New Day, Different Outcome

We are in Chamberlain tonight. Today's route provided its fair share of "attention getters," but conditions were significantly different than yesterday. We'll hope it continues, at least to Manitowoc.

We woke up to thunder and lightening at 3:30 this morning. There was rain, but we were able to leave as scheduled after loading at 6:15. I was out with a small group by 6:30. The day looked promising. Lots of cloud cover, even if the clouds were threatening. It required us to carry rain gear, but shortly before noon we were in sunshine to high clouds. Yes, it was going to be hot again.

Those last climbs into Chamberlain were particularly hot, but I believe everyone that was riding navigated without a problem even though it appears to have hit 100 again today.

The last riders finally arrived at 8:30 last night. We changed time zones yesterday, now in central daylight time. All in all, it meant a 13 hour day in the saddle for the last riders. Both were ready to get started this morning and headed out with our group. The riders that found it necessary to make a trip to the hospital yesterday (final count was two) did little or no riding today and seem to be doing much better tonight.

Today's route took us down to a bike path along the Missouri River then out of Pierre. It was quite beautiful and very quiet so early in the morning.

I rode most of the day with Leslie, a rider from Los Angeles. Time and miles passed very quickly.

The first SAG was at mile 25.3. This marked the official half way point for the full cross country trip. Photos were in order.

The route passed through Fort Thompson then into Chamberlain. While still somewhat desolate, we're beginning to see more farm houses. Crops are also starting to change and include soybeans and corn. Still seeing a lot of irrigation.

Riders are really inquisitive about farming. A common question is related to cattle. With the high temperatures of the last few days, cattle are huddling together. This really seems counter intuitive to most as with the hot weather they should be spread out.

We were sharing the route with another group of cyclists today. They started at Seaside, Oregon and are headed to St. Louis. They are riding the Lewis and Clark trail as Lewis & Clark did their return trip. I asked one of the riders how long they would be on the road? He said, "Forever!" Not sure what they means. They are camping as opposed to motels, so these last days have probably been especially difficult. We may be sharing the route with them for a few more days.

We did a ride through of Chamberlain before going to the motel today. After lunch, chores seemed to be in order for everyone. While bike cleaning may have been optional today, the washers and dryers were a popular hang out this afternoon. I can't believe no one took advantage of the sun deck offered by the motel!

Tomorrow we end in Mitchell. I'm sure everyone will be stopping at the Corn Palace, one of those "must sees." Looks like the biggest climb will be out of Chamberlain in the morning. We'll hope temps and wind cooperate.

~ Lisa