stopped for road works. On went the wet weather kit but it was looking more like hail. My weather read out on the GPS was saying so as well.

Nowhere to hide. Closer it came. Eventually I asked the woman who was holding the signs whether I could shelter in her car if it arrived, to which she agreed. But then, it just slid past us and only a few big drops hit us.

So on to Wall SD. For over 50 miles there had been signs advertising Wall Drug Store, so it had to be a quick stop off. This is a Drugstore like no other in America and only in America can a place like this exist! Look at the website. www.walldrug.com

It is close to summer holiday time in the US and this means road trip time. So the big RV’s are on the road and many are towing their cars behind them. These are full size sedans. It is also motorcycle time and in the US that means Harley time!

Its what you see and hear all the time. The distinctive roar of a Harley. In every shape and form. Three wheeler conversions and sometimes even towing a trailer. More than 50% have their woman with them and often ladies are riding their own bikes. I would have loved to have had my woman behind me.

Most of the riders do not wear crash helmets and ride in T Shirts and Jeans. In the heat I was envious as I am fully kitted and they look at me as if I am mad. But I know what one slide on the tar with no protective clothing means. They have such self belief that it never even occurs to them that they might fall or come off. But then they also ride much more slowly.

 

America is on the summer move. I am just ahead of it so bookings and tables are relatively easy to come by. Having said that most of the hotels are full and everything else is busy. The spirit in these parts is good. The farms are doing very well and everything that goes around them is benefitting. There might be a continuation of the Great Recession in the cities. Civil servants might be losing their perks and jobs, but not here in rural America.

 

This is also not Obama country but the vote is so small that I am sure he does not care. This is not where the battle for the heart and soul of the US is being fought. That is happening in the Madison’s, the Ann Arbor’s and the Washington’s.

 

I arrived at Rapid City around 17h00. More than 1000 miles under the belt now, in four days. Every day has brought with it very different riding conditions. My riding fitness is starting to improve. I am however staying in Rapid City for two nights to give myself a chance to regroup and rest. My body is tired. Very tired.

 

All my initial good plans are also not happening.

 

I packed running shoes in the hope of having a short run every morning. The motor biking gives the upper body and the back a great workout but no cardio. However the first four days have shown me that there is no way I can get up and run in the mornings. I do not know what I was thinking!

 

There were also plans for lots of reading. The Kindle hits my chest as almost immediately I get into bed in the evenings! All of 3 pages so far. Haven’t turned the TV on once. It is sleep that is needed. Eight hours seems inadequate.

 

So I walked into the Hampton Inn in Rapid City and was greeted by a lady with name “Nozi”. Turns out she is a young South African who grew up in the Cape Flats, went to Cape Tech and did a tourism diploma. Worked on a cruise ship for three years and is now here for a year on a J 9 visa. She was delighted to hear a South African accent and just talk. It is a small world.

 

So I am taking an easy day. Did my washing this morning at Target. Yes Target. I have been throwing out my Tshirts as they are being used. Bought 7 new ones (6 and one for free) for $13.95!

 

Later on I will ride to Mount Rushmore. This is one of my Big Things to do. It is situated in the beautiful Black Hills area. After looking at the mountain and faces I will ride in the area to Custer, Hill City, Mystic, Deadwood and Sturgis. This is all meant to be gorgeous and Sturgis is home to the world’s largest motorcycle rally, which I am fortunately missing. It also has one of the largest motorcycle museums in the world.

 

Tomorrow I head up to Montana. Big Sky Country.

 

Overnight in Billings and then on to the Glacier National Park where I will camp for two nights.