Got a late start out of Manketo, after sleeping a bit late and getting Naomi's new headset installed and configured (picked it up the night before at a KTM dealer).
We were watching thunderstorms in the distance to see whether we were going to get hit. One looked like it was coming for us, so we stopped to take some pictures and get our rain gear on, when a truck heading east slowed and told us that these storms were producing tornadoes, one of which was 16 miles away and heading for us. He suggested we get to the next town and hunker down for a while.
We were watching thunderstorms in the distance to see whether we were going to get hit. One looked like it was coming for us, so we stopped to take some pictures and get our rain gear on, when a truck heading east slowed and told us that these storms were producing tornadoes, one of which was 16 miles away and heading for us. He suggested we get to the next town and hunker down for a while.
We threw on our rain gear and twisted the throttles to close the 5 miles or so to the next town, all the while watching the storms in front of us and to our right. The storm to the right produced a visible tornado before our eyes. We were happy that storm was at a safe distance and not heading for us, but we were still nervous about the tornado that the truck driver told us was coming for us!
We got to the next town and checked the weather radar and storm warnings on our phones. By this time it was clear we weren't going to get sucked into the sky, so we pressed on.
RT 14 is in most places a two-lane undivided highway with 65mph speed limits, dead-straight, very little traffic. We were generally making about 75-80mph. I met a nice South Dakota policeman who gave me a performance award for 79 in a 65. The first ticket of my life (if you don't count the one that I went to court and had thrown out, which I don't, but Naomi does. She's wrong, of course. It says "not responsible" right on the court slip).
We got to the next town and checked the weather radar and storm warnings on our phones. By this time it was clear we weren't going to get sucked into the sky, so we pressed on.
RT 14 is in most places a two-lane undivided highway with 65mph speed limits, dead-straight, very little traffic. We were generally making about 75-80mph. I met a nice South Dakota policeman who gave me a performance award for 79 in a 65. The first ticket of my life (if you don't count the one that I went to court and had thrown out, which I don't, but Naomi does. She's wrong, of course. It says "not responsible" right on the court slip).
We passed lots of corn, lots of soybeans, then all of a sudden we started to see sunflowers. Miles and miles of sunflowers, as far as the eye can see. It was pretty spectacular, especially with this contrast of the isolated thunderstorms on the horizon.
Some time in the afternoon we needed to firm up a destination for the night, so Naomi tried to book us into a campsite in Badlands national park. They were all full, but booked us into a private campground right outside the park entrance. With our destination set, we returned to I-90 and hammered down on the 80mph speed limit roads. One thing I noticed is that as the speed limit climbs above 65, people (ourselves included) don't seem to increase speed proportionally. Back home on the Mass Pike or the NY Thruway, with a 65MPH limit, I tool along just under 80, and generally the police don't give us another look. 70MPH limit? Still around 80. 75? Maybe 82. 80? Maybe 83. It might be different if we were in a car, of course, but doing more than 80 for any length of time on our bikes starts to beat you up a bit with the buffeting, unless the winds are just right. Out here they seldom are.
Pulled into our campsite an hour or two before dark. Just some gravel roads and picnic tables in the middle of the prairie. Minimalist, but nice. Got some pizza, beer, and wings at the campground kitchen, took it back to our picnic tables and watched the thunderstorms moving across the prairie, wondering if we were going to get hit. You can see the storms coming for miles and miles, it's like watching weather from a boat in the ocean.
-Mike
Pulled into our campsite an hour or two before dark. Just some gravel roads and picnic tables in the middle of the prairie. Minimalist, but nice. Got some pizza, beer, and wings at the campground kitchen, took it back to our picnic tables and watched the thunderstorms moving across the prairie, wondering if we were going to get hit. You can see the storms coming for miles and miles, it's like watching weather from a boat in the ocean.
-Mike