Tim Bishop's Blog, page 12
August 14, 2014
Exercise over Luxury
August 12, Day 41 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
Leaving Murdo, South Dakota, after a rest day on Monday supercharged us for cycling up and down more of South Dakota’s rolling hills. We were moving east through tiny towns and farmland, cycling a frontage road paralleling I-90. Agriculture was evident everywhere we looked. Storage bins, processing plants, large equipment, and gargantuan fields were all around.
Chamberlain and a return to the Adventure Cycling Lewis and Clark Trail was our destinat...
The Badlands: Bad or Strange?
August 10, Day 39 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
On our seventh camping experience on this trip (but who’s counting), we notice we are getting a little faster at setting up and breaking down camp. The KOA campground near the Badlands had everything we needed, even a hot breakfast! So we set out for another viewing of Badlands National Park on our way to Murdo, South Dakota, our Sunday night destination.
From Interior, South Dakota, we entered the park and rode up quite a hill to overlook and ride...
August 13, 2014
Escaping to a more tranquil setting
August 9, Day 38 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
After a very good sleep and breakfast at the not-so-econo-lodge. we left Rapid City and headed due east on Route 44. During our stay in Rapid City, I was convinced drivers from New York and Boston had simply relocated there. Those people drive fast and furious, true to their city’s name, many while tethered to their cell phones. We were relieved to escape city limits unscathed.
As we pedaled farther out of town, the traffic decreased and the shoulder...
August 12, 2014
Handling Resistance
August 8, Day 37 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
We departed camp this morning after re-inflating my front tire. It had gone flat the prior morning, and the replacement tube had gone slack late in the day yesterday. Our aim was to make it to a Rapid City bicycle shop and let them address my tire issues. Wear marks were showing on the rear tire as well.
The roughly 20-mile distance to Rapid City seemed like an easy morning before we embarked. After a quick repair, we could fly out of town to parts e...
August 11, 2014
The $100,000 Question
The following blog post was prepared by Chuck Arnold when we asked him the $100,000 question: “What would TheHopeLine do with another $100,000?”
Tim and Debbie Bishop
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As the CFO of the Dawson McAllister Association, TheHopeLine’s parent organization, Tim and Debbie Bishop asked if I might share my perspective on how much good work $100,000 might accomplish. Tim and I are both CPAs; therefore we are kindred spirits. We can envision all kinds of charts and graphs, pe...
August 10, 2014
The Black Hills
August 7, Day 36 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
Today started out well enough. We had a good night sleep and awoke to an article about our trip and TheHopeLine published in the MetroWest Daily News back in Massachusetts. Our moods quickly changed when we discovered a flat tire on Tim’s front wheel. This is his third flat on this trip and we are kind of shocked because we had only two flats the whole time we biked across the country in 2010.
Anyway, we left Newcastle, Wyoming, around 11 am to sunn...
August 9, 2014
History does not always repeat itself
I saw some strange-looking critters during our 29-mile ride t
o Newcastle today. I believe I saw antelopes and pronghorns. You be the judge.
Another early afternoon buildup of dark billowy clouds foiled our efforts for a 60-plus mile day and entry into South Dakota. Given the 36-mile serviceless leg that awaited us, we holed up in a local Subway to see if the skies would clear. They did not. Hence, we scurried around in late afternoon for shelter from the impending storm. We were disappointed a...
August 8, 2014
Stuck Fast
August 5, Day 34 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
A rest day felt good, but perhaps not good enough. We spent a full day catching up on fundraising, the blog, and bicycle maintenance, while giving our legs, butts, and hands a break. After all, they deserved it. They carried us over 300 miles in the past four days.
As we were about to depart after doing some more bicycle maintenance, some fourth-graders came over to us asking for help. One of them had gotten himself into a pickle. He was carrying a c...
August 7, 2014
No Services 66 Miles
August 3, Day 32 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
They woke us up this morning, we saw them all day, and they ride solo, in three packs, six packs, and sometimes ten or twelve packs. Can you guess what they are? If you own a two-wheeled vehicle with a really loud motor, you know what I am talking about. And you probably know what goes on in South Dakota the first week in August. It has been happening for 74 years now: check out www.sturgis.com and read all about it. Maybe you can plan to join them...
August 6, 2014
Rising to New Heights in Bighorn
August 2, Day 31 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
August 2, 2014 is a day that Debbie and I will never forget. We knew we had our work cut out for us. We were 90 miles away from services, and the Bighorn National Forest—and a 9,600-foot mountain pass—stood in our way. We’ve never cycled above 7,000 feet. What’s more, we had just bicycled 156 miles in 90-degree heat the previous two days.
An early start to the day was imperative. For some reason, my cell phone, which doubles as our alarm clock, was a...
