Journals

This is a long one (Devil's Tower)

Newcastle to Gillette ~143miWoke up on a carpeted wheelchair ramp in Newcastle, right by the church entrance there. Uncomfortable surfaces make me a morning person. Lots of energy that morning--early wakeup, as Kevin and Shea found a diner that provided us with breakfast. Such generosity. And bacon, sweet bacon.We thanked our hosts profusely and went to a lake that Pi found out about from one of the chefs. Fourteen miles into the ride, we go for a swim. Talk to some fisherpeople about what there is to catch. A dog that Nate describes as the "I am Legend" dog is there, and we play with him a little.By the time Nate, Pi and I get off the lake, we've accepted that we won't be seeing the van for the first rest stop at 20. We hit some kind of crazy tailwind for the next chunk of the ride, into Upton (The Greatest Town on Earth) we're rolling at about 25 without the kind of effort we've come to associate with that speed.Wyoming shoots by all infinite in every direction, rolling hills punctuated with modest but numerous oil derricks and cattle and BNSF railway cars so long that both engine and caboose are hidden behind hills. In the distance, we see Devil's Tower. I don't think anything of it, aside from "that thing must be massive." Pi suggests we go see it, if it's six or seven miles off course. I remember thinking "yeah, maybe if it's six or seven away."In Moorcroft we stop at a subway for lunch (we're far behind still so we've told Jeff we won't meet him here either), and Pi comes back from the gas station with a map in his hands and an "I have a crazy idea" type of look in his eyes. The Tower is 30 miles away. We should go see it. We work out the numbers and figure we can get to the stayover before nightfall if we keep it above 15. After getting the go-ahead, we set off.The terrain is hillier at first. and I have my doubts. The hardest climbs are the unnecessary ones. After the first big hill I felt an internal shift: no turning back, might as well do the thing. The hills and wind are hard to judge on the way out there, and the whole time I'm thinking: will this be harder on the way back? Is this more uphill than downhill? Will there be a headwind? A tailwind? A crosswind?Worry dissolves into wonder when we reach the tower. I'd had a vague recollection of it from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Such a strange formation, this casting of the inside of a volcano long since eroded. We gawk and take pictures. Refuel at a little store with Tower knicknacks. Then back the exact way we came.The sky started doing strange, beautiful things. We rode through a storm on rt. 51, lightning visible but not audible on either side. An archway of blue sky admitted us through the storm with only minimal soaking and headwinds. Upon passing through, we turned around and I distinctly remember seeing Nate and Pi underneath a near-perfect rainbow bisected by a bolt of violet lightning. After that, we raced the sunset to our stayover. We lost, but only by a little.Upon arrival, I could do little but put food into my mouth ferociously and find a surface to sleep on. Couches and chore partners were such a blessing. Wyoming is the best state yet.

Ride Days

Every ride is different. It's not the scenery that makes it different or the route or the mileage. It's how you feel when you wake up.Some days are bubbly. You wake up with a smile on your face and know that it'll be a good day. You hope for mistakes in the cues or gravel roads or punishing climbs because you know that it's just another opportunity to prove yourself and flex your indomitable will. You sleep when you get to the stayover but it's only because people would worry if you didn't. In the remaining hours of daylight you somehow manage to pack in more than most people do in any one full day of a typical summer vacation.There are the quiet days. Days when the only thing on your mind is the road ahead of you and everything else is an unwanted diversion. You put your head down, keep your feet moving and push onwards. You switch your computer from tripometer to clock because like water coming to a boil, miles tick by faster when unobserved. The quiet group doesn't chat. You'd have better luck striking up conversation with a passing RV or a lonely cow munching contentedly on a sage bush. But you know better than to try, because you feel the same as everyone else. If you didn't, you wouldn't be the quiet group.There are story days. Entire books have been unraveled down to the slightest plot point, leaving no detail unturned. There's a thirst for content on some days. It may happen more on particularly straight or flat days with nothing to divert the eye's attention or entertain the mind. It's a safeguard against hypnosis, the very real lulling effect that 70 miles on one road can have on an already fatigued body. It doesn't matter what you are hearing, you just need to know all about it. How does the sun work? How fast can a horse run, and for how long? There's a querying process involved, a prodding of the available resources to check for any scintillating tidbits of knowledge. When a worthwhile morsel is discovered the entire group takes advantage, exhausting their curiosities and waiting with baited breath for the next topic to uncover itself. Entire days pass by in this fashion - the university of the open road.There are bad days. Days when something needs to absorb the ire you feel because it can't be held safely within your own body. Everything is a viable source of blame on these days. Should any rider dare disturb you (likely someone having a bubbly or story day) they'll be left with no doubt that you aren't interested in anything but your own unhappiness and its dissipation into the world. Cars pass too closely. Callouts come too late or too quietly. The pace is too slow but also too fast and the wind is too strong, regardless. If you were a computer, you'd be in desperate need of a restart. If you were a car, a tuneup. But you're not. You're a person on a bike and there's no help for you. Not on a bad day.But every day is a new beginning. It's a roll of the dice and there's no telling what type of day you'll be having. As the team assembles in the morning you scan the crowd and look for like expressions; similar postures and gestures that give away the type of day he or she'll be having. You stick close to these people and make certain to leave close by their sides because more dangerous than snakes and bears combined is to mix up a Bad day with a Story one or a Bubbly with a Quiet.There's only one certainty, really. At the end of the day, we're all Tired.

How we made Wyoming exciting. Gillette, WY 6/30/2010

I heard some rumors that Wyoming could get pretty boring.  Today, I took it upon myself to make good ol' Wyoming exciting.  It all started off with a fantastic breakfast at the Old Mill Inn in Newcastle.  The chef was extremely generous and provided the whole team with a knockout breakfast.  I had way too much bacon for my own good. Kyle, Tracy Conor and I set out.  We managed to find a lake about a half mile off the road at mile 15.  Here we enjoyed a refreshing swim and two very cute dogs of which I named Frisky and Stupid.  In the picture is Frisky. At around mile 30, our group found a long freight train parallel to us.  Naturally, Conor and I made a game out of it and raced the train. I think we won.  We found ourselves pacing at 30mph up a hill with a tailwind to beat it.  Turns out that the train couldn;t go thirty miles an hour.Along the rest of our route, we found a traffic light and some abandoned houses.  Good job Wyoming.  Today's route allowed for alot of conversation, so it was nice to get to know each other even better.  Despite living together with the team for a month straight, you still don't know everything about them.  The stayover was AWESOME.  This church was extremeliy accomodating and interested in our ride.  All of the host sat down with us for dinner and stay for a long time telling us about Wyoming.  One of the women said that parts of Wyoming only had to dial four numbers for phone numbers because their town was so small.  The smallest town in Wyoming is three people.  Apparently, all you need is a post office to make a town. We swam at a nearby recreation center for showers.  I felt like a little kid again.  In fact, I did make a young friend named Anna who gave me a tour of the lazy river and taught me how to jump the lilly pads.  The stayover was so fun that I didn't even worry about the snakes that parked outside the doors of the church.

Hills and bust. Rapid City, SD to Newcastle, WY 6/29/2010

To make it up to Lauren for taking me to the doctor, I agreed to ride up some hills to Mt. Rushmore with her.  Some hills turned into many hills and steep hills.  She worked her butt off to get to the top of Mt. Rushmore where we faced our most challenging hill of the first leg.  On our way through the town before Mt. Rushmore, we passed by the clinic that I went to yesterday.  It took us 6.5 miles to get there yesterday, and it only took us 3 miles of cyucling to get there today.  Man did I feel dumb.  No more directions for me! Mt. Rushmore is much smaller than I imagined.  The people there were very curious about our voyage.  Here are some pictures.  There are some pictures floating around with our prairie dog Brad taking the face of Lincoln. The next leg of the 80 mile ride proved a little more difficult for me.  Actually, extremely difficult for me. I could not breathe deeply at all.  I basically hyperventilated for the next 20 miles.  I was getting dizzy and weak.  I was falling behind.  Me gapping was very surprising to my riding group.  Something was wrong.  I blame it on a couple of things.  The heat at Mt. Rushmore was unbearable.  Our break was very long.  The headwinds were tough and the air had a scent in it that irritated my lungs.  Whatever the case, I felt so horrible at the lunch stop at 46 that I chose to sag the rest of the way into Newcastle, WY.  Here was my pretty view.  Some suggested that it could have been the altitude.  That kind of alarmed be because we were only at 4000 feet.  We have another 9000 to go!  If I can't breathe at 4000 feet, my lungs my shoot out of my mouth at 9000.  My plan is to ride out fast tomorrow to test my lungs.  Probably not a smart idea, but sometimes you have to be crazy to get better!

Rest Day- a swarm of unexpected events. Rapid City 6/28/2010

So I haven't been myself for the past couple of days.  Slightly removed, not my goofy, blonde normal.  I have a lump on my back.  For any other person who doesn't have a history of cancer, this is usually something to not be alarmed about.  I am not one of those people, so something as simple as a dime size lump on my back sets me off.  I begin to panic and overthink things.  Remission is a scary time for someone who has had cancer.  A person in remiossion lives in fear and stress of recurrence.  My chances of recurrence are much better than others, however, the chance is there and I have had way too much time to think about it. I knew I would finally get things settled in Rapid City.  Doctor Day #2.I stared my day off with a slew of phone calls trying to find a doctor closeby to tell my oncologist at home what they see from a medical standpoint.  After I found a place and wrote my cues to get there, I headed to Dairy Queen for brunch.  This trip may be described as a tour of Dairy Queens and gas stations across America. Needless to say, I ordered way too much food and did not fail to finish it.  Two hotdogs, two cheeseburgers and a medium (large) blizzard. Now that my stomach is filled, off to the docor.  Lauren and I treked to the doctor's office.  We arrived to 1600 Mountain View Road, only to find that I wrote the cues down to the wrong office.  Panic.  I got some quick directions from the people that did work there and quickly forgot them.  Lauren was so happy I forgot them so fast!  Another wrong turn.  I called the intended office and asked for diections from where we were.  The receptionist pointed us in the right direction.  Lauren asked if I had asked for an address... I didn't.  However, I said with confidence that it was at 3000 Sheridan Lake.  We were at 1000.  We biked.  Hills.  More hills.  Lauren's knee is hurting.  I begin to get frustrated and worrysome.  I guess I am superstitious on doctor days.  Anything that goes wrong must point to something else that will go wrong.  We were both frustrated. More hills.  I am getting tired.  We didnt have our bike shoes on, so a ride over five miles gets extremely uncomfortable.  We go past the 3000's into the 4000's.  Nothing.  I promise Lauren we are on the right road.... again.  I begin to get angry at myself for not knowing the right way to the doctor's office.  At about 4500, I get a flat.  I stop.  I lean over my handlebars and tear up.  Superstition.  I am overwhelmed with bad omens.  This can't be good. Lauren picks me up and says that she is sure that there isn't much more to go.  That motivates me to walk/run my bike to the office alongside Lauren coasting on her bike.  I begin to think, "I can only expect good news if all this bad stuff just happened."  We arrived at the office at around number 7000.  Oops.  Guess I am never navigating again.The trip to the doctor was quick.  I spent some time registering and checking up with a nurse and then awaited a doctor.  Lauren and I took some dramatic pictures of me in the chair (check her blog).  The doctor walked in, looked at my lump very quickly and said I have nothing to worry about.  Just a sac of blood.  Weird.  At least it doesn't hurt.The rest of our day off was spent making fake Subway applications, wearing deep vee t shirts and napping.  What a day.  Can't wait for Rushmore tomorrow.

Thanksgiving, Ice Cream and Badlands. Chamberlain, SD- Rapid City, SD 6/24-27/2010

Our ride to Chamberlain, SD was fun.  I wanted to ride fast.  Our group was Conor, Greg, Eamon, Nate, and Kevin.  Kevin doesn't normally ride super fast, so today he decided to challenge himself.  It was fun to push him and make him tired.  His work today was remarkable.  Today we experimented with different riding formations and discovered the double echelon.  At one position in the double echelon, the rider would feel no wind at all.  Amazing.  On our way we tried to befriend some curious cows with an olive branch of grass.  Along with the cows were some buffalo who quickly scurried off to run some laps around the field.  No wonder they are so lean and no fat.Our early arrival into Chamberlain allowed us alot of time to walk around town.  Lauren and I went on a mission to a drugstore to pick up medicine.  On our way to the drugstore, we found a couple of other places we would like to visit- including pizza hut, the river valley and the South Dakota Hall of Fame- which includes Bob Barker and Lawrence Welk cool?  We scored 7 pizzas off of pizza hut and made our way to the Missouri River Valley.  In a very lame attempt to hop a fence, Lauren and I quickly changed our minds to walking around the fence.  We never made it to the water, but we enjoyed a beautiful view.  Because it was the 25th of June, the I4k thought it would be appropriate to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Thanks to Eamon, Diana, Mary and other helpers, our meal was excellent with spaghetti, oreo turkeys and apples.  If dinner wasn't enough, I had a McFlurry afterwards.From Chamberlain, it was on to Murdo, SD, a four block town with a gymnasium in which I was knockout champion and an ice cream shop from where I ordered two "Cyclones"  in one sitting.  Call me fat.  The ride was pretty exhausting even though it was only rolling hills.  Lauren's knee hit its threshold at mile thirty.  It was tough to see her fight through hills that she knows she can get up on any other normal day.  At our rest stop we came along a guy who was also riding across the country with his daughter driving his sag van.  He was going to ride with a lung cancer foundation of some sort but the ride that he signed up for fell through.  I think his name is Andy.  Last but not least, Jordan and I briefed the team on snake saftey.  Oh boy.  Murdo- it was nice knowing ya.The ride everyone was excited for was the ride through the Badlands to Wall, SD.  The clouds were ominous as Conor, Pi, Greg and myself zoomed through the first 60 miles to reach the badlands.  We also enjoyed some 90's dance lessons from Lauren.   At the gas station  before entering the Badlands, Conor and GORGED on food.  My snack was a buffalo hot dog with the works, a quart of chocolate milk and six cinnamon rolls.  I think I had almost 2200 calories.  Hmmm....  The Badlands were sick.  It really is just a bunch of pretty rocks and hills.  It is one thing to drive through the Badlands and it is another thing to physically push yourself through the Badlands.  The final view (which I did not have my camera for) was so satisfying, a type of satisfying that I do not think I would have felt if I had drove up them bad boys.    This is a picture of Ana looking over some pretty rocks.Some crazy headwinds later, we enter the city of Wall- home of the famous Wall Drug.  Wall Drug is really disspointing except for its coffee for 5 cents.  Thats right people, 5 cents.  Let's just say I spent 50 cents on coffee at Wall Drug.  The reason Wall Drug is such a buzzkill is because there are advertisments for it almost 150 miles out- making it seem like a huge deal.  NOPE.  It's a department store.  Lame. Max's bike broke a spoke two days ago and he had sagged in the van for a day because his bike was not rideable.  I did not want him to be off his bike for more than one day without even being injured, so I offered him my bike for the ride to Rapid City, SD which he graciously accepted.  He looks pretty good in blue eh?  Our arrival in Rapid City, SD was a relief.  Rest day ahead!  Jordan and I headed up a very positive concerns meeting in which we discussed how the group had been mixing riding groups more often.  The night ended with a sad trip to a closed Dairy Queen.  My legs couldn't be happier for no activity tomorrow.

The Road to Buffalo

The team continued its journey through the great state of Wyoming with a 70-mile ride to Buffalo today. The roads are beginning to show inklings of the terrain to come. No longer is the path a straight, flat shot, but rather is becoming windier and hillier everyday. Today we also had our first view of the Big Horn Mountains; they make the Appalachians look like highway overpasses.Still, there were obstacles to be overcome despite the relatively easy route, and today those obstacles were flat tires. Seven separate riders flatted as they trekked down the wide shoulder of Interstate-90. Flats are always a little discouraging. They take time to patch, hold up the entire group and can cause “flat paranoia.” But the I4Kers took them in stride, and carried on their merry way.The rest of the day was passed rather lazily. Some riders sought out ice cream in downtown Buffalo, some took a swim in a nearby creek, and others just took it easy at St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, our stayover for the night. Whatever way the afternoon was spent, the I4Kers are ready for tomorrow and the mountains to come in the next few days.

HONK

Okay so to describe yesterday, sing the following to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas:On the 37th day of I4K, all these things honked at me: 80 semi trucks, 3 pick ups, 2 motorcycles, 1 camper, 1 minivan, and a car driving on I-90!Jill, Ana, Megan, Priscilla, and I discovered the fun in trying to get as many trucks to honk at us as possible. SUCCESS.Today I rode with Max and Nate.  There were beautiful views of snowy mountains all day, which was wonderful.  Upon arrival in Buffalo, WY, Max and I ventured out to get food donations for dinner.  Thank you to Buffalo for the delicious food!

Buffalo, WY 07/01

We woke up and had a nice breakfast. Then, we had a Beanie Baby giveaway. Each person got a Baby like them. Mine was a butterfly. Her name is Float. (because a butterfly landed on my head the other day). Max got a dog wearing a red scarf because he wears a red scarf. Kyle got a unicorn because he is the unicorn of the sea. Erik got an owl, because he is wise. Steve got a baby chick, because he has lady legs. Jordan got a crazy dinosaur. Then we rode our bikes 70 miles to Buffalo. The Big Horns were along side of us the entire day. But no buffalos. Tear. I rode with Diana, Pi and Stephe. It was fun. Upon arrival, we got ice cream. Typical. Then we had a nice dinner. Pizza, pasta, sandwiches, meatballs. Jordan and Steve are doing "Official Ride Leader Business" 2 feet from me. It involves Vitamin D milk and peanut butter. Pi is reading us a story about coal and uranium and multivacs. That was my day. The end.

Day 37: Newcastle to Gillette, WY

It’s strange to think about, but this bike trip forces all 28 of us into a very vulnerable position on a daily basis. For the most part, the team is totally dependent on the generosity of people for our basic needs (food, shelter, water, directions to where we’re headed). Without the kindness of people, we’d be going up the figurative hill without a pedal, and today that was very evident.After a long day of uphill biking into Newcastle yesterday, the team awoke a little earlier to take advantage of some breakfast compliments of The Old Mill Inn, a local diner in Gillette (thanks, Shawn!). Hot pancakes, bacon, fresh orange juice and biscuits were a definite and welcome upgrade from the standard bowl of cereal that usually powers the first 20 miles of our day. The team feasted to its heart’s content, and as a result discovered a new gear for biking — digestion gear. Let’s just say that speed isn’t a characteristic of said gear.We rolled along the eastern plains of the Wyoming, slowly but surely making our way toward Gillette. Though the terrain didn’t present much of a challenge to our now seasoned team of bikers, the heat, wind, and some rough roads made up for the lack of elevation change. No matter, the team biked on. Three ambitious riders even decided to extend the 78-mile ride to 140 miles in order to visit Devil’s Tower.Once temperatures reaches the upper 90s, one team of riders sought refuge in a small gas station on the outskirts of Gillette. Ice cream and Gatorade were consumed. As luck would have it, we ran into the County Commissioner, who helped us spread the mission of our ride throughout the county.  Later in the day, we were treated to a fantastic dinner by some members of First United Methodist Church, our stayover for the night. We dined on burgers, hot dogs, and vegetable shish kebabs, and later took advantage of some showers (and an indoor water park!) at a local rec center. The team will go to bed tonight well fed, showered and ready for the ride to Buffalo tomorrow morning thanks to the generosity of the people of Wyoming.So to everyone who helped us out today, thanks a lot!

Westbound Trains

As we are now safe and sound in Wyoming, it's safe to say we are riding through the west. We left South Dakota after riding through the Black Hills and checking out Mt. Rushmore, and already I miss that state. Riding through South Dakota was just as amazing as last year, the rolling hills and far reaching views made me wish Illinois was just as awesome. I can't quite put my finger on the reason for my affinity for South Dakota, but its tough to leave.One thing that I have been looking forward to in the great state of Wyoming is the Big Horn mountains coming up in a few days. I struggled up the mountains last year, but I'm really excited to do it again this year.We're getting to that part of the trip where you might see less blog posts than at the beginning of the trip. Do not be alarmed that it is because we aren't doing well or that we are completely exhausted, this pattern happens every year. Traditionally we don't have as much internet access out west, and there isn't usually a Starbucks around the corner that we can use for connectivity. I will try my best to keep my blog up to date, but until next time...

Gillette, WY 06/30

Fantastic morning! We started the day at a diner in town for a delicious breakfast of pancakes, biscuits and gravy and bacon (: After taking off anticipating a slow start from full bellys, we caught a hearty tailwind coasting myself, Syzmon, Jordan and Shea along around 23mph. This lasted for a smooth 8 miles until we saw a sign that read "Milled Road." "What's a milled road I asked?" 3 seconds later, I discover that a milled road is a super bumpy one. GOOOOD MORNING I4K! A few miles of that and we were back to smooth sailing. Our discovery of the morning was the difference between South Dakota and Wyoming. No knocking SD but Wyoming is so much prettier. Everywhere you look is just natural beauty... no billboards or tourist attractions, just gorgeousness. We even rode through the "Best Town on Earth." Jordan has a sick pic from this sign... I'll be sure he gets it posted. I actually had so much fun at this sign that I left my cell phone there... luckily Nate, Pi, and Max decided to have their own route today (...more to come) and were at mile 27 to pick it up when I realized I left it 20some miles ahead. The other photo was once we rode into Upton...[[Some cool photos from the day: Shea, Jordan and Syzmon riding ahead... and some of the I4K ladies at lunch.]]Arriving into Gillette, we were hooked up at the rec center for swimming and showers. THIS POOL WAS INSANE. So awesome. Water slides, a lazy river, lilly pads, a diving board, hot tub, sauna, steam room, new BFF Anna... a group of us spent hours playing like spoiled rotten children. Just what we needed after a long day of riding in 90 degrees of heat. As if the day couldn't get any better, our arrival back at the church was filled with the smell of burgers on a grill. No more than 15 minutes after I walked into the church, my tummy was filled with gloriousness.I think that is all for today. We're still waiting on the arrival of Pi, Max and Nate (...it's 9:30... we all arrived around 2:30)... Rumor has it they rode an extra 60 miles, 30 t0 and from, in order to see the Devil's Tower. Rumor also has it that their total milage for the day will be 140 compared to 78. But who knows if these rumors are true... I can tell you one thing, those boys are silly.

Newcastle, WY 06/29

Ahh the ride through Mt. Rushmore: Quite the challenging morning for me. The Black Hills can be beautiful and unforgiving all in one... so gorgeous, so many climbs. I rode with Erik, Mary, and Steve into Rushmore and we had quite a lovely time. Sweet downhills and sick views made up for those crazy uphills... and four gentlemen awaited our arrival at the top of a hill. Looking at this trip as a whole, I'm starting to realize how many awesome places I'm getting to visit... places I may never have packed up and vacationed to but that I have always wanted to see. Hanging out in the National Park, the craziest thing happened to me... a butterfly landed on my head... a little symbol that everything is going to work out just fine ;)After Rushmore, the team rode through Hell Canyon... appropriately named based on the scenery... dead trees, sharp turns, and a hill or two... or ten... But still an amazing sight. Later in the day I lost a contact... With a lovely -8. 25 perscription, I eyepatched the rest of the day. Entering Wyoming, the team caught a sick tailwind all the way into Newcastle. The church we stayed at was lovely. I hit the hay around 9 knowing that an early wake up lay ahead.

Rapid City Rest Day and off to Wyoming

Cycling a short 58 miles from Wall to Rapid City, SD might not seem like the most strenuous ride, and indeed, the ride itself was relatively straighforward. However, after biking two centuries in the past week through increasingly mountainous terrain and high heat, our group was more than happy to take a rest day in Rapid City.We rode in to our stayover (thank you Bethlehem Lutheran Church!) and were greeted with more than enough sleeping space as well as a washer/dryer and full shower across the street. Showering truly has become a luxury on this trip, and it is always a treat when the entire team can take advantage of high water pressure and hot water.Perhaps even more remarkable was the fact that a Dairy Queen was situated no more than half of a block away. It is safe to say that the entire team indulged itself on ice cream for the next day and a half thanks to the geographic convenience of the DQ.Much of the team took advantage of the rest day by sleeping in the next morning, but five team members took an early morning trip to a local cancer treatment center, thanks to Megan's effort to set up a tour. After spending the rest of the day at Buffalo Wild Wings and the local library as well as just roaming around Rapid City, we all got a good night's sleep and prepared to cross yet another state border in the morning.The ride into Wyoming was beautiful. The hot and bright morning led to a gorgeous view of Mt. Rushmore, where the entire team interacted with tourists from all over the country, spread word about our mission, and even received a few donations from curious and supportive people at the monument.After spending nearly two hours resting at Rushmore and just soaking the iconic monument in, we headed off through the winding mountain roads carved out of the Black Hills. The scenery was incredible and the climbs were gradual enough to be challenging yet not uncomfortable.As luck would have it, the wind was at our backs for nearly the entire afternoon, and the last 40 miles of the 80 mile ride felt fantastic. As we neared the town of Newcastle, a group of four riders took a detour on an adjacent dirt and gravel road and discovered a hidden lake amidst the mountains. The water was crystal-clear and felt refreshing and affirming at the end of such a hot day's ride. Finally, everyone rolled into Newcastle by dinner time, and we were happy to see that the day's cooking crew had prepared plenty of hearty food for the entire team.Now, off to sleep before heading out to Gillette tomorrow!

Ellsworth!

Yesterday was the ride from Wall to Rapid city. After a strange experience at Wall ( I ate three donuts at Wall Drug, a nasty quesadilla that seemed to be made out of canned chicken and was overpriced, and way too much soda. I proceeded back to the stay over and literally passed out and I hadn't changed out of my uniform or even showered yet) I was eager to get to the next stay over and shower and recover from the food I was apparently drugged by. The ride to Rapid city was short, slightly hilly and went a little something like this. Wake up at 5 30 in the morning, hill, downhill, hill, downhill, hill, downhill, saw a fox, hill, downhill etc. On the way to Rapid City, we passed Ellsworth Air Force Base hence the name, we didnt actually go to Ellsworth we went to Rapid City. Ana had a great idea about going on the Air Force base to buy groceries for the team since it is tax free and cheaper, and we both could get on base since we are military dependents. Unfortunately, the grocery store on base is closed on mondays and that was the day we were planning on going.The stay over in Rapid City came close to being one of the best stay overs yet. There are 5 qualifications for best stayover.1. Showers 2. Laundry 3. Food 4. Internet 5. Sleeping areasThe stay over had a shower, laundry right across the street, wireless internet, the sleeping areas were very spread out, and although we weren't provided any food we had a very good meal  cooked by the team and many places to eat right around the corner.A lot of bike maintenance was done in Rapid City due to the available bike shops. One in particular was very nice because they looked over several of the team's bikes free of charge. Another event that happened was, heading over to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Brazil vs. Chile game. Before the game I went to a grocery store with Jill and we bought food for the day to save some money. However, we ended up buying a lot more food than expected and ended up eating a ton periodically through the day. We ended up sharing some of it with other riders but I must say I was impressed at how much we ate. Now it is 1100 pm and I have to get up at 6 am. However, I have a donut, a banana, orange juice, yogurt all of which is leftover from the mountains of food I bought and the Team breakfast food to look forward to.

Rapid City, SD 06/27-06/28

Oh what a lovely morning. Plenty of hills heading out of Wall but Diana, Shao and I conquered them like the champs we are. I even wrote a song climbing one of the hills: "Just get to the top of the hill; Cause then you'll be at the top of the hill; so pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal; and then you won't have to pedal no more." Diana also sang "Somewhere over the rainbow" to me. Unfortunately that was the only line she knew... so were working on it... Oh and MOM: Look!! I saw sheep!! Arrival into Rapid City was nice. Greg and I prepped a chocolate chip pancake dinner with fruit and orange draaank. I then spent a little time on myself... something I don't do often on this trip. I washed, dried, and straightened my hair, put on a face, and head out to B-Dubbs with some of the team. It was lovely.We had a rest day today and in the morning I took a well-needed showered and did some laundry. While waiting on the dryer, I even painted my nails... I feel like a hundred bucks. We head to DQ for breakfast (I probably haven't included this much in my blog but this trip is basically also a Dairy Queen tour across America).  Check out Steve's breakfast...In order to continue traditional hospital and doctors visits on rest days, Steve and I took a trip to an urgent care. A few weeks back, Steve noticed a small lump on his back... having a history of cancer, this is something that has been worrisome. After contacting his oncologist, we spent part of our morning getting this little lump looked at. After flatting out and turning a 1.5 mile bike ride into 7, good news graced us when a doctor took a look and instantly knew that it was just a little cyst, probably pus filled, and nothing to worry about. Steve is an amazing person and I could not be more relieved to know that our recent prayers had been answered and the worry could dissolve away. I can only imagine how much of a relief it was for him to hear this...  (he's right here and says he'll be updating his blogs soon...).The rest of our day was spent hanging out with the gang, a trip to Subway, a 3 hour nap, and then trying to recall the past 6 days so that I could update my blog. We head out of South Dakota tomorrow and into Wyoming. Should be awesome (:

Wall, SD 06/26

Another straight up driving day for this girl. I declared it 90s day and filled the rest stops with Chumbawomba, Hanson, and Celine Dion. Conor, Steve, and Greg learned how to shimmy and the rest of the team had a great time reliving the memories of the 90s. Around mile 60 of this century day, we hit the Badlands. I can't even describe how amazing this 30 mile stretch was. So I won't even try. I'll just share some photos!Upon arrival into Wall, Megan, Max and I checked out Walldrug. Neato. This was also the first day of Greg and myself's cooking rotation and we amazing the team with some homemade Mac'n'Cheese (: Check out our sweet aprons.

Murdo, SD 06/25

The ride out of Chamberlain was absolutely breath-taking. Starting with a group of 6, we dropped to 3 when Jill and Steve rode back with me for 30 miles. They're both into musicals and singing, so the morning was filled with lovely song.Murdo was an awesome town. Quite different from what I'm used to... you could see both ends of the town from the steps of the school we stayed in. Small town... big ice cream. I spent my afternoon handwashing some laundry and playing a few games of bananagrams. Early bedtime and my day was complete.

Chamberlain, SD 06/24

Not much to say about the ride this day. My knee acted up, per usual, but with the early arrival into Chamberlain I had plenty of time for rest and activities. Steve accompanied me to a local store to pick up some stuff and our day turned into quite the adventure. We got the team into the local pool, checked out a fireworks shop, hooked up 7 pizzas from Pizza Hut (yeaaa Pizza Hut Chamberlain... thanks so much!), hit the South Dakota Hall of Fame (Bob Barker is from there), and checked out the AMAZING VIEW of the river valley.Since today was the 3rd Thursday in June, Eamon, Diana, and some cooking assistants hooked up an awesome Thanksgiving Dinner of French Toast, Pizza, and plenty of snacks. The team gathered at one long table and all took turns saying what we were thankful for. The church we were staying at had their weekly Thursday mass at 7pm so Steve and I decided to check it out. While this was a Zion Lutheran church and we're both Catholic, the church let us join in worship. One of the best parts of this trip is having so many eye opening opportunities, and while we stay at a ton of churches we rarely are able to attend masses and I'm really glad we took advantage of the opportunity.Post mass, we headed to the pool for a quick swim and shower... I ended up lounging instead, without doing either... lack of sleep caught up with me and I hit the hay. Here's a picture of one of our daily chores... van unpacking, we had a nice assembly line this day... check out Conor's kicking technique.