Hello South Dakota

 

 

Today Kelli and I completed another state and entered the great state of South Dakota.  We didn’t have the strong headwind that we expected so we were pleseantly surprised to make good time for the first 60 miles.  After stopping for lunch we headed for our final destination of Hot Springs, SD.  We had two good climbs and we finally got the strong headwind we were expecting earlier in the day.  We celebrated the completion of the day with some Dairy Queen and a dip in the hotel pool and hot tub. 

The landscape was amazing.  Eastern Wyoming and Western South Dakota had rolling hills of green grassland.  There were some great rock formations and the sight of the Black Hills of South Dakota were stunning.  Unfortunately, the photos do not do the landscape justice. 

 

 

The group of riders are really getting close and it will be a sad day when we have to say good-bye to this group of amazing individuals. 

 

 

On a side note.  The staff of the ride talked about times where we will be riding our bikes and reach a stage of being brain dead that makes you do funny things.  Today, while Kelli and I stopped for lunch Kelli locked up our bikes.  Well, when we came out of the resturant I quickly noticed that there was something a little interesting with the way Kelli had locked up the bikes.  Kelli’s wasn’t actually locked at all!  I had to take a picture just to jab her a little (like she doesn’t get it enough from me already).

Semper Fidelis.

A Long Day and Another Century Down!!

 

This morning Nathan and I said goodbye to Pat and Donna as we started our 106 mile ride from Casper to Lusk, Wyoming. It was so nice that they drove all that way to surprise us and it couldn’t have been timed better! Breakfast was great – I’m coming to rely on what we’ve coined ‘pancake power’. The first 60 miles went pretty smooth – aside from a couple of unscheduled bathroom breaks. We traveled down quiet, rolling roads along quaint farms. We even had a pleasant tailwind that was really pushing us along.

 

 

Once we got to the second SAG stop the day changed significantly. We were warned that there was a fatal accident eight miles ahead (no cyclists were involved) and they weren’t letting any vehicles through but were allowing cyclists to pass the scene by walking along the railroad tracks. Well, we only got about a mile before they decided that they weren’t even letting cyclists through anymore and told us that the road would re-open in two to three hours. So we went back to the SAG stop and waited it out. Luckily, the SAG stop was at a Sinclair station that had an awesome lounge with cable TV.

Once we got back on the road we realized immediately our tailwind had not only disappeared but had turned into a significant headwind/crosswind. This made the next 40 miles slow and frustrating. But we made it! Nathan even got a herd of cows to stampede with his desperate mooing again.

All in all, the accident reminded us how lucky we are to be alive and how quickly everything can change. We’re being safe and we hope all of you are too!!

Semper Fidelis!  

 

120 Miles and Two Surprise Visitors!!

 

This morning Kelli and I started out on our 120 mile adventure to Casper, WY.  We were both a little concerned for today’s ride as it would be our longest ride to date and we had been battling headwinds across WY and dodging thunderstorms.  Well, we were pleasantly surprised when we started to feel a slight tailwind pushing us to Casper. 

 

 

Kelli and I were cruising along at about 18 miles per hour when I looked in my rear view mirror to see a white GMC Yukon slowing down and pulling off the road.  In my mind I thought, that is probably my mother.  Well, I was right!  My mom and grandmother drove 800 miles to surprise Kelli and I and the rest of the riders on our trek to Casper, WY.  Let me just say that we were definitely surprised and grateful as my mom had brought lunch for everyone on the ride.  She had made sandwiches, fruit, and an assortment of desserts for everyone to enjoy.  She couldn’t have picked a better day to surprise us as there wasn’t a single place to stop and grab lunch so everyone was thinking they would just have to survive on trail mix and cookies for the 120 mile journey.  All of the riders were enjoying the lunch when Kelli and I had reached our half way point.  Everyone’s spirits were lifted and extremely appreciative of my mom’s and grandma’s act of kindness. 

After stuffing our faces with food Kelli and I continued our journey to Casper and were able to go even faster than the first 60 miles.  Once we got to Casper we had lunch with my mom and grandmother and had a relaxing night watching television and a movie. 

 

 

Tomorrow is a rest day and all we have planned is eating as much as possible and trying to lighten our load for the next leg of our trip.  Thank you all for the support and encouragement along our adventure.  We have been having a once in a lifetime adventure and enjoy sharing it with you. 

Semper FIdelis.

 

Coasting Into Riverton

 

OK, so it wasn’t ALL coasting but pretty close. Most of the day today (especially the first 30 miles) was downhill. It was really interesting how much the landscaped changed too. We went from mountain forests with snow and pine tress one day to red rock canyons the next. The things we’ve seen on this trip have been truly amazing and today was no exception.

 

 

We also had some great conversations with fellow riders Tom and Bill (in the picture above) about what kind of advice they have for us as we start our life together. They both have tremendous wisdom and gave us great guidelines to live by. Having 7 to 9 hours of riding each day gives you a lot of time to think about your life and what’s important. It was a great day – both the company and the ride! Tomorrow we are biking to Casper and will have our longest biking day to date of 120 miles. Hopefully the headwind we had today disappears overnight but I’m not counting on it!! More tomorrow!!

Semper Fidelis.

A Beautiful Day and I Fell Again!

 

Today Nathan and I biked 88 miles from Jackson Hole to Dubois, Wyoming. The scenery was amazing. The pictures are good but just don’t do it justice. We biked through Teton National Park and saw the majestic mountains in the background, roaming buffalo, quaint ranches, and winding rivers.

 

 

We did, however, completely underestimate the day. For some reason (maybe it was feeling too confident about our victory yesterday) we didn’t take today’s climb seriously at first. Then after mile 40 we started to really climb (6% grade). I mean it was no 10% grade like yesterday, but it was concerning knowing that the summit wasn’t until mile 57 and we were only at mile 40 traveling between 6 and 8 miles per hour. So it was hard and slow, but we made it to the top. We did get a ride for about a mile of it since there was one lane construction going on and they weren’t letting bikers just ride through. 

 

 

I should mention that while we were going up the pass there was another construction area where they were only letting one direction of traffic go at a time. This one allowed the bikers to ride through since it was over a short distance. They even made us ride in front of the cars that were also waiting their turn to pass the construction zone – the only thing we had to do was pull over to the side once we got to where the other flagger was and let the cars behind us pass. So we got through it and pulled over to let everyone pass, but this meant we had to stop in the middle of a pretty steep grade. For any of you that have ever tried to clip back into pedals in the middle of a steep hill, it’s not an easy thing to do – especially for novices like me. I guess it would be comparable to trying to drive a stick shift from a dead stop up a steep hill for a new driver. Needless to say when it was time to push back up the hill again I unsuccessfully tried to clip into my pedal and completely fell over in the middle of the road. This was, of course, in the middle of a large audience of cars that were waiting their turn to pass through the one-way traffic going the opposite direction. I was super embarrassed!

Anyway, we made it to the top – almost 10,000 feet up and passed the Continental Divide. All in all it was a good, but tough day. I never new Wyoming was so beautiful!! More tomorrow!

Semper Fidelis!