AAN Day 24 - Wall to Pierre, SD

Daily Statistics:
Mileage: 117.2 miles Average Speed: 15.0 mph
Vertical: 4474 feet Depart: 5:41 AM (Mountain Time) Arrive: 3:03 PM (Central Time)
Calories: 7199

Link to Garmin ROUTE DATA

Today was a long, demanding day on the road. I was pleased, because we had an early load and breakfast, and got on the road for what I consider prime time riding in the early morning. I tried to capture the overcast skies with the sun shining through, but it isn't the same as I had in person. After a mile or two on I-90, we turned onto US 14, where we spent the rest of the day.
The first 60 miles or so were OK, with a slight quartering tailwind. The terrain all day was rolling grassland, and the road rolled as well. So we gained the same 50 feet a bunch of times. The bad news was that just after the second SAG, we turned straight North, and we riding directly into a very strong headwind. If I was home, I would never ride in what we had, but here you just have to bear down and do it. I was pretty much in my lowest gear, and just grinding it out. I was never so happy to see a T and Stop sign in my life. It was a long 20 miles, and left me beat for the final 40 miles to the motel. I did make it, and everyone found it a real challenge.
As I said, we had mostly grassland, but some of the farms had groups of storage silos like I show here.
At any rate, near the end of the ride, we crossed the Missouri River, which as you can see is pretty wide at this point. I couldn't get a good vantage point to show the full expanse, but this is looking East towards Pierre.
The other notable item of the last two days has been the tons of grasshoppers on the road. They jump on my legs and elsewhere, and are just obnoxious. Hopefully, we will leave them soon. I am beat, and it is time for dinner, so I will sign off.