Freedom by Khalil Gibran from the Prophet

Read this the other day and it hit home with me personally and also seemed fitting to share with all this talk of revolution in the air.

Enjoy!

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.
Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.
And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfilment.


You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.


And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes.


And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?
If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.
You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.
And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.
For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride?
And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.
And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.


Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.
These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.
And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.
And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.
###

For the lyrics view the video thru UTOOB

The Penquin!! Love This

Epic Ride

OK...sorry I haven't chimed in here. I've been avoiding the whole post-journey reflection. I offically arrived back in Omaha 2 weeks ago on August 8th at about 6:30 pm. Really it seems like just a far off dream I had, now as I've been thrust, of course, into the realities of joblessness in sucky economylessness. I don't forget though that it is the journey and I'm in the midst and I have faith. It's all I have.
Meanwhile I've been trying to have some fun. Amy and I have been tourists in our own town, going to the botanical gardens and me to the Durham Museum to see their show on George Washington Carver. I've been trying to maintain my touring tan by riding as much as possible. I signed up for and ran in my first bike race last Saturday. I figured with all the riding I've been doing I should do all right. You can read more about it and see the results here. More on that later...
It's rather tough to ride around here with all the water. It is a bit depressing here in Omaha with all the flooding. The water has gone down about 4 feet but it really doesn't seem to make a difference. There is one bridge, accessable by bicycle, open for travel over to Council Bluffs. But waa waa right? We just visited Amy's Stepdad, Jim's farm north of Omaha and all their cropland is under a heavy current and to make matters worse last week's hail storm dropped a tree on their house and presumably killed a horse(the horse has not been found!) Just bad, but luckily the house sustained little severe damage. Omaha and surrounds, by far, had the worst flooding that I saw on the trip.

Oh yeah, by the way I'm home now! Got home Monday evening but more on that later...still trying to catch up here :)

Here's my route from Omaha to Rapid City with stops and such. Mileage is not quite accurate as there were many a side excursion...





...and Pierre to Omaha...

FAC at Carey's Bar in Vermillion, SD

I told these guys when they were done with their set that the Vermillion Chamber of Commerce should pay them for keepin folks in town. I was about to leave Vermillion that Friday afternoon when I heard, through the alley, the drunken, sweet notes of the Public Domain Tune Band. I hurried myself up over to the City Park and set up my tent for the night and rushed back downtown to grab myself an oat soda and listen to these excellent musicians and their boisterous interpretations of old time jazz. Loved it! These guys have been playing together for a long time and it shows. The instruments were in lively conversation all evening. They play every Friday Afternoon at Carey's.


Owen DeJong (Violin), Nick Schwebach (Guitar), Christopher Kocher (Sax) and Larry Rohrer (Bass)

This video has a little different instrumentation than what I saw.



Last Night on the Road



View from the Overlook at Preparation Canyon State Park near Pisgah, Iowa

 And here it is, the last night out. It came quick, and actually this whole last leg of the trip, I've been going pretty fast on my way back home. I've seen a lot of beautiful country and Eastern South Dakota should not be discounted.
Last night I stayed in Sioux City with a "warmshowers" host, Mark. Warmshowers is a website that links travelling bicyclists with a place to stay if they need it. Mark answered my call and I'm glad he did. I did not want to camp out around Sioux City. He was a great guy and we went out, with a couple others, for some beers and pizza at El Fredos. Great Pizza!
The flooding there was pretty bad. It forced another detour as my original route followed the riverfront trail. That was all under water.

View of Sioux City Waterfront from Prospect Hill

The Loess Hills of Iowa send constant reminders of the Black Hills of South Dakota, at least from a distance. It is a really beautiful place save for the humidity! There are several scenic routes that run through the hills, each of which are sprinkled with character-filled communities in the valleys. I definitely want to come back and explore more.

I O effin WA !!!

Just crossed into Iowa! Headed into Sioux City. Got about 1100 miles so far. Got about 125 to go. Will cross into Nebraska at Council Bluffs. See yall soon.

Belly Bliss in Yanktown, SD

The China Buffet in Yankton...Oh my, pretty sure they lost money on me.

China Town Buffet, Yankton

Plus a shout out to the Ace bike shop in Yankton. They overhauled my rear hub for $10 and let me borrow a nice bike for the afternoon to keep me toolin' around town.

Rapid City Back-Alley Art and Knee Slapping

There is an alley in downtown Rapid City that has been designated a free art zone. Anyone can throwdown their style on any part of the alley and it's all legal. On the weekends bands set up and throwdown their tunes.

Strings and Yellers

Art Lovers

My Aunt Marj giving me the Tour

Playing with Fire

Here's Your Dam Tour!

Ok, so time at these public libraries is short so here's a quick video drop of the dams up here in SD. They're all pumpin large water and it's all pretty impressive. I have to admit though that I don't really like the idea of dams even if they do produce electricity.  It's interesting how people change one thing and then have to go back and try to change other things to make things like they were if they hadn't of changed things in the first place. This is evident in the striving to "rescue" the paddlefish and the sturgeon fish or the plover.  You can't have both. I don't think folks should live that close to the river and we should just let the river be the river.  Rant rant rant. Just wait until I start talking about RVs! OK, I won't, but I will say I am never staying at a reservoir again! And now for our feature presentation:

Oahe Dam, North of Pierre, SD

Big Bend Dam, Ft Thompson, SD on the Crow Creek Reservation

Ft. Randall Dam, Pickstown, SD

Gavins Point Dam, Yankton, SD

Torturing Animals on the Cowboy Trail

Happy Thots

There are no destinations...only journeys. Try to enjoy them.

The Fort Ramble...

This my view from the Fort Randall Dam where I have the pleasure to camp tonight. I'm actually staying at what was a day-use picnic area. The actual campground is under water. As I get further south along the river, more flooding is evident. In fact my intended route for tomorrow is underwater. Another detour! Not the time to do the Lewis & Clark! Oh well, mainly I wanted to see all the dams. ...

...I can't wait to get video up of Oahe Dam, upstream of Pierre. It had SCARY flowyness! Hopefully in a day or two I'll get a real blog post up. Haven't had any computer access since Rapid. Should be home mid-week next week...I'm ready! Might have a partay. P.S. This week is 1st Friday in Lincoln. Be sure to check out Against the Wall Gallery...6 to 9 pm.

Snake Creek Campground along the Missouri, North of Ft. Randall Dam. Lots of flooding. All the campgrounds were flooded in Chamberlain, SD. Did a motel. Short 'rest' day today in Burke, SD. It's 105f. Think Ill go to the bar & chill! Headin to Ft. Randall Dam t'morra

Onwards & Downwards to Omaha!

By the wonders of science & technology, I've motoportaged to Pierre, SD. I'm gunna hit the reverse button on the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Headed South to the Big O!

Wonderful Whites of Wisconsin

A bird in the hand is worth two Mountain Lions at an awesome campsite...


Actually an old saying much like this is one must be heeded during a bicycle tour especially when services are few and far between like in this area of the world. You have to take what you can when you can. There are times though when you must be stupid and/or have a little faith. Sometimes you are rewarded. After a long day of riding on my first day on the Mickleson Trail I was coming close to Hill City where I had planned to find a campsite. On my map there were two Forest Service campgrounds that I needed to choose from. After about 6 hours of riding I arrived at the Oreville Site which was just off of the Trail. Perfect right? Well, I got into the campground and found out it was $19 a night. Sheesh! It looked like most of their customers were the RV types. (They should have a different rate for lowly tent campers!!!)
I decided to try my luck at the next site: Willow Creek. On the map it looked to be only 6 miles away but those 6 miles were off the trail to the East. No big deal. At least I'm farther North. So I started on the spur. It was a nice downhill and pretty quickly it turned into a LONG downhill and I started to get a little lump in my throat about having to climb back out the next morning. About 3 miles later I got down into the Willow Creek Valley. To the Left was a huge KOA campground, complete with restaurant, truckstop and strip club. OK maybe not but pretty close. A little farther down on the right was the Willow Creek HORSE CAMP. What the hell is a horse camp? Well a site is $66 a night with full facilities and trails for your horses.  Great!!!  F*CK!!

What to do? Well the entrance to Willow Creek is also the Trailhead for Black Elk Wilderness so I decided to do some backcountry camping. You can camp anywhere in the National Forest as long as you are 100 feet from any trail and you register. I registered, rode in and found a perfect spot next to Willow Creek which had a nice shower sized waterfall. I got my tent all set up and my sleeping stuff ready as the sun was quickly getting lower in the sky. I then decided to cool off and take a nice shower in the cool mountain fountain. On my way down to the falls about 20 feet from my tent there was a muddy patch. I looked down, curious as to what else has been wandering around here. I saw these:

Mountain Lion print about 6" in diameter

Smaller, possibly mountain lion cub prints

Very quickly a fear came over me and all kinds of what ifs. It didn't take long though and I was quickly rolling up my tent and bedroll! What the hell was I going to do? I wasn't going to be SPAM for some big cat and kittens and I wasn't going to pay $50 for a damn KOA. UGH! I got all packed up and went back to the horse camp, hoping that the "camp host" would allow me bed down there somewhere. Turns out the "host" was just a camper, Sid White and his wife and grandchildren from Wisconsin. They were the only ones out there and had their five horses with them. Sid was a delight. He had been around horses his whole life and was now retired, travelling the country with his grandkids and riding. This very welcoming man and his family welcomed me in as their guest. I'm sure they could see the desperation in my eyes. His grandkids were very curious about this grungy guy riding an overloaded bike. The camping area was pretty large so I allowed them their privacy and camped a ways off. The funny thing though is that all the area was open grazing for the horses.  I was right in the middle.


Willow Creek Horse Camp from Delan Lonowski on Vimeo.

They invited me for dinner that night. Their hospitality was just amazing. Don't know if I'd do the same, hope I would though. They were about the best folks you could meet.

Highlights from the Mickelson Trail, SD

When you come to the Black Hills be sure to bring your bicycle. No matter your skill level you won't find a better ride. The Mickelson Trail runs nearly the entirity of the Hills from North to South and because it is a retired Burlington Northern rail route it is fairly easy on the legs. It takes you through some of the most beautiful parts of the Black Hills and at a fair pace. All together from Edgemont to Deadwood it is 109 miles.  There are towns and rests evenly spaced throughout, and the scenery is awesome.

Mickleson Trailhead at Pringle, SD

Riding North on the Mickleson Trail near Pringle, South Dakota from Delan Lonowski on Vimeo.

First day on the George Mickleson Trail

Say Hi Bill from Delan Lonowski on Vimeo.

Riding with my uncle Bill near Hill City, South Dakota

Untitled from Delan Lonowski on Vimeo.

Tunnel B on the Mickleson Trail near the Mystic Trailhead. All together there are 4 of these tunnels along the trail.

View on the trail near Mystic Trailhead

Sunday afternoon jam session at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon, Rochford, SD. A great stop on the trail for lunch, beer and tunes.  Why yes, I did hear some banjo music in them thar hills! ha

Last Day in the Black Hills

Harney Peak from below. This picture was taken on my way down to Willow Creek Horse Camp, where I camped. I had to climb out the next morning. It was a tough, but wonderful, two mile climb!

On top of Harney Peak

Look out tower on top of Harney

Been tough getting here on the blog as of late. I'll try to get a few things up today. I've been hanging out with my Aunt Marj and Uncle Bill here in Rapid City and they have been taking real good care of me.  Actually I've been sleeping quite a bit. Feels good! Yesterday my aunt and I climbed to the top of Harney Peak, the tallest point in South Dakota. It was a great hike but wiped me out last night. My aunt kicked my butt on the climb!

I've been off the road now for only two days but it feels like for ever that I've been on the bike. I'm ready to get going again. It's really tempting to go on to the west. These Hills are intoxicating! The thought crossed my mind to go on to Wyoming and then down the Divide to Denver and take the train home, but money's running low as is time. It'll have to be another trip.  Next I will start out from Pierre, SD and find my way home to Omaha through all the Missouri River flooding. It' will be very interesting getting a perspective of the River all the way up the line. That is if I can get close enough.  It has been crazy seeing all that water bombard Omaha and folks like Hamburg, Iowans to the South have it even worse. It sounds as though the water is beginning to recede, but the damage will remain for quite some time. Amy's Stepdad, Jim, and his family are experiencing significant and long-lasting damage to their farm just North of Omaha. The River is literally flowing strong through their fields and the vast stands of forest on their land will likely be devastated.  Luckily they haven't lost their homes on the property.

It's gunna be tough going gettin' back home. I'll probably be going against the wind most of the way.  We'll see how it goes, I might roll into O-town crying :).  I'm going to get some other stuff up on here so stay tuned...

Sittin @ the top of Harney Peak, highest point in South Dakota!

Ev'rybody's Doin' the Turn Around!

In Hill City, SD. Goin to ride this 'last' day with my uncle Bill from Rapid. We're going North from here to Rochford, which is touted as a beautiful stretch of the Mickleson. Its all been beautiful so far. If you ever get a chance... I say 'last' because I drop down outta the 'wilderness' today and head for Rapid, my turn around. It's kinda sad in a way cause i feel Im just hitting a stride...

...both mentally & physically. It may leave me hungry to do this again, which is inevitable. On of the best experiences of my life. Now my mom, aunt, uncle & I are goin to spend a couple o days hangin', and hopefully some good blog updating. Next time I'm bringin a l'il computer! Bye for now.

Howdy folks, from the Mickleson Trail just north of Custer, SD! This is an old Burlington Northern route that traverses a good portion of the BHs, north to south. Beautiful scenery and a very relaxed ride. Ill camp up by Hill City tonight.

Campin tonight at Elk Mountain

Campin tonight at Elk Mountain near Wind Cave Nat'l Park. Hills are beautiful and, man, they're kickin my butt!

I Done Run for the Hills

The Hills are in sight!

First good view of the Hills coming North on US 385

And I'm In, can' quite believe it

Met up with Tim from NYC again in Hot Springs

More to Come...

Crossing into the Hinterlands. Oh wait that's where I just came from..

Two Night Appearance

Hey hey, whatdayaknow Dave from Seattle is still here in Chadron. Met up with him today at the Library. He's trying like mad to get his videos edited and posted on Youtube. For those who missed it in my post down below click here for his channel. There's some great stuff on there.

I thought I'd do a quick photo dump of Chadron stuff and maybe tell a quick story or two:

Riding through forest service land at the Pine Ridge Forest near Chadron...twas HOT.

Hiking through Chadron State Park

Chadron State Park

Chadron State Park

Chadron State Park One of the Best!

Had probably the best day I've ever had on a bicycle. Felt like I could ride all day & I pretty much did despite the heat. Left Gordon late this morn but had a nice ride to Hay Springs. BTW if ur ever in Rushville stop at the museum! Lots of history. From HS I went straight west over gravel. I have to admit it got a li'l freaky bein so far from water. An oasis appeared, Pine Ridge Nat'l Forest...

...with a little hunting I found a trailhead and dropped into the forest, with Bob in tow. for some trail riding. Rough stuff but exilerating. At this point it was 105F but I found another gear & I still had quite a bit of H2O. Just a great biking day & I hope it inspires yall to get on a bike or whatever gets you goin. Pix to come tomorrow. Thanks for watchin!

Medal of honor winner...

The BOB trailer wins the medal for outstanding service in the line of dooty today. And to think I almost left im behind!

Entering Pine Ridge country...pure bliss even @ 100F! Bout 10 miles south of Chadron on Table rd.

The Long Road

Heading to Gordon this morning, 5 am

Wow, I don't know where to begin. It has been a while since I've been in wired civilization and so much has happened that I fear I won't be able to recap with good enthusiasm, especially since my enthusiasm is waning overall [read: IT'S DAMN HOT OUT HERE]. It was 71F when I left this morning and 103F when I arrived in Gordon at 12:30. The heat and a nagging knee problem is making me worry about the longevity of this trip. Glad I'm in a motel tonight!

I think for the most part I'll highlight and share pictures.

I got to see something this morning on my ride that was I really couldn't believe was happening. About a quartermile at most, from the highway, along the side of a sandhill bluff, I noticed two objects darting up and down the hill. I then realized this was a life or death chase and the only thing that had the kind of size & agility I witnessed would be a mountain lion and what appeared to be a smaller deer or antelope. The frightening part was the speed and the agility. Put it this way; those hills are steep and there was no decernable change in velocity between going up the hill and down. I have witnessed deer in flight mode but this was insane speed, up and down the hills, then over in a brief puff of dust, dissappearing into the grass below. There is no way I could outrun such a creature even going downhill on the bike. I'm glad it was off in the distance!


Tim on the Left and Dave on the right as we leave for Gordon (I didn't make it)
Sorry forgot to get pics of their mugs :(

I spent the last two days in Cody, Ne. The first day I was there I met Dave from Seattle showed up and turns out he was staying there as well. About two hours later Tim from New York City showed up and we had a little crew going on. We proceeded to hang for the rest of the evening having dinner and a few beers at the Husker Hub, a fine eating establishment in Cody. Dave is an avid youtuber and be sure to check out his channel. He even does a little interview with Tim & I. Dave is retired from the military and is out riding his bike around the country. He's currently in his 11th month, with around 8000 miles and is currently making his way back home. Our other traveller was Tim. Tim is a film archivist in NYC and was allowed to have a generous amount of time away for a this bike tour. He's currently headed for the west coast. I felt for him a bit cause he's vegan and travelling though cattle country. Needless to say his meals were much abbreviated. Wish he could've gone to Pepe's in Lincoln!! Shoulda seen if you'd deliver Pepe!! I did depart with them the next day but about 10 miles into the journey I discovered I left my cell phone on the charge post back in Cody! BUMMER! Because of a strong headwind, that meant for me another night's stay in good ol' Cody and a farewell to my new friends. That turned out good though because in the afternoon about 8 cycletourists showed up to have lunch at the Hub. We visited for quite a while. They had seen Dave and Tim so they knew all about my story. They were all from Iowa and doing a little extra touring heading up to Ragrbrai in Iowa. They were crossing Nebraska and then Iowa. Lucky them they had a tail wind! The left and headed out for Valentine.

Entrance into McKelvie Forest

Dinner at Steer Creek - Prepped some Nopales (prickly pear) that I "harvested"

Come and get it!!! Fried up the nopales in olive oil and adobo seasoning. It was delicious.

Steer Creek Campground

Probably my favorite place to camp so far has been the Steer Creek campground at the Samuel McKelvie National Forest just northwest of Merritt Reservoir. As you can see in the picture almost 80% of the forest's lands are not actually forested. It is mainly sandhill rangeland; beautiful and barron. The other 20% though is like an oasis of pine in the otherwise desertlike region. This is where Steer Creek is located. It is a very secluded spot, very peaceful. There is a nice bit of hiking around the campground through the forested hills.

From Heaven to Hell to Heaven...

 Backing up a few days here...Leaving Wood Lake, Ne, which is where I camped after Long Pine, I decided to take the roads less travelled to Merritt Reservoir. I headed west out on ranch roads. I had things mapped out pretty good and was looking at about 36 miles of backroads. The first road I hopped onto was the Ainsworth Canal service road. It was very rough but the scenery was just to die for. I sent that text to the blog saying it was training for Gravel Worlds which it was. I spent about 2 hours riding along the canal crossing cattle gates and windmills. About halfway through I had a decision to make. Continue on the Canal Road or take off on the ranch roads east. Turned out to be a bit of a torture session. All was fine for a while until one of the roads I found out from a confused-to-see-a-bicycle-out- here-rancher, was mostly gone and mostly deep sand. There began a hellish detour that ended with more like 55 miles for the day when I arrived at Merritt Reservoir. Temperatures were getting close to 100. By the Grace of God, hint hint, there was a Christian retreat going on at Merritt. I met up first with Tom and Deanna, both of Omaha, and I think they saw how terrible I looked and took pity on me! The nice folks along with the others there made me feel at home and fed me up nicely with bbq'd chicken and brisket with all the fixins. I'm truly grateful for that and it was really a life saver because I didn't have much energy left to set up camp and cook. All in all I didn't enjoy Merritt that much. Too many Speedboats and Winnibagos. I originally planned on staying two days there but decided to take the short trip over to Steer Creek the next day.

Wow! Just saw a mountain lion chase down a deer!

500 Miles! Just west of Gordon.

Niobrara River on the way to Cody.

Out in the boonies! Actually

Out in the boonies! Actually staying @ Steer Creek Camp, Mckelvie Nat'l Forest near Merritt Reservoir.

Training for Gravel Worlds along the Ainsworth Canal in Cherry County!