Tuesday, July 15, 2008 – Day 23

Start: Pierre, South Dakota
End: Miller, South Dakota
Miles: 74.62 Total Miles: 1,711.21 BRAA Total Miles: 1,610.00
Time: 5 hours 4 minute (avg 14.7 MPH)
Flat tire count today: 0 Total flat tires for the ride: 6

Leaving Pierre this morning was not too hard. That is once I started out in the right direction. I left the park area and turned left instead of turning right as the queue sheet called for. I realized pretty quickly that I was going the wrong way when I arrived at the bridge to cross the Missouri River again. This would have been wrong considering I came across the river on my way into town. So…bonus miles for me.

At our first support stop, the family of one of the riders, who is making the journey with us, provided cupcakes and M&Ms since today was the birthday for two riders. Happy birthday Janet and Chad.

The ride today was much like yesterday. Very flat and not a whole lot of scenery. I imagine tomorrow will be the same way. There was wheat fields to the left of me and corn fields to the right of me for as far as I could see. It is hard to believe that where I live, my neighbors are so close to me and yet out here, neighbors are miles apart. Towns are miles apart. We only rolled through five towns in 70+ miles. Amazing.

Toward the end of the ride, a couple of us had enough of the headwind and needed a break. We saw some hay rolls out in one of the fields and decided to give them a climb. We climbed up to the top and it was nice because there was a refreshing breeze. The only trouble was we had to pull the hay out of our clothes and shoes before moving on.

We arrived in town fairly early, but the support truck that carries our gear was still out supporting other riders. So, we had to wait around for about two hours before we could get our clothes and shower up before dinner. It wasn’t too bad, I just wanted to clean up after sweating and being sticky.

We are sleeping inside Miller High School tonight. I found a pretty nice spot on the auditorium stage. It may not look too comfortable, but I am sure I will be asleep in no time.