Day 24: From Miller, South Dakota to De Smet, South Dakota: 76 miles

Another 76 mile day and they seem to be getting easier. No tailwind, but the rides are no longer strenuous and I seem to be exerting a lot less effort, which strangely makes me feel like I am cheating or like there is an invisible man pushing me along. It’s just hard to think we’ve gotten this much stronger in 3 weeks. We are camping in a city park and are in the hometown of Laura Ingall Wilder who wrote The Little House on the Prairire Series. There is a museum here but I really have no interest (considering I have no read the books) and it probably cost $. I celebrated reaching our half way mark with terrible (but tasty) food and ice cream from Dairy Queen, on top of the ice cream I had at the gas station but after riding 1650 miles, it’s okay in my book. Today is the halfway point and tomorrow marks the second half of the trip. My goal is to become stronger and faster in sections of the ride. I have really enjoyed pushing hard for 20 miles, then relaxing and going slow to take pictures/listening to music for several miles and then starting the cycle over again. So for the next 24 days, I am going to work on getting my speed faster during these ‘workout’ sections and possibly holding them longer for 20 miles, or making my breaks shorter. However, I will still be stopping to take photos when an opportunity is present because these moments are worthy to interrupt my ride.

I also want to work on eating cleaner. I am generally a very healthy eater but sometimes this ride makes it difficult because (A) we are always hungry and (B) we eat out in towns a lot with not so healthy options. I’ve realized I feel better when I eat better which translates into better biking performance.  Interesting tid bit, I have overheard many riders talking about waking up in the middle of the night starving and grabbing a bar to eat so for those of you who have heard me complain about my sleeping and hungry at night issues, maybe I am not alone. My melatonin seems to be helping me sleep a little bit better but generally, I wake up every few hours and am terribly hungry throughout the night unless I eat a double portioned dinner that day, or have a couple glasses of wine…then I’m out (food and alcohol…terrible solutions). There are lots of grocery stores where we stop, so I think I may start purchasing fruits and veggies here. However, I am still on a mission to find the best homemade ice cream in America (probably on rest days) and Lockport’s Lake Effect is still in First Place. So two goals, both pretty in alignment with the fact that we will be on flat farmland for the next few weeks with little to see so seems like giving myself a physical challenge is a worthwhile idea, wish me luck.

No request for souvenirs? C’mon guys, get greedy.