Saturday, July 9th, 2016

Today’s ride was dedicated to Catherine Schmidt’s friend Nora who is a melanoma survivor. We left in warm sunshine and breezes and arrived in scorching sunshine and brutal winds. The first forty miles were super easy and we all flew through them. The remaining 38 were much more challenging. The day heated up to 95 and we experienced very strong crosswinds. Additionally, there was not much to see. We had been spoiled in the Black Hills, and today was much less scenic. It is evident that this area is experiencing a dry summer. As always, though, we made it. We were lamenting about how there are days when we arrive at our stay over and have no idea how we managed to get there. Today was one of those days.

We are staying at First United Methodist Church in Gillette. Fun fact: Gillette is the energy capital of the nation. We rode next to many trains carrying coal today. When we arrived at the stay over we got to shower at the town’s Rec Center, a beautiful facility that we all were thankful to take advantage of. The church generously made us an amazing dinner of burgers, hotdogs, mushrooms, fruit, various salads, and ice cream bars and other desserts. The people hosting us joined us for dinner, something I always enjoy. We are still so thankful for such generous people that make us feel so welcome.

DR