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Today was ‘the day after the big day’. I slept relatively well, though sleep hasn’t been the greatest for me since being on this trip. It’s somewhat dis-regulating sleeping in a different hotel in a different town every night. It’s hard to get settled. Though the routine is getting easier and easier, the sleep isn’t coming any better.
My big concern for today’s ride was the distance after yesterday’s epic climb. We had 108 miles on tap with a few climbs, one early on and a few later in the day. It was cold when we started but quickly warmed up and we had warm or semi-hot temperatures in the afternoon with a swing from roughly 41 to 89 degrees.
The ride was very pretty presenting the very rural and isolated part of Wyoming. With only 567,000 people, it’s easy to feel the sparseness of the population when you look out and see miles and miles of rolling hills. We passed through towns that had fewer people than were riding with us from coast to coast. We passed two of the largest coal mines which were amazingly vast even in the wide-open plains. They were unfortunate human blemishes on the beautiful countryside, but understandably necessary. It’s a shame they can’t fill them in or make them look beautiful after they are finished with the mining efforts.
We had a wonderful lunch (as always!) along the side of the highway sitting on our little stools taking in the beautiful scenery along the side of the road. It was a unique and enjoyable place to stop.
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.
This afternoon, he got playful and maybe a bit punchy and was racing Caroline up the hill. He was provided commentary along the way that went something like this, ‘And it’s Captain Underpants coming up the hill and catching Mother Superior, but she’s speeding up and seems to be holding him back.’ This went on for several minutes and every now and then, he’d come back when she was at the front of the pull-line and start again. While he was saying this, they would be racing up a hill.
It made me laugh and provided some punctuation in what quiet afternoons can sometimes be if we’re riding single-file, or even tired.
Earlier in the day, I had thought about us riding up the hills and then allowing ourselves to go full speed down the hills on the other side. It reminded me of being a child again and how important it is to play. We lose our desire, and sometimes our ability, to play as we grow older. This trip has provided so many opportunities to appreciate the importance of play.
Since starting, I have turned on the television in any of my hotel rooms maybe 3 times in our 18 days on the road. Stepping away from ‘real-life’ and into a world where you are completely immersed in what you are doing at that very moment is a gift and one that I believe has opened our hearts to being playful as we ride the several thousand miles across the country together.