One of the things I’ve had to remind people of when they ask me about this ride is that it’s a ride – not a race. I’m far from the strongest rider on the ride. But I’m also not the weakest rider. There are days when I feel I can ride a little harder and push a little more, but then I ask ‘why’? I am enjoying my little riding group tremendously not only because of the people – but because I wake up every day knowing that I have ridden the day before to do my best to ensure that I’ll be riding a decent ride that morning. We crossed the halfway mark today, but I am happy to report that I have felt the same way on every ride – good, capable, stronger every day, and able to get through the day. I had a few rough days early on, but those were less about the ride the day before and more about dialing in my four elements – rest, pacing, fuel and hydration. In those cases, I believe it was more about the fuel and hydration. I may have pushed a little hard earlier in the day on those rides, but I believe it was mostly the fueling. This isn’t to suggest that anyone who is pushing the pace is doing it ‘wrong’. Not by any stretch. Everyone here is riding their own ride. My goal from day one has been to ride every pedal stroke of the country from coast to coast, and if riding a little easier every day helps to ensure that I am able to do and in a way that is comfortable and enjoyable, I’m all in.

Today was a surprisingly easier day than yesterday, but also somewhat expected to be that way. The trend, I have found, has been that we tend to have a challenging day followed by an easier day. Nothing like a 112.5 mile ‘recovery day’. Oddly, that’s what today felt like. It didn’t have to be that way as we are still in South Dakota, and we discovered that South Dakota is exceptionally good at producing wind. We were blessed with an almost non-existent side-wind from the south making the ride manageable and, aside from the gently rolling hills, comfortable. The overall trend was a loss of elevation and while our legs gave us the odd groan at some of the longer or steeper rolling hills, we could feel the forgiving downhill trend on the back half of the day.

The theme of the day today was grit. Grit brought on by early climbs that left us struggling more than we should have been, and wind. More and more and more wind. For the most part, the wind was from the south, but it still battered us along the way […]

Today’s theme was to remember to play and be joyful. It was a long day after a long day before. One of our riders, Bob, decided to playfully ride up the hill beside another rider, Caroline, who wears a white head cover under her helmet that flows of the back of her hair and protects her hair and her neck from the sun. We refer to her as ‘Mother Superior’ because she looks like a nun while riding. Bob, during a stretch of riding in the last few weeks, shared that he wears underpants under his cycling shorts. We were all astounded when he shared this because it’s not the norm. He promises that he’s never had saddle sores as a result, so maybe he’s onto something.

Today’s ride was another century ride, but one we’d known was coming since the moment we signed up for the overall trip. Well, maybe not that early – but as we begin to receive updates and information regarding our route, we could see the daily distance and elevation profiles. Today’s ride was to be perhaps the most challenging of all the days we would be riding. The day itself is a century ride – meaning 100 miles (sadly, not a metric century which is roughly 62 miles and 100 kilometers). That in and of itself is a challenge. We will be doing those back-to-back, but the ride on day eighteen also includes a sizable climb of roughly 20 miles along which you will gain an altitude of 6000 feet.

The theme of the day was ‘wind’. We were faced with wind no matter what direction we rode. The ride itself wasn’t the most beautiful we had as there was much riding along the side roads of the interstate and the interstate itself. It was, however, still beautiful, but more open and impacted by the winds whipping between the mountains. I rode the first 20 miles with my wind breaker on because it was in the 50s.. and, well, wind.