Day 25
Hey, we're half way!

DAILY REPORT:  Everyone did so well yesterday I think they were really proud of themselves.  Today gave them a bitter taste of reality again as they found themselves pedaling into a pretty brisk headwind all morning.  The winds were out of the NE which made the morning really tough, but helped us when we turned southward at the 48 mile point.  The unusual thing about today was the temperature.  It's unbelievably cool right now with temperatures over 100 all around us.  I was pretty chilly in the van all morning until the sun popped out of the cloud cover at 11:00.  We will probably get hot in a couple days but right now it's quite pleasant to ride...aside from the wind.

Our route today took us along the Missouri River all morning, and for the most part we spent a good portion of the day crossing the Crow-Creek Reservation. Throughout the day, we kept getting glimpses of the winding Missouri--which was blue green, studded with flooded tree trunks in places, and wind whipped into whitecaps. The only real change in the scenery over the last couple of days was the River on our right and greener vegetation than we'd been used to lately.  Aside from that, I'd give South Dakota the award for having the most roads that seem to ribbon off into nowhere!  On the plus side, there is very very little traffic on these roads and few trucks. Also, a large section of today's route was smoothly paved and a joy to ride.

The wind wasn't the only challenge they faced today.  It must have been Louis and Clark that laid out the trail for this road and the South Dakota DOT thought if it was good enough for Louis and Clark, it must be good enough for everyone else.  At least 3 times they must have decided to climb the bluffs to overlook the river...that's what we did today too.  We had 3 big 600 foot climbs today and two of them came in the last 15 miles.  The scenery was beautiful on the bluffs, but I think most everyone would have been happy enough to have seen the river up close without climbing to the top.

We did pass a major milestone today...we passed the official half way point in our ride.  It doesn't seem like we've been out here long enough to have ridden half of this ride so far...but we have.  The staff marked the road at the first SAG point for the midway celebration.  Only 3 1/2 more weeks to go.  When we get to Canada, the rest of the ride will fly.  In a couple of days the riders will start to realize they are on the downhill (only a figure of speech) side of the ride and soon their summer family will depart to the four corners...soon they will reflect on the significance of what they are doing.  Right now, all they can think about is where their next meal will be or how much climbing will we have tomorrow. 

All in all it was a pretty good day.  The scenery was fabulous and the temperatures mild...can't have it much better than that around here.  Tomorrow we trek our way to Mitchell...the home of the Corn Palace...Yippee.  Tune in then and see for yourself...the palace is different every year.  See ya then.

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