Day 22 Pierre, South Dakota (95 miles)

Today the Big Riders will be riding the back roads bordering I-90 and then cross over the Missouri river to Pierre, the capital city of South Dakota. I have updated Chuck's blog all the way back to Missoula. For those who are interested you can read the posts. Tom Field, Megan Meyer, and Tony Cerrone please check out the comment section on the days that you commented. Chuck returned messages to all of you.

A little about Pierre:
Pierre, South Dakota is the state capital and the county seat of Hughes County, and it has a population of around 14,000. The city was founded on the Missouri River across from Fort Pierre in 1880, and it has been the state capital since 1889. It is widely known for its memorial hall and for being the regional transportation hub. The city is one of only five state capitals that does not have a major interstate highway running through it. It is also the only state capital in the United States that does not share at least one letter with its state. The South Dakota State Capitol building is located in Pierre near the Missouri River.


South Dakota State Capital Building in the Distance


Current weather conditions for Pierre at 4:21pm:
Broken Clouds 81°F
Feels Like: 82°
Wind Chill: 81° Ceiling: 5900
Heat Index: 82° Visibility: 10mi
Dew Point: 60° Wind: 17mph
Humidity: 49% Direction: 140° (SE)
Pressure: 29.71" Gusts: 26mph

Hi, its Tuesday the 13th and I talked to Chuck last night. He stayed in a hotel in Pierre. I woke him up at 7:15pm Seattle time which was 9:15pm Pierre time. He had just got back from dinner with some of the other Riders. They ate at the same Mexican Restaurant that Chuck and I ate at two years ago. I remember that they had excellent fried ice cream.

I guess the ride from Kadoka to Pierre was a little harder than what the riding has been like for the Big Riders 2010 so far. They had a head wind for 40 of their 95 miles and Chuck said it was pretty strong. He said that he was wore out by the end of the ride. Hee Hee Hee... Maybe I am a little jealous of the weather that they have had so far but hey, I know that the rest of the 08 riders and probably riders from some of the other years feel the same way. I know that in 08 we did not have even close to the weather and wind conditions that they have had.

Tomorrow or should I say today since I am writing this on the 13th they ride on to Miller. Only two more days in South Dakota and then they cross into Minnesota on Thursday (their 6th state).

From Chuck's Face Book: ‎95 miles through the rolling hills and winds of SD from Kadoka to Pierre. Headwind and sidewind the last 40 miles made the day a little challenging. We are now in Central time! Time is flying by. Hard to believe we are almost halfway.