When I came on this trip, I had two main goals: to become a better cyclist and to become a better human being. Today I feel like I made progress toward both those objectives.
Yesterday's ride from Rapid City to Wall Drug looked on paper like it should be relatively easy but the searing sun, high heat and humidity and relentless wind made for a challenging 58 miles.
The Turtles started off together yesterday but I quickly realized that I was not going to have a fun day trying to keep pace with the group. Everyone is improving and some are improving faster than others so while I am much better than when I started, I am struggling to keep up with the ever increasing speed of Team Turtle. So I made the decision to drop off the pace line and go it by myself and I had a wonderful day.
Today's ride was a challenging distance of 117 miles from Wall Drug to Pierre. I decided not to ride the Team Turtle pace line and just go at my own speed. Jeff, who is also struggling with the new Turtle speed decided to join me. This was one of the best days I have had on the bike so far.
Jeff and I had a great conversation (we discovered that we have a secret in common) and we were talking and looked up and went "Oh my! There's the SAG stop!" We are usually counting down the miles to the SAG. I can't believe how quickly the miles pasted even though we were riding slower.
So what did I learn today that makes me a better cyclist and human being? I learned to listen to my own voise and to respect what it is telling me instead of just trying to keep up with everyone else. I also learned that people are a lot deeper than your initial impression might lead you to believe. I learned that wheat fields in South Dakota can be hundreds of acres and that a South Dakota road can go absolutely straight as far as the eye can see in either direction.
Other news of note...we crossed the Missouri river today and entered the central time zone. Well...I have to get dressed for dinner now.
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