The Rise Up Ride: Day 15, Surfing the Spring Easterlies: the Road Swells Upwards
Date: 7 May 2021
Start Location: Kennebec, SD
End Location: Munro, SD
Distance: 70.47 km
Time: 3:29
Total elapsed: 4:16
Elevation: 496 m
Today I got a late start riding while I waited for my USPS envelope to arrive, which it didn't. But with a brisk easterly breeze and a straight westerly route from Kennebec to Murdo, it was a fast 70 km ride.
The prevailing winds most times of the year blow from the north and northwest, but I've had unexpected good luck with the Spring easterlies. These bring warmer, wetter weather up from the Gulf of Mexico this time of year. In the two weeks riding west and south on this trip, I've managed either tailwinds or crosswinds about 90% of the time. Lucky.
Safety and visibility are, of course, my primary concerns out on the road. Besides the 100 lumens flashing red taillight and high vis reflective vest, I've now got the Garmin Varia radar installed on my rear rack. It gives me an audible beep and shows the location of overtaking vehicles on my GPS display, alerting me so I can check my mirror just to make sure they are giving me plenty of space (and not texting like the SD Attorney General who last year killed someone who was walking on one of these rural roads.)
One of those big wet air masses is rolling through this evening with cold rain and strong winds. There will be nights up the road better suited to camping, but out here in the Black Hills with the nighttime temps close to freezing and incoming rain, I have no problem with sleeping indoors. Tomorrow my route from Murdo to Midland is west and north, with the wind swinging from the SE to the NE with heavy rain starting before noon. So, I'll ride at first light.
