June 7, 2018
Grumbys Plus One: Sioux City to Vermillion
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What?! The Grumbys are pregnant?!
Well ... um ... no!
But we did meet another touring cyclist at Stone State Park in Sioux City. Gay is also riding the Lewis & Clark Trail and has ridden numerous other Adventure Cycling routes. We were ecstatic that he wanted to ride to Vermilion with us because he is a fountain of knowledge and has some incredible stories from years of bicycle travel.
After a brief morning rain shower we packed up the bikes and sailed away toward our fifth state, South Dakota. A delicious tailwind pushed us past the town of Burbank and on to Elk Point where we stopped at Dollar General for donuts and a 6-pack of V8 (ah, the quirky appetite of a distance cyclist). Outside, we met Linda who grew up in Elk Point but now lives in Aurora, CO. She was there to visit her 95-year-old mother who still lives on a farm by herself. Linda's sister has a sewing machine museum near Vermillion.
The rest of the ride to Vermillion was uneventful - nice tailwinds and low-traffic roads. Gay stayed at the Lions Club Park for $5 and we went across the street to Best Western (for a much higher fee!) because I was feeling whiny about the heat and forecasted rains.
After we got settled, Ron and I rode over to the University of South Dakota campus to check out the National Music Museum. Too bad we only had a couple of hours before they closed, because we could have spent an afternoon there. They gave us headphones and a smart phone for a brilliant audio tour that included recordings of multiple rare instruments like the hurdy-gurdy, the serpentine, and a Czechoslovakian relative of the bagpipe. They also had impressive exhibits of harpsichords, Stradivarius violins, guitars and lutes, and many others.
Back at the hotel, we picked up dinner at Hy Vee and crashed for the night.
Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 282 miles (454 km)
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