June 15, 2003 Journal: Today's task was to get ourselves from Sioux City, IA to Springfield, SD. It was an interesting day as you will see below. We were challenged, but got the job done. Just before we arrived at our first benchmark city, we were standing, and heard a noise that sounded to me like a gear falling into place, and sounded to LaValle like a spoke breaking. LaValle was correct - we had broken a spoke on the non-drive side of the rear wheel. As we entered South Dakota, we ran into some pretty bad roads. We think that is what caused it to break. We fixed the spoke, and were on our way. The Team is doing better. We both seem to have control of our injuries, and are keeping to the schedule. We were on the road today almost 10.5 hours, and in the saddle something over 7.5 hours, so it was a long day. Two things account for the off-bike time: the broken spoke, and surprise road closings that either caused us to go out of our way or took time to sort out. We had one of both. In addition, we ran into some road construction that caused us to make the decision to detour even thought we didn't have to. We just didn't want any more broken spokes. We passed through wome wonderful farm country today. At some points, there were cultivated fields as far as you could see. The route was relatively flat until toward the end, but we could see hills in the distance. A couple of times we were chased by redwing blackbirds. Apparently this is their nesting season, and the noise of the bike is unusual to them, so they try to chase us away. They really haven't come close, but they have sure dive-bombed us. We went through Vermilion, SD, the home of the University of South Dakota. It is obviously a small school, but the campus is very attractive. We saw lots of very quaint towns today. Some of the homes in these town are wonderful to see, and other are -- well, they need a little help. We also went through Yangton. This town was the capitol of the South Dakota Territory, is the county seat and was the site where Lewis and Clark spent four days early in their journey. It is a very nice town. Our destination leaves something to be desired. It seems like the end of the world. Our motel is simple, but okay, and we were able to find food without a lot of hassle. However, We don't care to stay any longer than necessary. The weather today was nice. It was hot - around 95 for most of the ride (LaValle saw 105 in one of the towns we went through.), but manageable. We started out in sleeveless jerseys. That is a first for us on our trip.The skies were partly cloudy -this gave us a bit of a break from the heat, and added a lot to the scenery. Mr. Headwind was back today, but he finally clocked around, and helped us toward the end of the ride. We got back into some hills toward the end of the ride - as was predicted yesterday, and we will have more tomorrow. We are nearing the area where we are going to have to consider carrying water, since there is a lack of services. It was a challenging day, but very satisfying to have gotten here. Ron Note from LaValle... The Wagon Wheel Motel in Springfield is classic small town motel. Two men sitting out front of the office, "chewing the fat", a soft drink machine outside and no cars. Later when we walked out to get ice at the corner store, two keys were hanging on the office door with a note that if you needed a room, just take the key and check in later. Life is definitely at a different pace. But even South Dakota changes. Springfield is now home to a state prison. Jack, the editor of the Avon Clarion, told us he had gone the University of South Dakota when there was a campus in Springfield. Yes, the campus is now a prison. The route out of Sioux City was on a bike path that went by a Casino and a Lewis and Clark Museum. The Casino was open (we didn't go in); the Museum wasn't open (we would have if it had been). Casino on bike trail... Bike Trail Ron at statue at L/C Museum LaValle ...