Day 17 - Scranton, ND to Mobridge, SD - 148 miles

Beautiful weather, swift tailwinds and gorgeous scenery made it a great day.

It looked like the storms were coming back, but I was anxious to get going because the winds were blowing quite a bit. And they were blowing in the right direction. TAILWINDS!!! Finally. When you’re out riding a bicycle, the winds giveth and the winds taketh. Today they were giveth-ing in a big way, especially in the morning.

I made it about 92 miles and contemplated calling it a day (the winds were not really a factor anymore) when I received a text message from my brother (who was to meet me at the SD/MN border for a couple days of riding) saying we might get better weather if we started a day early. I still felt strong and had at least a few hours of daylight left, but if I kept going and tried to add some miles, I’d have to go another 50+ miles to get to a safe/comfortable place to camp for the night. Okay, I guess I’ll keep going.

The miles passed quickly until close to the town of Mobridge, SD. There were several big hills in the final 10 miles into town and my legs were shot! One….final…summit and alas the city was in my sights. After a bit of downhill, I set up camp for the night and slept the best I’ve slept all trip. Riding farther than you EVER have will do that to you, I guess.

(I even had time for lots of photos today…beautiful clouds, RR crossings, a sign in Lemmon, SD that describes what I’ve seen a lot lately “forever”, a nicer “Welcome to ND” sign here than where I entered ND, speed limit signs in SD that for some reason show kph as well as mph, and hay bales that made me imagine what it would have been like in the days when millions of buffalo roamed these parts)