The sky was grey and cloudy when I peeked out the window this morning. Also, the air was cool. However, the forecast on the route said no rain. I kept my rain gear off, but wore a heated jacket liner.
We had breakfast at Subway near the hotel, which was a fair distance from the freeway. Our goal was a lofty one… make it to Rapid City SD from Waterloo, Iowa. I figured we would get to Chamberlain SD, about 100 miles shy of Rapid City. Near Rapid City is Mt Rushmore which we plan to see.
We made our way through the farm roads of Iowa. They were very……um…interesting.
You see, the roads are being worked on and road closures are common and undocumented. We blasted through two closures….1 unsuccesfully, the other successfully. When unsuccessful, uou do lots of extra riding to backtrack, something we didnt need today.
We made it to S. Sioux City, Nebraska had lunch at a non descript bar and then turned north to Minnesota.
In Minnesota, we rode into the south west corner, snapped a pic, then turned west to S. Dakota.
S. Dakota was close by so we stopped and got the pic.
Then we streaked across utilizing the 80 mph speed limit. Also, the time zone changed in the middle, so we got an extra hour of riding.
The scenery changed from farmland to flat unused land. The sunset was very pretty and some single dark clouds hung in the distance.
The sky became clear and made for a great ride into Rapid City. We got lots of miles today……..683 miles!!!
Tomorrow is a momemtous day for is. When we get to N Dakota, Ken will have been in all 50 states. When we get to Montana, a few minutes later, I will have been in all 50 states. After that we woll have 3 states to go on the trip to complete the lower 48. EXCITING!!!
My accessory of the day is not really an accessory. Its a feature of my bike….the driveshaft. Most bikes are chain driven or belt driven. Only a few are shaft driven similar to a car. The good news is….no chain maintenance. The bad news…..it can be VERY costly to repair. Kens rear bearing failed in Arkansas for example.
Shaft drive also takes more power from the engine, but it can be smoother riding. Both of our bikes are shaft driven. We dont need to lube a chain every 500 miles or clean it every 1500 miles.
See you all tomorrow on an exciting day when we get our 50th!!
markdobkin 
Good stuff
This is so exciting Mark! We are following your blog and trip. We are in oslo now, really having fun.
Looks like you guys were able to get on the road again.
Stay safe and keep going👍👍
Echo and Fionn
How is oslo? Does the sun set late if at all?