The rest of South Dakota

Missouri River to Ethan, SD
This morning we headed over to our friendly RV neighbors where we were given blueberry pancakes, waffles, sausage, bacon, fruit and other breakfast goodies! It was a group of couple and friends who travel in their RVs each year, and they were very excited to hear about our trip and feed us. When we finally made it out with full stomachs, we managed to bike 15 miles to Platte on brand new chipseal WITHOUT breaking off any more derailleurs. In Platte we had some Subway and swung by the grocery store before making the 45 mile ride to Parkston with nothing in between. It was a slow and windy day (as in lots of wind, not winding roads - this road was absolutely as straight as it is possible to make roads). The weather to the east of the Missouri has been significantly more humid than anything we've encountered so far, and we sweated our way along, stopping for snacks on the burning roadside.
We made it to Parkston around 6 pm after our slow morning and bought our dinner there. We then decided to continue a few miles further to shorten the next day's ride.
We biked 11 more miles to Ethan, SD. On the last mile of the ride, the sky opened up and absolutely soaked us and our bikes. We pulled into the one tiny gas station in Ethan and cooked our pasta under a tiny awning on the pavement outside. Hundreds of toads hopped in and around the parking lot, driven out by the rain. While dinner was cooking, Lucia was kind enough to walk next door to look for a dryer place to sleep. She hooked us up with a farmer and his barn about a mile and a half down the road. It was after 9 pm when we got there, and we pitched our tents on the concrete where his tractor usually sleeps, eagerly awaiting our next night in Sioux Falls!

Ethan, SD to Sioux Falls
This morning we decided to do the ride separately, since Danielle and I (amie) were incredibly eager to get to Lucy's house, whereas our three friends wanted to take a leisurely ride. We were all up a little after six, and Dan and I bolted out of town. We took highway 42 all the way there, stopping once at a gas station and once to fix a flat tire on Danielle's bike. Her actual tire (as opposed to inner tube) was starting to fall apart, so we got to use the dollar-bill trick, and slid a bill inside the tire to keep it together for a few more miles. We hit town around 12 and found the Evans' house by 1. We were filthy and exhausted, both riding thrice-patched tubes that were the wrong size for our tires, my handlebar tape was unraveled, and my seat was loose. Thoroughly disheveled.
Our friends has a slower ride but were apparently chased by a pitbull along the way? Claire even unclipped and kicked at it! They made it by 3:30 or so.
The Evans' house is GORGEOUS and comfortable. We took showers while Liz Evans treated us like queens. She washed our clothes, fed us, gave us cold drinks and comfortable beds! We all dozed on a giant couch and watched the Tour de France on the big screen (apparently we still can't get enough cycling?)
That night we had burgers, corn and salad on the patio, toasted marshmallows around the fire pit, and slept like babies.

Rest day in Sioux Falls
Today we all slept in (Dan until after 12...impressive) and we watched the movie Amelie. In the afternoon we went shopping for some crucial bike components, sports bras, swimsuits, etc. Liz Evans even paid for our purchases :O She then took us all out to lunch by the pool!!
Afterwards we did some chores (tent and bike washing, repacking and organizing, post office, etc.) and then Liz took us to the health spa nearby, where we tried to steam and soak off the layers of bike grease all over our bodies. Tamara got to go for a swim and we all had showers.
We drove ourselves back to the house and walked into the smell of baking pizzas, which we ate IN FRONT OF THE TV. Oh my god. Possibly the best day in the history of days. We watched Thelma and Louise and ate chocolate cake for dessert. Completely unreal. THANK YOU LIZ EVANS.