The heat wave that has been having it’s effect in this region of the country is still here.

The temperature you see above is what we were faced with as we arrived in Fort Pierre, South Dakota. The wind had died down some from the earlier 30 mph. You don’t need to make a comment about it being a “dry heat”. We are truly melting as we make our way west.

The ride along the Missouri River was beautiful. I hope to have some good video of that even though the wind was blowing at 30 MPH. The temps were at or near 100 degrees all afternoon. There were a couple of issues that took away a little from my enjoyment. The wind was strong enough that my face shield on my helmet would be forced up with no pre-warning. I would suddenly be hit in the face with blast-furnace air. I would never describe sudden surprises on a motorcycle as enjoyable especially when cruising along at 70 MPH. It wasn’t good.

Issue number 2 was influenced by issue number 1. With a strong cross wind, using the Cardo communicators was close to impossible. I apologized to my traveling companions – the wind noise was coming from me. Something to work on during our stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Fort Pierre.

It’s difficult to take pictures of much when you are actually melting. In a car you can just crank up the A/C and enjoy the ride. On two wheels, there is nothing you can do to escape a hair drier in your face. I’ll stop – it was hot.

The other thing that happens while riding in windy / hot conditions is that your body loses water almost faster than you can dump it in. I drank as much as I could but it was a long way from being enough to make me feel hydrated.

Today was the day the birds decided they were going to see how close they could come to my helmet. When I get a chance to review the video I recorded, I’m sure I’ll get a close-up look at some feathers. There were no birds harmed in the making of that video.

We rolled into Fort Pierre about 2:00 or 3:00. Let me explain. Fort Pierre sits right on the line that is the boundary dividing the central time zone and the mountain time zone. Hence the confusion regarding our arrival time.

Along the way today, someone advised that if you’re in Fort Pierre you have to eat at Mad Mary’s Steak House. We did not want to break any South Dakota laws so if we’re told we have to do something, we generally do it. We ate at Mad Mary’s. It was a bit pricey. The food was good, the service was good and when we left, we were all satisfied. If you know me at all’, you should be proud of me for driving right by a Dairy Queen and I didn’t pull in. That place is one of my addictions. I just rolled right on past but the temptation was certainly there. Ice cream on a 100 degree day – perfect unless you’ve just consumed a large New York strip steak.

Update on my helmet situation. This helmet is relatively new and I usually don’t wear the see-through face shield. When I installed the shield for this trip, I didn’t notice that there was a small piece of plastic (mold flash?) wedged into the mechanism. It prevented the detent from engaging. That would explain the face shield suddenly opening. That plastic also forced the sealing edge of the shield away from the helmet, creating an air gap just above the microphone for the communicator. That piece of plastic never stood a chance against my eye glass repair kit. I was able to pry it out and reinstall the shield – correctly this time. It now takes a good pull to open the shield. The only way to evaluate the wind noise is wear it and ride which won’t happen until tomorrow. Never underestimate the power of tiny screwdriver in the hands of a motivated rider even if he is melted some.

One worry I’ve had was about the house we have rented through VRBO. That has been my go-to source of vacation rentals for several years, always with consistent results. This time, there has been very little communication from the property manager. I reached out to them yesterday just to make sure everything was on track. We are about 150 miles or 3 hours from that property tonight. I have no information on how to get keys or door codes – whatever is required. My inquiry yesterday resulted in a response that told me everything is on track. I believe someone has rented the house for the current week and won’t check out until tomorrow. Then the place will have to get cleaned. At that time (and not before) I will receive an email containing the necessary info. I’ve never experienced that kind of arrangement before and I’m the nervous type anyway. They should know better than to mess with 4 half melted bikers from Indiana. We will get in that house even if it requires the use of a small screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit.