u/Moos3_M3at

I moved to central South Dakota from Montana about a year ago for a job and the chance to move out of my parent’s basement. Fast forward to current day and I’ve been all over the state, riding my bike and fishing one weekend at a time. I am tired of having to drive 2.5-3 hours in any direction just to find a decent mountain bike trail system or fish for trout out of a stream. Tent camping locally is hard because there doesn’t seem to be any places where I can set up camp away from the wind and the afternoon thunderstorms can come out of no where. Between the weather this past couple of weeks and not having anyone to share my hobbies with I am going insane. I guess this was kind of a rant but I think I am looking for reasons to stay? What makes this desolate wind scoured section of state worth living in for the rest of you?

I had to move away for a job last year and finally made it back for a hike with the family. Not a ton of people out and about which was a nice surprise although the marmots were out in force

Trying to get my brother into gravel cycling and bikepacking - my dad had this older Ellsworth he picked up a few years ago and we decided to set it up for my brother. I don’t have too many pictures of my youngest brother’s Moots, but it is super sick and he has also been gathering kit before his first bikepacking trip.

Road tripped from the great planes out to visit my family and we hiked up a mountain - I did not give my dog drugs, the elevation was nearly 10,000 feet

We took off after work on Friday and headed out to a local rec area. It wasn’t far from town, but still a nice change of pace from the last couple of weeks. Eventually I plan to take her on a multi day trip but for now, this was enough.

Upgraded my rotors to 180mm and pads to semi metalic instead of the stock resin ones. The shop decided to go with a t type style chain ring despite me using an 11 speed drivetrain. I was a little incredulous but I haven’t experienced any issues the 20 miles I’ve ridden with it.

I moved to a small(ish) town in the Midwest about 8 hours east from my friends and family at the beginning of last summer. Since then I have tried to find like minded cyclists and bicycle explorers to ride with by spending every afternoon after work out on the trails. Unfortunately, most of the local riders are retirees who can ride whenever they want and can chose to ride when the temperature is not peaking around 5 pm.

Fast forward to February, I was pretty fucking over it. I was still out riding when there wasn’t ice on the ground, but I was getting burnt out on doing everything on my own. By the end of February I had stopped riding daily and occasionally weeks would go by and my bikes would remain untouched.

My restlessness grew, and my desperation for a new companion grew along with it. I sat at work scrolling through the websites for various shelters and found a dog with intense brown eyes staring at me through the screen. In that moment I needed to adopt her. It’s been 4 months since I brought her home and today was our first ride together.

When did the shitty cheap steaks become expensive. 😭

For context- I left my job as a Ski and Bicycle technician at a retail sporting goods store last year and moved to the Midwest. All of my coworkers are 10+ years older than me and I work by myself in a cubicle all day. I’m not a super social person but it has worn on me a little bit. My new job is both uninteresting and mildly stressful. Has anyone else experienced this?