Wednesday, July 11, 2007, Wall, SD to Pierre, SD, 117.7 miles, 10hrs 10 min, 8 hrs 52 min on the bike, Ave. speed: 13.2 mph, Climb: 3270

Somebody just shoot me! This ride just about did me in - it was a very, very long day. We were up at 4:30 am (groan) and on the road before 6 am. We had tailwinds for the first bit of the ride, then a hard 20 miles of headwinds - and then some cross winds that felt great after the headwinds.

The terrain was lovely to look at, but challenging to bike over. In case no one has ever told you, the grassy plains of South Dakota are NOT flat! We had rollers all day long (think up and down, up and down, with more ups than down). The drugs were working, so I didn't feel very good for the first 60+ miles too. By the last 30 miles I was down to sheer stubborness once again to finish the ride. Tired - that's all I can say, I was tired!

I do like South Dakota and I just had to stop (briefly) to take a picture of the Little Brown Church on the Prairie - it's a classic.