August 3, Day 32 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
They woke us up this morning, we saw them all day, and they ride solo, in three packs, six packs, and sometimes ten or twelve packs. Can you guess what they are? If you own a two-wheeled vehicle with a really loud motor, you know what I am talking about. And you probably know what goes on in South Dakota the first week in August. It has been happening for 74 years now: check out www.sturgis.com and read all about it. Maybe you can plan to join them for their big 75th year celebration next summer.
I don’t have a problem with motorcycles. In fact, I am envious of them sometimes when I ride because they get wherever they are going a lot quicker than we do on our leg-powered bikes. Sometimes they whiz by us and I so wish I could do the same. Going 8 mph is a whole lot slower than 80 mph. However, the real advantage is that we get to catch the sights and smells of the landscape better than any motorized vehicle ever will.
We camped out Saturday night on a tiny stretch of dirt, next to a teepee full of bikers heading to Sturgis, at The Mountain View Motel and Campground. I was so tired that night from our 90-mile day that Tim said I slept straight through a pickup truck pulling in beside our tent around 11 pm! We did wake up early Sunday morning to the idling engines of Harleys and some gruff sounding men outside our tent.
After sleeping on the hard ground and breaking down “camp,” we headed to church Sunday morning. Sharing TheHopeLine with churches is part of our mission this summer, but the pastor at the church in Buffalo was returning from his own mission trip to Mexico. We missed him, but shared with some of the members of this friendly church.
Riding on the Interstate this time was an excellent experience. The traffic was nothing compared to I-90 on the east coast on a Sunday. There were no services for 66 miles and there were several times along the way that Tim and I saw no traffic behind us. Just like being surprised by Wyoming’s beauty, riding on the interstate was not half bad.
What we did see were a lot of bunnies. Every 50 yards or so, and for miles, we saw a bunny on the shoulder of the road. Unfortunately, they were all dead. After seeing so many, I thought, It is a good thing they multiply so quickly, because there are rashes of dead ones on the roads in Wyoming! If we had picked up all of those pelts, we would have had a few rabbit coats to sell on this trip. We had never seen anything like it.
Arriving in Gillette, Wyoming, just when it was getting dark was comforting because we had reserved a motel room. Bicycling through this area when the motorcyclists are descending upon nearby Sturgis makes for very few vacancies in the surrounding towns and cities. When we arrived at our motel, we discovered that they had us booked for August 12th. After a battle with the front desk attendant and showing her our confirmation number (confirming August 3rd), we settled in for the night to work TheHopeLine.
Deb and Tim,
It looks like you are having an awesome biking trip across the country. You’re doing such an amazing job documenting your trip too! Great pictures! I’m thinking about you and wishing you a fun and safe remainder of the ride. I’ll keep checking out the blog! 🙂
~Lindsay Ferkler
Hey Tim and Deb,
Day 32!! Over a month on the road already. It’s now August 7, and we don’t know where the time has gone. Know what you mean about being anywhere near Sturgis South Dakota around bike week. Place is just packed for miles around. Keep your eyes open, maybe catch a glimpse of Polyot wheeling around somewhere. Be well, stay safe, and Good Traveling…Jim