Oh the wind!

Billings to Hardin - 54, no sweat

Time to get on the bike once more...we had a short day, and there was nothing to see, so we let Billings around 9:30AM and made it into camp around 1PM. Oh yeah, did I mention we had a tailwind the entire way? Can't complain too much about a day like that.

I had missed my mom's call, so decided to give her a ring. She asked me about the mail that day. Apparently she had sent me a card with money in it that I didn't receive...stupid post office. I mean, CASH!!! Ugh, I'll get over it...eventually.

Since none of us were really tired, we headed across the street to the city pool. Get this..Olympic size with a diving board! Needless to say we were all showing our tricks. About as good as I got was a front flip; there were some boys doing stuff far more exciting, so I don't think anything I could have done would have been even slightly impressive.

After swimming, about half the group headed to a sports pub to watch the Tour de France. Watching guys pedaling through the hills only reminded me of my own sore bum, so I decided to head back to camp pretty quickly. Watching cycling on TV is the same as watching golf - long, tedious, unending.

Beyond Basil (the catering company from Billings) showed up to grant us with another fabulous meal. This one was topped off with grilled pound cake. Hey, don't knock it till you try it! It's definitely worth a couple bites.

Hardin to Sheridan - 84 miles

WE MADE IT TO WYOMING! And not a day too soon. Earlier in the morning, Rachel, Letty and I were making a turn at a stop light only to have a guy in a TRACKER yell, "Get out of the effing road!" Oh, and did I mention that our tents were sprayed by one of the mosquito control trucks while we were spending the night in Hardin? I think it was time for us to make a quick exit of of that ginormous state; I was glad to be moving on.

As soon as we hit Wyoming, I started noticing a huge lapse in there infrastructure - the ability to get rid of their road kill. I can't tell you how many decaying carcases I flew by, but I would have been happy if I hadn't seen any of them.

With about 30 miles to go, Rachel, Letty, and I ran into another rider who we equipped with Ipod speakers. A couple Britney songs later, we were super pumped and traveling at a pretty decent pace until we hit camp. Speaking of camp, have you ever stayed in a KOA? Well, you need to get yourself to one fast! We had wifi in our tents and unlimited access to a hot tub! The jets sure did feel nice on all our aches and pains. Overall, a nice night indeed.

Sheridan to Gilette - 111 miles

Since we had such a long day ahead of us, we had to get up before the sun. Packing a cold, wet tent is not exactly fun, so I wasn't too happy when the alarm went off.

Once I was on the bike, however, I felt like a machine. Though we faced a lot of hills and some decent climbs, I was keeping a fast pace all day. Once i reached mile 93, though, I was ready to get to camp. As I was climbing one of the last hills, a car pulled up next to me and started taking pictures of me. I'm pretty sure that's illegal, so I kept trying to wave them off. Once I got to camp, I realized what was going on; the individuals were reporters for the Gilette, Wyoming newspaper. The next day, I graced the pages of the Gilette News-Record. I picked the right day to be the first gal into camp - every other day I'm usually middle of the pack or towards the back b/c I spend a ridiculous amount of time at the rest stops. Yay Gilette (that's right, just like the razor is spelled)

Gilette to Newcastle - 75 miles

To be completely honest, I don't remember much about the ride this day. I do remember having to climb a lot of hills and I do remember the scenery being pretty much blah and boring, but other than that, I'm drawing a blank. If you're ever rolling through Wyoming, I don't suggest making this drive - you will not be missing anything!

BUT..we did stay in the Senior Center for the night. I LOVE OLD PEOPLE! They are just so nice the they love to help you and take care of you. When we got to camp, a few of us got a ride back to Devil's Tower, which a pretty neat sight to see. I just wish the sun wasn't so intense when we got there b/c many of our pictures didn't turn out. Guess that's something I'll just have to keep a mental photo of.

That night we played a jersey/tshirt switching game, played much like Dirty Santa. I was pretty excited I ended up with a pair of Big Ride Across America shorts; I couldn't afford them when we were sent emails about them before the trip, so getting my hands on a pair of shorts that will forever remind me of this experience was a pretty grand deal. In order to play the game and get the shorts, I had to give up something of my own. I decided to put in my pink riding shirt. One of the boys from Cali ended up with it and wore it the next day; I think the cap sleeves look slightly more appropriate on the female form, but he was a good sport about it and wore it the next day.

After dinner, many of us were hanging out in the library of the center, and I found a huge shelf of puzzles. I should have completely ignored it and just gone to bed, but then I wouldn't be me. I got out a 550 piece set and went to work. After about an hour, I had a fourth of it done, but one of the other riders grabbed me by the arm and made me head towards bed. It's probably a good thing - I would've been there at least a couple more hours; puzzles are terribly addictive.

Newcastle to Rapid City - 81 miles

I began the day feeling pretty rotten, probably because I only got about 3 hours of sleep due to the puzzle incident and the train plowing through every half hour. The ride leader tried to get me to sag for the day, but I know myself, and I'm gonna let some congestion and a little headache stop me from riding. I'm going to need AT LEAST IV fluids attached to my arm, a couple broken bones, and 104 fever - anything less than that and I'm going to be in the saddle.


The day started like a basic Big Ride day - a few hills and a little wind, nothing unbearable. got to South Dakota - state number 5 - and entered the Black Hills. We had a 7" climb for 1.5 miles (the steepest climb we've had yet), a few more climbs, but then we had some fun. We had about a 20 mile decent through Custer State Park - it was absolutely beautiful and so much fun to duck down and take the twists and turns of the road. It was by far my favorite part of the ride thus far because the weather, scenery, terrain, and experience all wrapped together was just awesome.

I should have known that part was too good to last. Upon exiting the park, we were hit with a pretty strong side wind. About 5 miles later, we had to turn directly against it. The wind was blowing around 25 mph with up to 50 mph gusts. Letty, Rachel, and I tried to set a pace line, but the gusts were throwing our wheels out from under us and it was just too tricky to try and stay in line. The wind was so strong, I was pedaling downhill in the gear I usually climb uphill in! In fact, at some points, I was in the lowest gear possible pedaling as fast as I could as was only able to go about 4 mph. I can normally get 10 miles done in about 30-35 minutes...it took me 2.5 hours to get 15 miles done. I never thought I would be so happy to make it to the end of a day. Needless to say, I have a new understanding of the term "headwind".

One of the rider's had a rental car b/c his girlfriend came to visit and asked if any of us would like to go see Mt. Rushmore. Since I've never been able to see it before, I decided to tag along. It was nice to see first hand what I have seen so many times in books throughout my life. It really is something to take in, especially at night when it is all lit up.

After the rough day of riding, some of the younger riders decided we needed to get out. We went to a couple of places and finally ended up at a pretty decent dance club. After spending so many days on a bike, it was nice to be doing something else with my legs. It was so much fun to blow off some steam and just have a good time. If you're ever in Rapid City, South Dakota, I recommend Murphy's on Main Street.

Rapid City rest day - ahhhhh

Woke up late: Check

Ate: Check

Went to a pub and had a couple beers with the guys: Check

Slept some more: Check

Mass: Check

Sat some more: Check

Finally realized I should do something productive and threw laundry in and cleaned my water bottles: done and done.

101 miles in store for us tomorrow. I'm hoping the wind decides to be on our side - PLEASE PRAY FOR TAILWINDS!!!

Off to bed I go; hope you enjoy this installment of the Crazy Adventure of Catie Picou.