At mile 20, we crossed the halfway point between Astoria, Oregon and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. By that point I’d been dropped by three pace lines so I was on my own for the most grueling day yet.
Headwinds and endless rollers were the menu for today. Top it off with the loss of an hour as we entered the Central Time Zone. By the time I reached the final rest stop of the day, I called it quits. If I hadn’t, I would have rolled into Chamberlain around 7pm and probably missed my opportunity for dinner. After 100 miles on a tough day, I wasn’t about to take that chance!
This part of South Dakota is rollers with endless grasses, some planted by farmers and some just wild. There were some cattle but mostly grasses or row crops.
I realized I was getting a bit cranky when I signaled the sag vehicle to stop and then complained because I hadn’t seen the town of Vivian so where is the rest stop? I still don’t know what happened to the town…did they move it; did I sleep through it; was it so small, I missed it??? When I did get to the next rest stop, there was a convenience store. I went in and bought a burger and Coke. Best move I could have made. My attitude improved tremendously. Maybe I’d been hangry.
I tried something new today. I wore two pair of shorts. It certainly worked well for padding my sore spots but later in the ride, the bulk of the padding became its own problem as it rubbed on my nether regions. Well, I tried it and would do it again for shorter distances but we’ll see how I feel in the morning about getting on the saddle again, ouch.
thecyclingdiva 