Wagner, South Dakota

Leaving Yankton we took time to smell the roses. Well not the roses but rather the lilacs. They are every where and must be indigenous to this part of the country. In addition, we swung by to see the Missouri River and the Lewis and Clark Park. We even cycled a while on the trail through the park. Unlike yesterday we caught the wind most of the way to Springfield, about 35 miles away. However, the last 3 miles into town we had to turn south and had a strong head wind. Yes, the head winds keep changing direction. HP decided to plan our agenda optimizing the wind direction. Now we are just joining to cycle between 2 towns as the winds change form north to south.

We got to Springfield before noon and stopped at the Libby Stake House to plan what to do next. Everyone in the restaurant was dressed in their Sunday clothes, except for us in our spandex. Our choices included staying there, going to our next designation, or planning a new location. While we were trying to figure this out and eat lunch we were swamped by other patrons who either wanted to hear about our trip or provide input to where we should head next. Being 3 introverts we were overwhelmed. At one time we had the following ongoing conversations:

• Two middle aged women wanted Joe to go to the casinos with them. (Nancy, don’t worry he declined all offers.)

• A grain storage operator had a thousand questions about us, our bikes, the routes, etc.

• A business man cornered HP with some alternatives to our route. Lucky HP was able to process this information because it is what we followed.

• The 4 road cyclists that we saw the prior day spotted our bikes outside the Libby. They rushed in and told us that they were the ones that we saw yesterday. All 4 were talking at once. They told us that they were out planning a route for a large group ride. They also offered suggestions as to where we should head.

• Several other patrons, waitresses, and who knows who else also stopped by our table.

What every one seemed to agree was that we needed to cycle out of town past the State Prison. As we approached the prison, the road we were to follow was marked CLOSED. HP decided that the closed sign did not apply to him so he cycled through the prison. Jeff and Joe stopped. This is where the stories diverge. Joe and Jeff’s version was that they stopped because the armed guard in a car told them to. He directed Joe and Jeff around another way then sped after HP. With lights flashing and sirens screaming he went after HP. At that point Jeff and Joe took out their wallets to figure how much bail they could raise to free HP.

Now HP claims that what really happened was that the guard escorted him through the prison to the other side and showed him the road to follow. Before leaving, the guard told HP that he would not let the other 2 cyclists through because they looked untrustworthy. Perhaps the truth is somewhere between these stories but Jeff and Joe will no longer sleep well with an escaped prisoner in their midst.

Our day ended in Wagner because we followed the wind. Instead of taking the planned western route we headed mostly north and ended with another 72 mile day. We figure that this long day makes up for yesterday’s short ride. However, we all agree that today’s longer ride was actually easier.

Click to view today's Photos
Click to view an overview Map of our trip
Click for a detailed map of today's ride