Pedaling South Dakota: Day Two

Jul 26, 2016

Carl and Jan Brush of Yankton are loyal readers of our magazine, and avid bicyclists. This summer they are combining those two loves on a cross-country trip, using past South Dakota Magazine stories to guide them to interesting people and places. They've agreed to post some reports from the road so we can go along on their eight-day, 360 mile journey. 

DAY TWO: Billy Goats and Back Treatments

Our first stop was Bridgewater, where we noticed the sign for Sparky Anderson Park. Remembering him as a famous baseball manager, we stopped at nearby Vondra Jewelry to inquire. Jack Vondra, age 91, was happy to share some local history. Sparky was born and raised in Bridgewater. He managed two world champion teams at Cincinnati and one at Detroit. He returned to his hometown occasionally. Sparky's favorite saying was, "Never forget where you are from!"

North of Bridgewater we were followed a short distance by a young billy goat. We convinced it to not eat our bike luggage. We checked two nearby farms, but nobody was home. A lady mail carrier came by. She thought she knew the owners and would call them.

The next five miles turned into gravel. But last year it was paved! A local said it would be repaved soon. We reluctantly rode it rather than backtrack six miles.

We arrived in Canistota after 40 miles. As expected there were numerous Amish folks on Main Street. From past visits, we knew that they come here from all over the Midwest and beyond for chiropractic treatment at the Ortman Clinic.

We visited with some Amish folks from Wisconsin and Minnesota. They were fascinated by our trike. The Amish prefer to not be photographed, so out of respect we took no pictures. There are seven motels in this town of 700 to accommodate them.

Dinner at the hotel cafe was excellent. Jan loved the strawberry rhubarb pie!

Click here to read Day One of Carl and Jan's journey.