Day 19: Rapid City Rest Day Recap

Wow - What a ride!  We have covered 840 miles and climbed 37,000 feet during the eight days since our first rest day in Missoula.  Each of the rides has been great - with the climb over the Big Horn Mountains and yesterday's climb up Spearfish Canyon being my favorites.  It seems like it is always the big climbing days that I like the best  Even though it hurts, there is something about getting into a climbing rhythm and grinding my way up a steep slope that gives me satisfaction - probably also  indicating a need for some serious mental health counseling.   

The weather has been very kind to us.  Early mornings in the mid-40's have warmed into the low 70's each day - and no rain.  At times we've had some nice tailwinds and only on our Day 14 ride into Lovell did we get slammed by some nasty headwinds.  I've become a real fan of Highway 14 from Sheridan to Sundance and, of course, Highway 14A over the Big Horns and up Spearfish Canyon.  If you're driving through that part of the country, get off I-90 and take Highway 14 - you might lose a little time in your schedule, but it certainly won't be wasted time.

My health report is good.  Except for daily post-lunch occurrences of REFS ( see Day 12 for explanation) I am pedaling strong with only minor aches and pains - my "energy conservation" strategy seems to be working. The bruises are gradually fading and the abrasions slowly healing from my Day 2 crash - and I'm even walking without a limp.  However, there is an interesting new painful bump on the top of my left shoulder which has been added to my "needs fixin" list that I'll present to my orthopedic surgeon when I get back to Scottsdale in late October.  

As planned, I have not been very productive today, but did get in some quality laundromat time plus a big breakfast and lunch followed by a nice chocolate milkshake - and a short nap. I took a stroll around downtown and found it to be nicer than I originally thought - yesterday's bad hotel experience definitely created the wrong first impression.  My 8th floor room looks directly down on, and is less than a 1/2 block from the  downtown pavilion where they have a summer outdoor concert series on Thursday nights!  As I write this on a Thursday afternoon,  I have my windows wide open listening to the very loud music of the group "Girls Guns and Glory" from Boston go through rehearsal for tonight's concert.  They sound great.  

My "action packed" evening begins with meeting up with my cousin, Mike Bowers, from Rapid City  and one of his friends - they're tri-althetes and very interested in my trip.  Then I hope to watch some of the Patriots game on Thursday night football (my first TV of the trip), and listen to the concert while seriously violating my 8pm curfew. If Girls Guns and Glory are still playing at 10pm it will be time to shut windows, turn air-conditioner on high, and insert earplugs.

Much of the next portion of the trip to our next rest day in Madison WI will be on or near my home turf.  South Dakota is where I was born (we'll pass about 60 miles south of my birthplace) and where my parents both grew up. I have cousins in several of the towns where we will be stopping and hope to say hello to some of them.  Then it's on to Iowa where I grew up and am still proud to call home.  We'll stop in Clear Lake where we spent many family vacations growing up and where I hope to meet several of my high school  buddies from Des Moines.  It should be a great stretch of riding - unless the wind decides to blow from the east - in which case it could be hell.  So say a little prayer for westerly winds for the next 10 days.

Steve