Thursday, July 21, 2016

Post Cannonball - Day 4 & Day 5

So I finally missed a day.  I'll mash them both up in one post.


July 19th, 2016

Rapid City, SD (about 150 Miles just goofing around)


We spent the morning getting a new tire mounted on the rear of Mike's scooter.  Funny thing was that a BMW/Yamaha shop was the only one in the area to have a scooter tire of that size.  Nobody knows why it was even ordered, but we are glad they did.  

So drop the rear tire in the parking lot, have it mounted, and we are back in business.



We drove through both Deadwood and Lead.  Neat little towns where I'm sure spousal units would spend a little coin.



I'm sure I saw something interesting


But it was a great ride to Mount Rushmore


And a close up of what I passed by in the Cannonball


Google touched up another picture
A view from the sculptors studio. Gutzon Borglum was able to sculpt and measure the progress on the mountain at the same time.


Mike declares that there is just too much walking around and goes on strike.



... and we called it a successful and restful day.

Tuesdays Map:





July 20th, 2016

Rapid City, SD to North Sioux City, SD (422 Miles)


Not to leave a post Cannonball day without some mechanical incident, we noticed some brake issues with my scooter just before Mount Rushmore.  The pads I thought were in "fair" condition before leaving are now "not so fair" after close to 7000 more miles.  The HST (Home Support Team) did some calling around and a pair was found in Sioux Falls, SD (only 388 miles away).  No worries, I can ride without touching the front brakes.  It's just a straight line there right?


Yes it is...



So after a bit, we stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, SD


Which isn't really a drugstore but a series of shoppes and an indoor mall of sorts.  Once again, be careful when bringing the spousal units.  I'm sure they will have fun wandering around and finding neat trinkets to liberate cash from the pocketbooks.


Once again, Mike makes friends wherever he goes.


But soon has to have a heart to heart discussion about what "stranger danger" really means.


and then back to this...


And it's really hot in South Dakota.  The afternoon temperature was 94 degrees with a heat index between 105 and 110.  Add the dry wind and concrete temperature and it was a pretty miserable stretch.

We did get the brake pads, but found out for some reason my Helix has one model year earlier calipers and I'll need a different set.  So no more front brake again till maybe Kansas City tomorrow.  Once again, it's a pretty straight shot.

We also had dinner at Sugar Daddy's Sports Bar & Grill.  Not bad at all.  The staff was really friendly and most of the clientele seemed local and acquainted with each other.  So a real good atmosphere. 

and today's map:


At this point we are only 490 miles from Arkansas and my home.  I am in the final stretch of this adventure (Mike still has to ride to back California), and still loving even the hard days and the mechanical issues.  Of course that just means the good days of riding stand out even more.

Lets see what tomorrow will bring!

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