Yankton, SD July 18

7/18, Yankton, SD

Alex and I successfully reached Yankton yesterday! However, the day of riding was extremely challenging, as temperatures reached 100 deg and we put in close to 90 miles, making it our 2nd longest day of the trip so far. We tried to get an early start to beat the heat, but as has been mentioned a few times previously, we have a hard time with early starts. We did make it on the road just before 8, though. We stopped in Springfield, 50 miles from Pickstown, for a break and to evaluate whether we could make it the additional 40 miles to Rick's house east of Yankton. There, Alex discovered his wallet had fallen out of his handlebar bag at one of our roadside breaks 18 miles back. After evaluating our options, we decided NOT to ride back to find it. Alex got lucky and convinced a convenience store worker at our rest stop to drive him back. We have been exceedingly lucky with meeting kind and generous people on this ride. The only compensation Alex's driver would accept was that we would promise to "pay it forward", or return the favor to someone else when they need it. Alex was successful at locating the exact patch of grass where we sat and found his wallet in some tall grass.

We tried to stay out of the worst of the heat, and took a few hours of break at Springfield. We hit the road again by 4 and rolled into Yankton around 7. Rick, our friend from Snake Creek, is letting us stay at his house. He, however, is not here. He finished his ride to Sioux Falls and is now taking care of some RAGBRAI business in Sioux City. He told us how to get into his house, and we have been enjoying all the amenities of a real house! Alex's parents drove up from Sioux City last night to take us out to dinner. It was nice to see some familiar faces and it made us even more excited about reaching Sioux City!

Today we are taking a much needed rest day in Yankton. It has been nice lounging around and I'm realizing how exhausted my body actually is after 35 consecutive days of riding. Today should have been the 90 mile day! The temperatures dropped and there is plenty of cloud cover. Rick is supposed to return this afternoon and hopefully we will be able to do something fun, like kayaking. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy a midmorning nap.

We estimate one more day of riding to get to Sioux City! Should arrive tomorrow!