Day Six

Day Six:

After a stormy night we woke up to a beautiful day in Kennebec, SD at the quaint little KOA. We leisurely packed the bike and ate some breakfast, knowing that it would be a long day of nothingness on the bike. The route today would lead us through the rest of South Dakota, across half of Minnesota, and then down through part of Iowa.

We boarded our steed at approximately ten and were pushing 90 by 10:15a.m. Immediately after hitting the highway, we were greeted by horrible winds from the north (our left). Having ridden in the Gorge quite a bit, I was pretty used to being battered around on a bike, but that didn't make it any easier on our bodies. After about an hour of these winds I was ready to trade my bike for a car. We tried to get used to it, but it isn't that easy. Every time a truck would pass us we would be sucked into its path and then spit back the other direction after it went by. It wasn't a fun ride. Good news is that it only went on as long as we were heading east. The bad news is that we had 924 miles of heading east.

Every couple of hours we would stop for gas and a break. Ok, let's not lie. Every hour or so we would stop for a break. At about one in the afternoon we stopped for lunch at a McDonald's. Yuk, I know. Anyway, that is when She had me in stitches.

As many of you know, McDonald's hasn't really changed their menu for the last sixty years or so. Knowing this, it always surprises me when people need extra time to order. One would think that they would have at least an idea of what they want to eat. She is one of these people. She walked up to the counter and began to really study the menu. This was enough to make me giggle, but then it got even better. After perusing the menu for a few minutes, she proceeded to ask the twelve year old behind the counter her opinion on the fish fillet. The girl sort of winced and then said, "it's as good as fish can be at a fast food restaurant."

After seeing the young girl's reaction to the fish fillet question, She decided to move onto asking about the chicken sandwich. The girl was apparently a fan and highly recommended it. Of course, this wasn't the end of the questioning. She then proceeded to debate out loud about whether to order the grilled or the crispy chicken. This only took about ten minutes and She decided on the grilled in order to "save calories".

Dieting at McDonald's is never easy. The chicken sandwich came out crispy and She wasn't thrilled but she devoured it anyway. And the fries. And the Diet Coke. I ate the largest chicken nugget meal, knowing that my arteries were clogging with every bite. We vowed never to eat at McDonald's again.

Our bellies full, we returned to the "spin cycle" that the interstate had turned into. Being battered about after eating grease isn't a good thing. She felt sick and I wanted to go to sleep. We decided to push on and before we knew it we were in Minnesota and turning south into Iowa. Not much to say about Minnesota (no offense to Minnesotians(?)) and Iowa isn't a "field of dreams". The Super 8 was calling our name in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It had been a long day on the bike (total of six hundred miles and eleven hours). Sleep came fast.

Only four hundred miles to Carmel, IN and the comfort food that Her sister is so fantastic at creating. Can't wait!

She Said:

Not much to report today. I hated leaving a 4 pack of my new favorite beer behind, but saw no other solution, even though several suggestions were offered up by the KOA owners. I didn't think strapping them to my back was honoring the idea of traveling light.

We rode and rode and rode. Yes, the wind is worth mentioning again :)

In response to the above information about our lunch, all I have to say is- you wouldn't have ordered the fillet-o-fish either if you had seen her face. This is why asking is a good idea.

Since the day was mostly uneventful, I will take this opportunity to catch up on a few details not specific to time and place. We have a two-way communication system. Fantastic really. Except for two exceptions: 1) often something happens and Travis can't hear me. Never does the opposite occur which allows for hours of Trav's commentary and giggles. Good thing I love hearing both 2) While we are listening to music the device will cut out to catch anything Trav has to say (or sing) so instead of hearing the high notes of most female performers it cuts to Trav's version- a little more like a small animal being squeezed to death. The sound I have grown to love. Actually, Trav has a nice voice if he would stick to the guy's part. Of course, this suggestion may be at the expense of some truly entertaining moments on the bike.