more headwinds

We had breakfast in the parking lot of the high school and I had a banana with peanut butter, yogurt, and coffee. I was such an exhausted mess when I arrived last night that I hadn’t done some of my preparations the night before like I usually do, so I had to do them in the morning and got off to a somewhat late start.

The strong headwinds were back today, but it was a bit more manageable as I knew what to expect. Still, by mile 33, I was already exhausted so I stopped at the Staples Café in Harrold, South Dakota for a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich and cup of coffee which seriously hit the spot.

I did invent another game today. It’s called stay on the white line, and it involves keeping my front wheel on the white line that indicates the edge of the road. It’s pretty simple really – just the one rule. And I don’t really keep score. But it helps to pass the time. :o) From my point of view, it looks something like this….



Excitingly, I did master the skill of being able to bike while leaning forward and resting both of my forearms on the handle bar. This one took a while to get down, but it seems that I’ve gotten the hand of it at last!

I did not especially thrive today and barely petered along, but it seems that I was not the only one struggling. I rode all afternoon with Eric and Sarah and was really glad for the company. We also ran across a fellow dressed as Captain America who has been walking back and forth across America for several years (and plans to continue walking until 2020!) to bring attention to veteran's rights (or lack thereof). His website can be found here.



We stayed at the high school in Miller, South Dakota, and very excitingly they had a washing machine there, so I was able to clean my clothes.

We ate dinner out that night on our own, and though I asked a local for a recommendation on a dinner spot, it seems that Miller is not known for its culinary talents. I had a French dip sandwich and salad for dinner, but they were not so good.