ER- Take 3

Woke up
Frank picked me up from the B&B.
We manned the rest stop 22 miles into the ride.
Went to 2 different Walgreens to pick up my Zophran
Still didn't feel well so went to UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh
Checked into ER
Dad flew in from the mini family vacation in Vegas.
Catscan of stomach found fluid all over.
X-ray of fluid in lungs
Given crazy strong pain killer that knocked me out
Admitted into hospital for the night

ER- Take 2

Breakfast
Laundry
Coffee shop
ER
Bed

That is my rest day in a nutshell. I had 2 more bags of IV fluid, and I had an ultra sound that showed that my gall bladder is inflamed. Fantastic. No riding for me tomorrow. I have to go on a liquid diet, but I'll try solids again on Sunday- just no fats, grease, caffeine, or spice. Struggle.

I'm fine. No worries. I just need to focus on getting my body to agree with me again. :).

The ultimate struggle.

So, today was the ultimate struggle. My alarm went off, and I did not want to move. I finally mustered enough energy to get up and dig out my head lamp. I packed up, went to the bathroom to apply my bandaids and chamois cream, ate breakfast, put on my sunscreen, and rolled out.

I felt horrible. Luckily I was by myself because I just had to stop, and the all my breakfast came up. Great. I hopped back on, and I kept going slowly. My head was killing me; I felt dizzy; and my knee bandaid kept falling off. I stopped to reapply my bandaid tape, and brad, Sue, Kristin, George, and Janet came by. I hopped on and followed them. I could barely focus and keep going straight. I finally asked Janet if she had any aspirin. She did! :). We pulled aside, and she got it out for me. We continued slowly, and then Kristin pulled up from behind. She had stopped to take a picture of Lake Eerie, which we were riding along. I followed her into the first check point around 27 miles. If she were not in front of me, I would have just pulled over to the side to sit in someone's front lawn. What a struggle.

I sat down, and just didn't want to get up. My head was killing me, and I felt so dizzy. After having a little breakdown and talking with my mom, I decided it would be best to just be sagged into camp. I ended up going to the ER wanted to have some blood work done just because my diabetes insipidus is still new to me, and I really don't handle he heat well. They ended up hooking my up to an IV, and my blood showed that my sodium was low and that I was a little anemic. They also gave me an anti nausea medicine thought the IV, which helped but my stomach still hurt when I left.

Isang stayed with me in the room because she had to go for a little accident. She and Chacko were taking a picture in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Chacko couldn't clip out. He fell on top of Isang, and her chain ring dug into her calf. She wanted it cleaned out so that it wouldn't get infected.

Frank drove us both back to camp, and the. He dropped me off at the Red Maple Inn. I'm cheating at not camping on my rest day. But boy am I glad I didn't have to set up my tent and deal with bugs.

No pedestrians. No bikes.

Today we biked 90 miles into Sandusky, OH. Home of Cedar Point amusement park. In order to get to the amusement park, you have to cross over a bridge, which doesn't allow walkers or bikes. Struggle. We (Kristin, Andy, Toby, Chad, and Tim) took a cab even though our campsite was less than 2 miles from the park.

This morning I started out with Isang and Chacko, and Isang and I sang Disney songs together. After the first checkpoint, the roads started to flatten out, but I dropped my chain up the one hill. I put it back on, and then I just took off. I had a quick lunch, and then I continued on my way to Sandusky. The wind changed to be sorest of a tailwind, which made for an even faster ride. I made it in before the truck, so I stopped at a cute little scrap booking shop and bought some ribbon. I had less than 3 miles to camp, and I bumped into Sue, Todd, and Izzy. We rode into camp together and unloaded the truck. I set up my tent, showered, and came up with a plan on how to get over the no walker and biker bridge.

We got to the park around 2:30, and it was quite hot. The lines weren't too bad. It took about an hour to get on the Raptor and an hour to get on the Millennium even though EMS had to come get someone who passed out from heat exhaustion. I probably named those roller coasters wrong, but I don't feel like looking up the actual names. We got to ride on the Power Tower drop and shoot as well as the Himalaya ride. The Himalaya ride kind of just went it a circle and the bigger rider was supposed to be on the outside. I was on the outside of Tim. Struggle.

Then came my breaking point. It started raining and the lightening stopped the Dragster, which was a the highest and fastest roller coaster at one point. Now it's the second tallest and second fastest. Once the rain let up, we decided to get in line outside of the ride so that we could be first when it reopened. Well, it turns out that not everyone left the line so we were not quite up front when we entered. The line moved rather slowly, and we ended up waiting close to 2 hours to get on the 30 second ride. Struggle. Luckily the announcer, Alan, was quite entertaining- enthusiastic and stoic all at once. Fantastic.

By this point it was 8, and I was hungry and tired. The quality amusement park chicken fingers and fries just were not satisfactory. I decided that I was ready to go, but my amusement park enthusiast friends were not. I called the cab to leave on my own. The driver made it sound like the cab was already there, so I rushed out of the park after buying a pin, of course. Well, 30 minutes later it started pouring and the cab still was not there. Finally the taxi arrived and by this point I was hysterical and bawling. The poor cab driver probably didn't know what to do with me. I was just so tired and hungry and cranky and irritable and just not any fun to be around. Finally composed myself enough to tell her where I needed to go and apologized for my irrational behavior. She agreed to wait for a minute for me to call the other people in the park to see if they wanted to leave since it was raining. I couldn't get ahold of anyone, so we just left.

I got a hot pocket at the KOA general store, and I felt a little better. Then I brushed my teeth and went to bed. What a day!

Short day...

Since when is 70 miles short? Well, since it was a rather short day, it seemed like everyone was just taking their own sweet time. Breakfast was provided by Parks and Rec again, but they only had one griddle making pancakes. Struggle. Needless to say, I didn't get enough to eat. I really cant believe how much i eat these days. Once this ride is over, i'm going to have a hard time refraining from eating everything and and anything in sight.

We crossed into Ohio, but there wasn't a sign. :(. I was able to get some more food and refill on water. Chacko and I rode together to the next check point for lunch. I entertained him by singing 'Miss Suzy had a steamboat' and 'Down by the Bay.'. On the way to lunch, I stopped at a regional airport to try and get a wings pin. There wasn't anyone there. So I went next door to Airstream, but it turns out that it was a doctor's office. Whoops.

After lunch, I finished the last 20 miles on my own. Sue, George, and Brad caught up to me just before town, so I joined them for burgers and drinks. I got a cheeseburger at Spenglers, and it was just what needed after an inadequate breakfast.

After lunch number two, Brad and I set out to go find postcards and pins. First we went to Wal-Mart, then Rite Aid, then the grocery, and then the post office. Fail. I went off on my own, and I found a butterfly pin at a Christian bookstore. I bought it just because I was so happy to find pin. The lady told me that the Apothecary would have Ohio postcards. Well, poop...that was all the way back towards Wal-Mart. I was determined to get a postcard, and Brad sends them to his 3 year old granddaughter, so I decided it was worth the trip.

Not only did I find a postcard for $1.50, but i also got an Ohio State pin and a pin of a Wildcat, which is the town high school's mascot. Success. I decided to make one last stop at the courthouse downtown before heading to camp. On the way, I bumped into a radio broadcaster who interviewed me about the ride. What a struggle. I probably sounded retarded.

Anyway, he told me that the Chamber of Commerce a few doors down had postcards. So, I went in a low and behold, they have a nice selection! They even had antique ones of the town for $1. That totally beats the $1.50 I paid for the lame one at the Apothecary. Oh, well.

On the way to camp, I ran into Isang, Kristin, and Timmy. I told Isang about the Ohio State pin, so she and Timmy went to the Apothecary for that. Kristin and I went to camp. Less than half a mile from camp, Kristin got a flat. Bummer! She just filled it with a CO2 cartridge and changed it once we got to the fairgrounds for camp.

I finally got to shower. I rode in tri shorts today, and they were surprisingly comfortable.

Tomorrow we're head to Sandusky, and it's supposed to be the flattest ride of the trip.

Love from Ohio,
Suzanne

Cue sheets are optional.

I was struggling at reading my cue sheet today, but it wasn't too bad. I turned my 109 mile day into 112 miles.

Today was a 5:30am breakfast, but it was at the school's cafeteria, which made it easier for us. The cue sheet looked really scary since it was 3 pages, but the last page only had like 2 lines of text. What a waste.

The beginning of the ride consisted of cracked road and narrow shoulders. Struggle. But it was actually kind of nice because we ended up riding more or less as a big group to the first check point. We were riding through a cloud and into the sun in the beginning, so it made it rather hard to see. It's now safe to say that I survived. I started singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall, but it got a little annoying after a while. Well, maybe really annoying. Clearly I'm good at making new friends.

The first check point had snacks provided by a Big Ride alum- donuts, coffee, watermelon, banana muffins, grapes, all the good stuff. The bond that the Big Ride creates among all the riders is awesome.

I headed out with Chacko and missed a turn. We passed some construction workers, and we yelled to them to see if other riders had come this way. They waved in the direction we were going, so we thought we might still be on route. But then we his a busy street that was not anywhere on the cue sheet. We turned around and saw Amy, Deidre, and Sam turn onto the correct street that we missed. Just FYI- Chacko doesn't addy a cue sheet, so he was relying on me. Poor life choice.

I ended up just riding by myself in my drops because the winds were not in my favor. They were not as bad as yesterday, but they still were not great. The lunch stop was around mile 47, and we still had cold cuts left. :).

The next check point was at mile 62 because there is supposed to be an awesome bakery. Unfortunately it has closed down, but Isang, Chacko, and I found a pizza place with ice cream. Isang and I got root beer floats, and Chacko got a chocolate milkshake. These are becoming typical orders. The pizza place was pretty neat because it was basically the town's hang out. We found the coolest place in town!

The next stretch was pretty long and a lot of the same...corn. We are in Amish country, so it was cool to see the horse and buggies going down the road. They also all have their laundry out to dry. I stopped in a health foods store to use their bathroom and to look for a pin. I knew it was a long shot, but it couldn't hurt. They didn't have a pin, but they gave me a pen. My collection has become pins, a patch, and a pen!

I don't know what my deal was today, but I always had to go to the bathroom. The check point around mile 85 was very open, so I opted to not pee there. There was a town less than 10 miles away according to the cue sheet, so I figured I could wait until then. I didn't want to pee in a front yard or in corn. On the way, a girl yelled out to ask if I knew when the bike tour was. I stopped to hear her question, and I told that I didn't know and that I was with a ride across America. Stopping made me realize how badly I had to pee, so I asked how much farther up the next town was. My odometer was off due to my little detour in the morning. It was only a couple miles, but a few miles can be a lot of time on the bike. She didn't know, but she offered to let me use the bathroom in the house.

To be continued...
(We crossed into EST, so we've lost an hour. Struggle.)

Dear Indiana

Dear Indiana,
Please repave your roads.
Love,
Suzanne

So, today we left Illinois and entered Indiana. There was no sign since we enter on country roads, but we were welcomed with potholes and insane amounts of tar trying to compensate. The tar is not any better on bike as it still makes for a bumpy ride.

This morning I started out with Sam, Tim, Chacko, and Todd. Sam was on a mission to get to...wherever we are now. We're staying at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Sam and Tim left the first check point very quickly, so Chacko and I left a little later. I had a hard time clipping into my pedals since I had walked through a muddy cornfield to go to the bathroom. Eventually I got all the mud and gravel out of my cleats, and I was good to go. The headwinds and crosswinds were relentless, but we pushed our way through. Sam and Tim were already at the lunch stop, and they didn't hang around long. We were near a Walgreens, so I went in to try and find a pin or at least postcard. Epic fail. I didn't find either.

After an hour or so, Chacko and I finally left lunch to complete the last 30 miles. Still unforgiving winds. We almost missed a turn because the street was not marked, but luckily Chacko saw the Dan Henry. At the last check point, we asked Dave if he put it there. He said he did, and I finally had to ask what the heck a Dan Henry is. Apparently it's just a circle with an arrow in the direction you need to go, and they're put on the road when turns are tricky. I actually have seen them before, but I've always just thought they were for underground pipes or waterlines or just random markings for the city. Anyway, I told Dave that when Bridgette mentioned the Dan Henry that I had missed yesterday, I thought that I was looking for a sign with a president's face on it. He got a kick out of the fact that I thought Dan Henry was a president. There was Eisenhower highway in Illinois, and there was a picture of his face on the sign. So, I thought that Dan Henry might be a famous historical figure with a recognizable face like those of the presidents. Apparently Dan Henry is just some rider who came up with the symbol. Struggle. Everyone is quite entertained by my little remark.

Chacko and I made it in good time and beat the gear truck. We met Kristin and Sue and decided to find an air conditioned place to sit and get something to drink. In the process of riding in circles to decide where to go, we saw Bridgette drive up with the gear truck. So, we followed her to the dorm and unloaded the truck. By this point, many more people were here so unloading went pretty quickly. We took out out tents to let them dry, and then I took a shower. I really should start running, but after biking all day, all I ever want to do is shower. It's one of those 'tomorrow' things. So, maybe tomorrow I'll run.

We had dinner at the cafeteria, and they made root beer floats for us! I'm waiting for my laundry to dry right now. It's our last night in a dorm, so it's all camping and the occasional school stay for the rest of the trip!

Tomorrow we ride 109 miles and go almost all the way through Indiana! It's a much much shorter state than the seemingly never-ending

Love from somewhere in Indiana!
Suzanne

P.S.- I've finally caught on my blog. Whew!

The real longest day...

Update 7/25

So, I took an intentional detour to look for a pin, and then I missed a turn. As a result, I rode an extra 7 miles, totaling 113 miles for the day. Whoops.

The morning started off nasty. I was so glad that I was able to spend the night with my parents at a hotel! Flooding campsites and lots of rain and lightening do not make for a good night's sleep.

My parents bid me farewell, which was kind of sad. But I get to see my dad in September in Scotland, and my mom might come out and visit next semester and bring a picnic! (Since Stephen is going to UT next year, my mom says that she can bring him picnics.). It was pouring out and thundering and lightening. We had the option of waiting it out, but the 106 miles was not going to change. So, we all headed out...slowly...into the rain and headwinds. It was quite the struggle. I stayed with a pretty big group since we weren't going very fast, and I felt more comfortable riding closer to others. By the time we got to lunch, the rain had let up for the most part. But then it started to rain, again! I guess our 4 week stroke of incredible weather just had to be too good to be true.

After lunch, I spent most of the time riding by myself. It actually ended up getting hot and humid with sort of a tailwind. It made the last 50 miles go by really fast. I was feeling pretty good 3 miles from camp, and I saw a sign for a visitor's center at a nature area. I thought, pin! I should know by now that a sign doesn't mean that it's pointing right at the place. It ended up being 2 miles down the road and completely deserted. The visitor's center didn't have a pin, but they had a patch. I decided that it was good enough, and the cute old man working there gave me the patch out of the display case. When he was giving me my change out of a ziploc baggie, he found a whole bag of patches. Clearly they're a big seller since he knew there were more in the drawer and the money was in a ziploc.

I proceeded to get back on route, but I missed the turn onto Whitebowtie. I kept going and realized that I must have gone too far. I called Bridgette to ask if the street was not marked. She confirmed it was not marked and that she had put a Dan Henry. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I knew what turn she was talking about. I turned around, and I made it to camp. Total miles for the day : 113.

I went swimming in the lake, which was very refreshing. We had the cold cuts my parents got for dinner, and it started raining again. It was quite buggy and humid. I felt gross...I hope it's not as humid and muggy in the mountains...and buggy.

Since I'm updating this late, I can say that it took me a while to fall asleep because it was so hot in my tent. There was absolutely no breeze, which was ridiculous given the wind earlier today. It started raining and thundering at midnight, and my tent kept me nice and dry. Annnd, it cooled off. :).

Papa Bear is a rockstar.

Update 7/25

We woke up at 5:30 to make it back to the dorms to get Frank's bike ready for my dad and breakfast at 6:30. The weather started out looking a little sketchy, but it wasn't raining.

The ride began with poor directions and a big mass of us were riding on the bike path on various directions. Eventually we got on route, and it was full of cracked roads and small shoulders not to mention it was also raining. I stuck back with my dad and we passed three flats! What a great introduction to the big ride! At the first check point, we were both soaked since we ditched our jackets at breakfast. I took my jersey off and just wore my jacket. Frank let my dad borrow his jersey, and my dad put his new rain jacket on top.

We started out with Isang, Chacko, Jeremy, Toby, and Chad, but around mile 35 my dad started to fade. There were lots of rolling hills, and Southlake is just not the best place to train for that. He was also on a borrowed bike and an uncomfortable seat. To add to it all, his quads were cramping. We slowed down the pace, and my mom and Cilla drove by just in time to meet us at the lunch stop. After a struggle, we made it to lunch at mile 50. My dad had had enough, so he got in the car with my mom and Cilla, and i continued off on my own. I was in the back at this point except for Todd who had gotten extremely lost.

At mile 75ish, there was a nice surprise from a past big riderless. He had brought DQ blizzards and watermelon and cookies and lemonade. The weather had cleared up, and it was hot, humid, and headwinds. 3 of the 4 Hs in Illinois. The last H is hills.

I left the rest stop after about 15 minutes. I didn't want to hang around too long because I wanted to see my parents. I called my parents when I was just under 10 miles from camp, and we ended up arriving at almost exactly the same time. Perfect!

I went back to the hotel with them to shower and run some last minute errands. We first went to the bank since I was finally able to find a Bank of America. ATM fees can get a little obnoxious. Then we went to Macys to get a wedding give for Ron's daughter, who jut got married. We searched for her in the gift registry, but the Stephanie that showed up wasn't going to get married until October in CA. Ron's daughter already got married, and it wasn't in CA. Not the right person. Struggle. My parents just picked out something else. Afterwards, we went to Wal-Mart to get more Cliff bars, wrapping paper, random treasures, and lunch for the big riders (cold cuts, sandwich toppings, hummus, avocados, pita chips, granola, watermelon, and lot a of other yummy food....I still like pb&j, but lots of others don't.) I unfortunately was not able to find an Illinois pin. After our little shopping adventure, we went to a Texas steakhouse for dinner.

Once again, after dinner I packed up and crashed. Alarm- 4:30 am

I'm alive. :)

No worries. I'm alive.
I'm hanging with the family and haven't made time to update. I figure I'll have plenty of time later, and they're only here for a few days. They actually leave tomorrow. :(.
Stay tuned for a great update...soon!

Mucho Love-o,
Suzanne

P.S.-I'm in Illinois!

Madison!

Update 7/24

I woke up at 6:45 and decided to take a shower just because i could. When i got out, my mom was up, and my dad got up soon after. I was starving, so we woke Cilla up and set out to find a Perkins for breakfast. Perkins has become a rest day necessity.

After breakfast, it was around 9. I needed/wanted to go to REI, and my mom was convinced that it would be open. We drove over, and it turns out that it doesn't open until 10. Whoops. We had 30 minutes to kill, so we decided to drive around and find a nail salon. There was one just a few shopping centers over, and it was open! Perfect. Unfortunately there was only pen guy working, but someone else was supposed to come in soon. We learned from last time, and I wanted to use my own nail polish on my fingers so that i can touch them up when I have to change flats. They didn't sell any 'good' colors there, so we decided to go to Walgreens. We all piled back in the car, and it didn't start! Struggle. Apparently Walgreens was just down the street, so Cilla and I decided to walk over...in the rain. Poor life choice. It was not 'just down the street' but 'quite far down the street.' Double struggle. We made it soaking wet. Luckily I had my rain jacket, but Cilla was only wearing a sweatshirt. Well, I guess the important part os that we made it and picked out some fantastic colors- teal blue and lime green. I eve. Bought a Walgreens pin! We called dad, and the rental car company had sent someone to jump the car. He came pick us up. :).

My mom was already having her pedicure started when we got there. Here begins the epicly long amount of time spent at Natural Nails. An elderly lady with disastrous toenails had arrived just before Cilla and I got back to the nail salon. Since there were only two guys working, we had to wait a long time until we were started. I have a hard time just relaxing, so i took advantage of the time to make some calls and get my prescription situation sorted out. We were finally done around noon with lovely matching teal blue finger nails, and I had watermelons painted on my toenails. Yes, I am 21...

REI was definitely open by this point, but we didn't really find what we were looking for. But then again, we wee rent really looking for anything on particular. My dad kind of needed rain gear if he could borrow Frank's bike the next day, but it wasn't for sure yet. Also, Madison is a huge biking town, and there were plenty of other bike shops to go to.

Then began the adventure of sorting out my medicine. Amazingly I was able to locate 5 bottles on town, but they were between two different Walgreens. Usually you wait to have it all transferred to one store, but I didn't have time since I was only in Madison for a day. We went to the first Walgreens to get the first half of the prescription.
.
Then we went to the mall so that i could go to J. Crew. Yes, absolutely necessary. Haha. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to get some real clothes. Spandex gets old very quickly.

Thennnnnnnnn we set out to find the other Walgreens on Banch or Branch. I still don't know the actual street name but regardless, we passed it. Fortunately, there are a million and one Walgreens on Madison, so we stopped in one leas than 3 miles away from the one we were supposed to go to. We backtracked and got to the right Walgreens. It turns out that someone in town needs the same medicine as me, so they keep it on stock! It's my lucky day! :)

We were getting hungry, so we set out to find Ella's by recommendation of the internet. It was supposedly a unique deli and ice cream parlor with lots of toys and a carousel. It was quite interesting, and the ice cream was much much better than the deli.

I still had to clean my bike and do laundry. Since they didn't have self laundry at the hotel, I was dropped off at the dorm where everyone else was staying to clean my bike and do my laundry. Alan left, so I wasn't able to get to the bike cleaning supplies. But, I did get to do my laundry, which was much needed!

My mom and Cilla came to pick me up, and I had found out that my dad could use Frank's bike. Since there was a good chance of rain and I still needed to get more chamois cream, we went to two bike shops to get the stuff. I'm picky about my chamois cream, so I had to go to a second one to find the right stuff. Yes, high maintenance...I know.

By the time we were done shopping, it was pouring. We went back to the hotel and decided to just eat there since the weather was so nasty. My dad was excited to wear the Duke jersey that I got him a few years ago, but it turns out that he had brought mine! Apparently mine was in his closet which explains why I couldn't find it before I left. Struggle. He had another quick dry shirt that he could wear, and I took the jersey to add to my bag.

After dinner, I packed up my stuff and crashed.

Madison, here I come!

Update 7/24

Since I'm updating 4 days late, I think I'm going to resort to bullet points for the sake of time and my memory...or I guess more like lack thereof.

Today we rode 100 miles into Madison.

The first 55 went by pretty quickly, and lunch was at a farmer's market/petting zoo/playground/garage sale/sand box/really strange. I was a little sore from my spill, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The worst part is stopping and then my knee gets crusty. Yeah, gross...I know.

There was an optional stop at the Frank Lloyd Wright center. I was going to atop uteri until I found out it was 2-3 miles off route. So I stopped at a gift shop on Spring Creek and got a postcard. I figured it was a good enough alternative.

I caught up to Chacko and Isang, and we stopped at a cute little burger place for burgers, shakes, and root beer floats.

The last 15 miles or so into Madison were quite hilly, and the construction in Madison threw us off course. We got lost for a little while, but I think everyone did.

Sue's husband brought pizza, beer, and water for us, which was a nice little surprise after a long day. I called my parents, and they were on their way! :)

My parents came and brought me to the hotel to shower. My mom brought two unexpected and fabulous surprise! My blanket and American Girl pin collection. Haha, they probably make no sense to my blog readers, but it was fantastic!

After my shower, we went downtown for dinner. We went to a hibachi place that the guy at the front desk recommended. There was also a Beatles cover band at the capitol that we stopped by for a little while. Apparently it's the biggest concert of the summer for Madison. I don't know if the Beatles were Wally all that great, but boy were there a lot of people! It was packed! It was a lot of fun to people watch, and i decided that I loll the midwest...or at least Madison. The people are so normal. I don't really know how to explain it. They're just plain and normal. It's great.


After a little adventure trying to find the parking garage and walking in a million large circles, we went back to the hotel to just chill. It had been a long day. I crashed at like 9.

So excited...!

I'm so excited to see my parents and Cilla tomorrow! I was planning on cruising through the 100 miles into Madison tomorrow, but I had the misfortune of falling off my bike. And not only falling but skidding along the pavement on my left side. Fantastic. It's not too bad...hopefully. I got some nice road rash. I think it will add to my tan lines rather nicely. :). I stopped at Walgreens on the way into camp, and I got $30 worth of neosporin and bandaids, including Disney princess ones just for smiles. I think/hope it's safe to say that I will only be battling soreness and not infection.

Today started out great! This adorable family 18 miles into the ride provided snacks and just plain amazing hospitality. There was a beautiful garden, a quaint home from the early 1900s, and amazingly delicious food. The Myers of Dakota, MN have 11 kids and have been hosting the Big Riders for at least 10 years now, and they have scrapbooks to show for it. They even had pre-printed pictures of each of to sign to add to their books. So cute!

10 miles later we left Minnesota and entered Wisconsin. And then we crossed the Mississippi River and saw the world's largest six pack and went into the gorgeous country side and climbed a 1.5 mile hill/beast at negative speeds and had an insane descent and lots of rolling hills and Amish country and lots of fun! I was by myself for most of that, but then I was with Tim and Izzy. We were riding pretty fast, and I was zoning out just looking around. Then, all I saw was the ground. I clipped the back of Izzy's wheel, and I wiped out. I'm alright, but the rest day in two days will probably be much appreciated.

We had a food eating triathlon at camp- one pound of cheese, a half gallon of chocolate milk, and a half gallon of ice cream relay. The teams were Todd, Chacko, and Sam versus Tim, Andy, and Jeremy. I don't think either team ended up winning, but the first team mentioned finished first. Sam beasted the ice cream! It was amazing! The second team didn't finish, but the rule was that you had to keep everything down for 10 minutes after the finish. Chacko unfortunately was not able to keep the chocolate milk down. Look on YouTube.com/AndrewFersch for footage of the competition.

I'm now at a cute little coop grocery and using their wifi. Isang shared some of her Sambazon coupons with me, so I got a drink and am just chilling. I called Isang to let her know that they have the drinks here, and apparently Andy's bike was run over by a truck. Bad news bears! So, I think it's fair to say that today was a weird day. Let's hope we all safely and smoothly make it to Madison for our much deserved rest day.

Love from WI,
Suzanne

Go, horsey, go!

As I was riding to the student activities center to go for a swim, there was a little girl riding her pink bike on the sidewalk and exclaiming, "Go, horsey, go!" It brought a huge smile to my face, and it reminded me to just have fun. Sometimes I take life too seriously.

Anyway, at dinner I mentioned that I don't really remember today, and I really don't. It was a strange day. I mostly rode by myself slash was see-sawing with the Kristin, Timmy, Mike, Mark, and Brad chain in the morning and kind of with Sue, George, and Izzy from the first check point to lunch. I prefer to be by myself, especially since the roads are getting busier and faster. I think I mentioned this before, but I also don't really like staring at a back tire all day.

After lunch, I continued on my way to the check point just before the 2000 mile mark. And guess what?! I got another flat just before the 2000 mile spray paint. Struggle. Two flats two days in a row! I'm up to four flats this trip. This time the flat was from a staple/pin in my back tire. I have a feeling that I was riding on the flat for a good while since it was a slow leak. Since I was so close to the last check point, i decided to bike back ton use a real pump. I'm lazy and have a hard time getting my tire pressure above 60 with the hand pump.

So, I pumped up my tire and continued on my way for the last 20 or so miles. I actually got to cross the 2000 mile mark, and then the rest of the ride went pretty smoothly with some great downhills. Oh, I forgot to mention that in the process of chancing my flat, I had lost me cue sheet. Izzy was at the check point when I was pumping up my tire, so he let me have his. Anyway, since I'm so bad at following cue sheets, I was worried that I was not supposed to be going down then hills, and I was worried that I might have to ride back up if I were going the wrong way. Haha, struggle.

We're spending the night in the Winona State University dorms. I went for a nice little swim with Todd, and I was also able to get a pin at the University Bookstore. Fantastic.

Time to watch the Bachelorette! Last night in Minnesota!

Much love,
Suzanne

Plus five bonus!

So, it is official. I cannot read directions to save my life. I was riding by myself this morning, and after the first rest stop, I missed the turn to avoid a 9% grade hill. Oh, what a struggle. I realized that I was not supposed to go up the hill after riding longer than the cue sheet said the turn would be. I didn't want to ride down after making the climb, so I thought in would just get myself back on route on my own. Poor life choice. I asked a couple walking on the sidewalk for directions to 14 East. They pointed me in the right direction, and I thought I was golden. Well, the highway was super busy- much busier than anything we're ridden on so far. I kept going thinking that the shoulder would widen or the traffic would lighten. Neither occurred, so I decided it might be best to just turn around and retrace my steps...and go down the 9% grade. As I was riding in the wrong direction on the highway, Bridgette rode by and pulled over. Boy was I glad to see her. I was a little worried that I was going to get in trouble for riding against the flow of traffic or not being on route, but she was very nice and comforting. She told me that I was heading the wrong way, and the direction that I was initially riding was correct. She said that I had just gotten onto the highway about 10 miles early. So, I had the pleasure of continuing on the busy highway, but I eventually got back on route. Believe it or not, I was still the second person to the lunch stop even with my little detour. I guess everyone got late starts today.

After breakfast number two or lunch, we rode through Waseca. It was 10:30, and I rode by a Catholic church that has a mass that started at 10. Since I've been in a funk recently, I decided to attend the last half of mass. It usually calms me down and helps me put things in perspective. I just stood in the back and went through all the motions, but I didn't really feel any better afterwards. :(. Since it was a short day, the next check point was only a few more miles down the road. David joined us today as support, which I forgot to mention earlier. Isang rode in a few minutes later, so we walked over to a cute little drive-in fast food place for root beer floats and tater tots. Tim, Sam, and Evonne played mini golf while Isang, Chacko, and I watched.

After watching a few holes, I decided that I was ready to complete the final 15 miles to Owatanna. Oh man, that was a struggle. The roads were dreadful and the trucks were just plain rude. I was riding down a hill full of potholes and cracks and boom! I went into a big crack and all the contents from my handlebar bag bounced out, including my camera. Oh poop. I slammed on my brakes and skidded to a halt. I guess I was crusing pretty fast. I put my bike down and retraced my path to gather my belongings. I found everything very easily except for my camera, and when I finally found it, it was half detached. I'm happy to say that I think it still works. It's a little disconnected, and the screen is cracked. But, it turns on, zooms, and takes pictures! Good deal. Better my camera than me. :). I continued on my way but had a very hard time going straight. I stopped to check out my handlebars, and it turns out that my front tire was flat. Lovely. I pulled to the side, and I successfully changed it all by myself! I guess you could say I'm pretty proud of myself for changing not one but two flats! :p

After that little incident and getting lost earlier today, I decided to take it very easy to prevent anymore mishaps. Tim, Evonne, Sam, and Chacko caught up to me as I was very carefully maneuvering around anything and everything that could potentially be hazardous...basically the entire road. Oh, struggle. I followed them into camp, and I was safe! :).

There's a Hallmark across the street, so of course I had to go in to try and find a pin. They didn't have any Minnesota pins, but I got a guardian angel pin to protect me from flats. :). I also got a fun little button for the rest stops, a few cards, and a keychain for Cilla's collection.

We had dinner at the grocery, HyVee. And Isang and I got Brad a lovely gift. We were going to get him super sized marshmallows just for kicks, but we found a 90th birthday balloon on the way. We just had to get that for him instead! Earlier in the trip we had a cake sent to him at a restaurant for his 80th birthday. We also attached a pint of phish food ice cream since it's easy on his dentures. ;).

Now we're just chilling out at the Steele County fair grounds where we're camping. I think I'm going to relearn how to play ucker (you-ker, I have no idea how to spell it.)

Peace, love, and root beer floats,
Suzanne

Barvarian Blast

I woke up at 6:45 to go to the bathroom, and Isang woke up when I got back to the room. We were both really hungry, so we biked to Perkins. Man, I didn't know I could fit so much food in my stomach! Since we were so close to Target, we just had to stop by...or at least I did and Isang was a good sport. I decided baking would be too much of a hassle, so I opted to get a cardigan instead. Haha. Not very practical given this heat here in New Ulm, but oh well, it's cool in the morning.

We biked the lovely trek back to the school to shower, and I did a load of laundry. Isang and I decided to bike back into town and maybe check out Schell's brewery. En route, we biked into Andy and Janet. Man, Andy is always on the go! He found his own personal tour guide on bike- George, who is an 87 year old local and still kickin'. We decided to join and biked by the Barvarian Blast slash Polka Fest. It was only 10:30 by this point, so nothing was really going on yet. Sam is entered in a Sauerkraut eating contest at 7:30 tonight, so I will definitely be there for that! We decided to follow George to the cemetery. I'm not really a huge fan of visiting cemeteries, but it was pretty interesting. Some of the gravestones had 'killed by Indians' engraved on them- it's kind of an interesting perspective to take. The Battle(s) of New Ulm actually resulted in more casualties than the Battle of Little Big Horn or Custer's Last Stand. Fun little fact that you don't learn about in elementary school history class.

After the little tour from cute old George, Isang and I decided to go back tot the cafe we were at yesterday to get food and use their wifi. We were there for a little over an hour and then realized that we could make the 12:45 showing of Despicable Me. We bumped into some other big riders who had the same idea- it's nice to sit in a cool, dark room with cushy seats for two hours. The movie was actually really cute; it's more my style than Inception. Look at me being all up to date with my movies!

After the movie Isang and I went back to get our bikes with the intent of biking to the brewery, which was back by Target. However, once we walked out into the sauna outside, our plans changed. We stopped in many air-conditioned stores along the way and stopped for some 1919 root beer floats. I also got another pin of Hermann the German for my collection and some super glue to glue the cap on my medicine shut so that it doesn't leak anymore. We biked/walked back to the dorms to nap, do laundry, and maybe wash our bikes until it's time to head over to the festival. It's too hot out to hang out there until 7:30 for the eating contest.

I'm currently in the air-conditioned common room, and I think I'm going to take a nap. I'll try and update a little more later tonight. I'm sure you are all very excited to hear about how Sam does in the contest! I might even enter the coloring contest if they let me- the flyer said ages 3-12. Struggle.

Much love,
Suzanne

-UPDATE-

I didn't find the coloring contest, but SAM WON THE SAUERKRAUT EATING CONTEST!!! What a rockstar!

Struggling but still smiling

Today was and is kind of a struggle, but it's all good. I think I'm just really starting to miss home and being with my family. I get like this during the school year, and the littlest things start to get to me. I started out the first 40 miles with Sue, George, and Izzy. I was pulling as we entered a little town, and I passed Chuck. It was tough to pass him though because he was speeding up. I got around him and thought I was holding pace, but I guess not. He jumped on the line and then zoomed off angry once we got out of the town that was less than a mile long. I was going over 23 mph uphill, so I don't really understand how I was slowing him down that much. Regardless, he was pretty mad at me about it, and I felt horrible. I also messed up last week for not yelling on your left loud enough when I was pulling a long train of people. That situation was handled much kinder, so it didn't bother me as much.

So after making Chuck mad, I felt bad and wanted to cry. Yes, it's kind of a silly thing to cry about, but I was just sad. So, I left the lunch stop on my own, and I just took things at my own pace. It still ended up being pretty fast with a nice little tailwind and pretty flat roads. I was averaging 22 mph as of mile 60. My water bottle fell out of the back again, so I turned around to pick it up. I saw Tim back a little way, so I waited to let him pass. With only 10 miles left and it only being 11:30, Tim and I decided to coast into New Ulm.

We beat the gear truck, so we decided to explore a little downtown. Oh man, this town is hilly! We biked about 3 miles put to Target where I got Gatorade and was finally able to get cash back! There wasn't anything very exciting, so we headed back to Martin Luther College, where we're staying.

We unloaded the truck, moved into our rooms, and ate sweet corn and watermelon from Evonne's sweet parents. Isang and I were planning on walking the 2.5 miles to Target and the grocery and free wifi in Perkins, but it was hot and hilly. We found a cute little cafe downtown, and we got root beer floats and mac and cheese. Yummy yummy. There was also free wifi as a bonus. This is when I noticed that my medicine that keeps me from getting dehydrated had leaked all over my backpack. And it was my last bottle since another one had leaked earlier in the trip. Talk about struggle. Amazingly, there was a Walgreens less than a mile from where we were, and they had a bottle in stock! This is incredible because (a) I have not seen any Walgreens on this trip so far and that's where me prescription is and (b) they actually had the medicine in stock! The problem came when I found out that it was too early to refill my prescription, and since they didn't have a 90 day supply, my insurance didn't fully kick in. Well, the nice lady at Walgreens had a little chat with my insurance company, and I was able to get the one bottle as lost/spilled medicine. Plus, I got it at a little bit below the price without insurance. Great! I'm going to try and keep the medicine with Frank, the support guy. The rumble strips and milled roads are not friendly to twist off caps. I might even super glue it shut if I ever make it to Target. I also really want to bake and give Chuck apology cookies. I guess I have all day tomorrow.

Anyway, by the time I found out that I could get the medicine, it was about 4:30 with dinner up the hill at the school cafeteria at 5. Of course I got sidetracked on my way over and found a cute little store that had handmade recycled jewelry. I also found a random department store with a really random assortment of clothes. I found rompers for $5, and I just had to get matching ones for Isang and me. I got myself a pink one and decide to spare Isang from the embarrassment just a little by getting her a black one. They are also bedazzled. They are quite fantastic.

With these little detours, I was running really late for dinner, so I called Jerry's taxi service to come pick me up. Yeah, a little sketch but it worked. After dinner, Chacko, Isang, Izzy, Kristin, Timmy, and I went to go see Inception. We got there super early since it was opening night. That totally was not necessary but better safe than sorry. The theater wasn't really air-conditioned, and there weren't even cup holders between the seats. Pretty ghetto-fabulous.

I'm not going to lie. I'm super stoked for the rest day tomorrow. My legs could definitely use it, and there's a polka festival in town. How fun! I also need to do laundry and clean my bike...

Glorious Day

So, Andy rolled into camp and exclaims,"Today must be the most glorious day this town has ever seen!" He is so right! Today was awesome, and the weather was as perfect as it comes. We had a nice tailwind for most of the ride, and it didn't get too hot.

The ride today was 79 miles from De Smet, SD to Tyler, MN. Yes, another state! We're chugging along quite nicely.

I slept much better last night, and mosquito land thankfully stayed outside my tent. Breakfast was catered by the Chamber of Commerce as was dinner last night, and then we headed out to Minnesota! I rode the first 40 miles or so on my own, and I missed a turn. Whoops. Luckily I was not the only one to miss it, so Chad, Toby, and Jeremy turned me around to head in the right direction. It was then that I really began to appreciate the tailwind. Biking back to get on the route was much more work than getting off route.

Lunch was just after mile 40 in Brookings, SD...at 9 am. Haha. A group of us left to go to an ice cream place that made their own ice cream. It turns out that it was at SDSU's microbiology dairy. Fancy, fancy. They also make their own cheese, so I got George some Jackrabbit cheese that looked psychedelic and maybe a little scary. But it was fun and if he eat bugs, he can eat colorful cheese.

The local bike shop opened at 10, so we bike a few blocks over to get there. They didn't have anything that I was looking for- chamois cream and cleat covers. However, tomorrow we are headed to New Ulm for a rest day. I'll look there. :). Deidre got a card from some guy with a running shop in an alley. Apparently they had Nike stuff below retail. I didn't realize it was in an alley, and I love getting new running clothes so I joined her. Sam and Tim joined as well. After circling the block several times, we finally found it. Not only was it hard to find but it was also downstairs in a basement! It was super sketch, but it turned out to be awesome! The guys there were so nice, and they really love running. They have every issue of Runner's World and a huge huge HUGE collection of coaching and running information. It only costs $5 to join their running club for a year and have unlimited access to all their information! I even got some awesome running shorts that are probably from the 80s. New with tags and neon pink...and I got a matching pair for Isang! So fun!

At mile 61, we entered Minnesota! I biked from Brookings to the MN border with Jeremy. He did the ride in 1998, and there were over 700 riders! I can't even imagine that! I like our little group of 25.

I rode the final stretch with Sue, George, and Izzy. We passed some huge wind turbines, and I really wished that I had my camera...for the millionth time of the day. We passed some beautiful lakes and farms, but struggle, I couldn't take any pictures. I actually had my camera with me, but I forgot to put my battery back in after charging it at the little diner yesterday. Struggle.

Today was just awesome! I even went on a nice little run, and I went in a local store to look for a pin. Unfortunately the nice old lady didn't have any, but I bought a skein of yarn and a crochet hook. I just made a beanie, and it's semi normal sized! Yes! What a great day!

Lots of love from MN!
Suzanne

Oh, we're halfway there!

Halfway halfway though the day!

The winds were so much better today, but my legs were not having it. My body is not very happy with me right now. I guess that is to be expected after my minimal training...whoops. Regardless, I still averaged around 20 mph for the 77 miles today from Miller to De Smet thanks to the winds and relatively flat roads. I started out with a big group, but then dropped off to ride by myself after the first check point. I was just not feeling like being Speedy Gonzalez for the next 60 miles. I held back, and I listened to some Glee and 90s music on my phone. I actually even ended up calling my mom when I got service. Yes, I am quite talented. I can ride my bike at 20 mph and talk on the phone. :p.

Lunch was around mile 41, and it marked the halfway point across America! Yay team! Unfortunately it's not halfway for me since I started late, but it's still cool to be geographically halfway across the country.

I left lunch on my own, and something didn't feel right. I had forgotten my biking gloves! Struggle. I decided that I didn't need them, so I just continued on my merry way. I skipped the last check point kind of by accident. Frank saw me so it was all good. I passed Janet on the way to camp, and we ended up beating the gear truck. Soon after, Andy, Isang, Chacko, Tim, and Sam rolled in. We decided to check out Laura Ingles Wilder's house since it was only noon and had time to kill. I got another rockin' pin to add to my collection and some more postcards. The pin is a bulldog with the name Jack on it. I don't remember that character from the books, but oh well, it's another pin! :).

Andy, Chacko, Tim, Sam, and I went to a local diner to grab lunch #2. We went back to camp with the gear truck already unloaded. Score! I set up my tent, took a shower, and then headed back to the diner to use their wifi, which is where I am now. It's crazy how bad AT&T service is out here! It's nonexistent.

The diner is actually closed now, but they're being nice and letting Isang and I stay until they completely close up. They're catering dinner for us! We've met such nice people along the way. I really can't believe that we're halfway! I've been having the time of my life, and I don't want it to end! I still have 24 more days and then 2.5 weeks of backpacking, so there's still plenty of fun ahead.

Tomorrow we're leaving South Dakota! Minnesota here we come!

Lots of love,
Suzanne

Please turn the wind off. Thanks.

Today we rode 75 miles from the lovely capital of SD to Miller, SD. It was brutal. The winds were ridiculous! There were constant sidewinds the entire time! It was near impossible to draft, and I'm stubborn and rode by myself. Poor life choice. I wasn't too far behind Izzy and Sue, so they were kind enough to stop and wait for me. Man, that made such difference!

We had lunch at a really cute and inexpensive diner. It was stuck in time- it was right out of the 50s. You could get a burger for $2! That's actually something that I've noticed as we've gotten into these small towns...cheap food! I'm cheating at writing this update a day late in a little diner in De Smet. It's 50 cents for a cookie and a dollar for coffee!

So yes, since I'm writing this a day late, the ride has already become a little fuzzy. It's crazy how much the days blur together. We spent the night at the local high school. Oh, and I did laundry at the local laundry mat. That was another struggle. I ran out of detergent, so I was planning on just using the vending machine there. Of course they were out. Luckily there was an Alco across the street, so I rode over to get some detergent. It was another one of those all purpose stores- clothes, food, outdoor gear, cleaning products, greeting cards, electronics, and so much more! I guess it sounds like I'm just describing Target, but it's different when Alco is your only option. Well, I got my detergent and my backpack was full of dirty, smelly clothes, so I had to balance on my bike with one hand on my handle bars and the other holding my way too big bottle of detergent. Oh, and to add to the circus act, the parking lot and the path to the lot was not paved, so I was wobbling on gravel. I'm sure I was quite the site. After all that and struggling with the dollar change machine, I finally started my load of laundry. Kristin and Timmy walked in 5 minutes later, and then Deidre and Mike were dropped off by chauffeur Frank. Deidre bribed him with a candy bar. Smart girl.

Tim, Sam, Todd, and I went to the grocery to buy dinner. I got way too much food, but it's hard to feed one person with grocery store size portions. The left over Cheez-Its were donated to the rest stop snacks.

Grasshoppers!

There are so many grasshoppers...! It's seriously ridiculous. They were jumping at my legs, face, chest, bike...struggle. Some were bumming rides up the hills, and they would make funny noises on my tire. I kept thinking I was getting a flat, so I would stop and a grasshopper would just jump off!

Today we biked 95 miles from Kadoka, SD (the dead town) to Pierre, SD (the hopping capital of South Dakota). The first 20 and last 40 miles were brutal. The sidewinds were killer, and drafting was near impossible. ...it wasn't a true sidewind or headwind. It was just awkward.

I rode the first 20 miles on my own in my drops. It worked out pretty well, and I ended up being the first into the checkup point in 1880s Town. Boy, South Dakota is very proud of the fact that Dancing with the Wolves was filmed here. I didn't find a pin, but I got some more postcards for my collection. I don't really know what I'm going to do with them all yet.

Lunch was at mile 33, and it was only 9:30am. We packed up sandwiches, and then I headed out on my own again. I was listening to music on my phone, and then it died. Struggle. Kristin, Timmy, Todd, and Sue caught up to me just before the mile 60 check point. It was nice to be able to draft off of them.

The last 40 were quite the struggle. Lots of grasshoppers and lots of wind. Sue pulled me in even though she says we pulled equally...it's not true. She pulled me in. We were the first two in after a little bit of a struggle reading the cue sheet. Never ask me for directions...! Struggle. Is that enough 'struggles' in a paragraph? Since we got in early, we got to unload the truck once a few more people trickled in. Haha, I just never learn.

I let my tent dry out, and of course I got impatient so just put the rain fly on a little damp. Kristin and Timmy apparently got some awesome blueberry shakes, so Isang and I decided to go for a short run and then find the amazing shakes. Man, I am so out of running shape. We took a dunk in the river at the end of the run and then set out to find the shakes. On our way over, we ran into Janet who gave us a room key for the showers.

After a little hike, we found the little ice cream stand. Isang got a blueberry shake, but I opted for the coffee shake. Dessert first, dinner later. We picked up dinner at a Mexican place on the way to the showers. We walked into the Governor's Inn and asked the front desk for directions to room 121, which was written on the back of the card. Isang even got directions for wireless login and password. Our card wouldn't swipe, but we heard the TV on so we knocked on the door. A guy answered, which was weird since it's a girls' shower room. I flipped the card over, and River Lodge printed on the back. We were at the wrong hotel! Struggle. River Lodge was just across the street, so it all worked out. Oh goodness, I would do something like that...

(326) stretching (327) basically happy people (328) the unknown (329) the art of knowing what to overlook (330) color schemes (331) spiral notebooks (332) postcards (333) solar energy (334) fun sized candy bars (335) washing a car to make it rain (336) life jackets (337) taking action (338) using your hands to determine left and right (339) spending the day in your pjs (340) candy stores (341) pita chips (342) Wonder Bread wrappers (343) blue daisies (344) quiet time (345) crooked cobbled streets (346) Dull Center, Wyoming (347) the slap of a closing book (348) milkshakes (349) colorful exotic birds (350) nature walks

Badlands and Prairie Dogs

Today we rode through the Badlands National Park, and I got to see prairie dogs. The first 75 miles were great and smooth sailing. I was riding with Sue, George, and Todd. We had a great tailwind, and the weather was just perfect. It almost reached 90 later in the day, but it ended up cooling off. It was so neat to enter the Badlands. One moment you're in the middle of a prairie and all of a sudden there are these great rock formations surrounding you. Some of it looked like a beach, some like the desert, and some looked like it could be part of am golf course. We stopped short of the 75 mole check point to try and find the cafe recommended on the cue sheet. Unfortunately, it was no longer open, so we continued on our way to reenter the Badlands National Park. I was really surprised by how many people were visiting! I never would have considered South Dakota as a hopping tourist spot.

Andy and I climbed on of the rock formations, which was pretty neat. I ended up getting a ton of mud stuck in my cleats, which was bad news bears. But Frank found a flat head screw driver to scrap it out. Of course I went into the visitor's center to look for a pin. Success! I also got some more postcards. I really have no idea what I'm going to do with them all. Apparently George is making a 400 sq. ft. picture using only certain colors from the postcards. Oh, George. He's also trying to teach me all his knowledge about ultra lightweight backpacking...15 lbs. Hmmm, I don't think that's going to happen, but it's a nice thought. There were a bunch of grasshoppers on part of the route today, and he stopped to eat some. Yuck. I have a feeling part of his ultra lightweight backpacking entails eating some food that I don't want to eat. Struggle.

Sue, George, and I stopped at a historic prairie homestead outside the Badlands. I got another pin, and I got to see prairie dogs! There were so funny because They really weren't scared of me. The display of the house, barn, cellar, and farming machines were also really great and authentic looking. All I can say is boy am I glad that I live in the 21st century!

The last 20 miles were tough. George held back with another group, and Sue kicked my butt. She's such a strong rider! Since it wasn't a true headwind or crosswind, we were trying to figure out the best way to draft off each other. Luckily the road wasn't too busy so we ended up kind of riding side by side. I was so glad to make it into Kadoka. I was dead, and my pinky toe on my right foot really hurt. Yeah, lame...I know. And I'm a baby. It really felt like it was broken or dislocated, but it's actually fine. I think my shoes were too tight and putting pressure on some nerve. Struggle.

When Sue and I got in, there were just enough people to start unloading the truck. Haha, my lucky day! As soon as everything was out, it started to drizzle. We all got our tents up just in time! I just got out of the shower, and dinner is in 45 minutes at a local diner. Unfortunately I don't have AT&T service or wifi since we're camping in a park. AT&T has actually been really lame on this trip; they need too step up their game. :p

Hopefully I'll be able to post this soon. Tomorrow is a 95 mile ride, and it's supposed to be tough. We're heading north, and the winds are supposed to be coming from the north. Struggle. Oh well, we'll just take our time and enjoy the trip.

(301) night runs in the summer (302) red fire hydrants (303) touch screens (304) high chairs (305) card stock (306) big sweatshirts (307) touch screens (308) truly free range chickens (309) countryside (310) backyard gardens (311) boo boo bunny (312) freckles (313) greasing and dusting cake pans (314) drinking out of jars (315) sugar (316) turning points in life (317) big red barns (318) candy (319) purple potatoes (320) not smoking (321) free parking (322) starry skies (323) the key to a magic trick (324) "knock, knock" jokes (325) silly supper

Rest Day. :)

Today we had a rest day in Rapid City, SD. It was AWESOME! And I'm using a real keyboard in the School of Mines and Technology's computer lab...so I can type in all caps. :)

I woke up at 6 this morning, but I decided to go back to sleep since I could. Isang and I went down to the cafeteria for a pancake breakfast that was being catered for the alumni reunion. We kind of had to hurry out so that we could bum a ride from Susan to get to Mount Rushmore earlier. Everyone else was leaving at 10, but Susan was leaving at 8 so that she could drop Frank off for his ride in Custer National Park. He was planning on riding up the AMAZING descent that we had yesterday. Janet was also with us, and we decided to go into the park to try and see some bison/buffalo. I still don't really know the difference between the two names, so I use them interchangably. Before we ventured on "Wildlife Loop", we stopped in the gift shop again for food. I bought a dozen chocolate chip cookies and milk...I'm probably going to gain weight on this trip. Haha. And I also gave in and bought a buffalo/bison cookie cutter. I have no idea when I will have the desire to make buffalo cookies, but if I ever have the urge to, I now can! It's great, I know.

After our little pit stop, we turned onto "Wildlife Loop" and in less than two miles, we saw the HUGE heard! It was INCREDIBLE. Initially Susan was a little worried about the buffalo ramming into her car, but they really minded their own business. They were busy eating grass and entertaining us by walking across the street. I took some GREAT pictures, but I unfortunately can't figure out how to get them on this blog. Check out my "mobile uploads" album on facebook.

After our little excursion to see the buffalo, we continued to our ultimate destination of Mount Rushmore. We took the scenic route and went through three tunnels that were perfectly aligned to have a great view of Mount Rushmore. It was pretty neat. When we got up to Mount Rushmore, we ran into the rest of the crew. I took a few more pictures, and then Izzy's family bought us ice cream. However, I had to pass on that one...my tummy was full of cookies. Struggle.

On the way back to the dorm, we took a more direct route, and I became extremely tired all of a sudden. I don't know if it was the cloudy weather or the realization of how far we've been riding, but I was tired. When driving back to see the bison, we retraced the bike route, and it seemed soooooo long. I have no idea how I am able to bike that far plus more! Magic?! Yeah, I guess.

Isang and I took a 20 minute power nap, and I actually had a dream about blogging about this trip. It was a little strange. Isang had a dream about rescuing puppies. Anyway, by the time we got up, we had just missed the 2:00 showing of Toy Story 3, and the next show time was not until 4:30. We were both hungry and still needed to clean or bikes, so we decided to just go downtown to find some food.

On our way, we stopped in some natural food stores to see if they carried the Acai drink that sponsors Isang. We were successful in the second store, and I found some "Sore No More" cream for my knee. Perfect. :)

We went to lunch at some pizza bar, and then we decided to explore downtown a little more. We went in some pretty cool stores and boutiques. I was trying to find a place to get a massage, but the place that we found closed in 10 minutes by the time we got there. Struggle. Isang's boyfriend's dad grew up in Rapid City and told us about a historic hotel with a pretty cool lobby. We walked over, and I went into the gift shop to look for more pins. Haha, yes...pin collection fail. It's ok. I can have multiple pins from certain areas. Anyway, the sales guy was very friendly and immediately started pointing out all my options and telling me the history of all the local pieces of jewelry. Well, after looking around for a good while and picking out lots of treasures, Isang and I found out that he was in the top 20 of Season 4 of American Idol. I knew he looked familiar! It's the season that Carrie Underwood won. How cool! Of course we had to take a picture. :)

On our way out, we spotted Andy, who is creating videos of the trip for the middle school that he teaches at. After yelling his name down the street and eventually running after him, we brought him to the store to interview Jamie. You should check out his videos- they're pretty entertaining. It also gives a perspective of the trip that writing and pictures just can't capture. Jamie even sang a song for us! youtube.com/andrewfersch Check it out!

Isang and I grabbed dinner from Firehouse on the way back to the dorms. I got a buffalo burger, which was kind of hard to eat after seeing so many of them this morning. Luckily, it was really good, so I was able to eat it. :)

Now I'm blogging and still need to clean my bike. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I don't know if it's worth it. Actually, it probably is because my chain is making funny noises. I should at least lube it. Annnnd, I'm really excited to ride on my new seat. I hope it doesn't let me down!

Lots of Love!
Suzanne

P.S.- I am not giving up on my lists. I will continue. I will also update the lovely day that I was proposed to in K-Mart.

(276) natural beauty (277) conciseness (278) being around other happy people (279) spiral slides (280) funky looking bugs (281) puppies (282) stargazing (283) animal crackers in the reed boxes (284) digital cameras (285) backpacks with air vents (286) bright colored nail polish (287) fun times (288) carbon bikes (289) name tags (290) swings (291) pick up soccer games (292) fully charged electronics (293) my tie dye crazy creek (294) learning something new every day (295) comfortable bike seats (296) birds singing in the morning (297) tandem bicycles (298) going on a long walk with a friend (299) catching fireflies (300) having good luck

South Dakota!

By the time I get around to updating my blog, i always seemed to be pooped and then I forget everything i meant to include. I'll do my best to remember all the important things from the day.

I was just having one of those days where I just wanted to ride by myself at my own pace and just ride and think and enjoy the scenery. I'm interested to upload my data from my gps watch because I wouldn't be surprised to see an average of 18-20 mph for these 80+ mile days once you take out the slow starts. I enjoy the fast pace lines, but sometimes I just want some Suzanne time. :)

The day started off with a lovely catered breakfast from the Senior Center- quiche, oatmeal, granola, sausage, chocolate milk, orange juice, and cinnamon rolls the size of your face! It was great! Kristin, Timmy, Izzy, and I were the last four to roll out. The ride began with some long rolling hills and then after 11 miles, we entered South Dakota! My third state for the trip! After taking pictures with the sign, i took off on my own. We were going through the black hills of South Dakota and were headed to Custer for lunch. Sue turned off route to go to Jewel Canyon without me realizing it, so I ended up in front. As I was getting closer to Custer, I saw a cute little place that i wanted to stop at to look for a state pin and keychain. I'm collecting pins in the states that we visit, but I'm kind of failing since i have multiple pins from some states. Struggle. Isang is doing much better in only collecting one pin from each state.

After my little adventure at Four Mile, I headed into Custer for lunch. PB&J, of course! Then I headed out on my own again, but I ended up catching up to Tim and George, Sue, and Izzy caught up to me. We ended up forming a pace line, which was fine. I had enjoyed my time riding alone, but friends are always fun too. We had an incredible descent through Custer State Park, but we didn't get to see any bison. :(. We did see some mountain goats successfully cross the street. :). We stopped at a gift shop towards the bottom of the hill to get ice cream and just check it out. I was pleases to find a South Dakota keychain for Cilla's collection. After our brief little break, we continued on our way to mile 60 for Frank's water station. It was really cute that he was wearing a bike chain bracelet that i had given him earlier in the day. The crew is awesome!

After refilling on water and sun chips, we went on out way to Rapid City with a great tailwind. We've been very lucky so far with favorable weather. We were flying, and I was struggling to keep up. What kept me moving was knowing that tomorrow is our rest day. The five of us ended up being the first into Rapid City, and we stopped at a gas station to get drinks. Then we made our way to the School of Mines and Technology, which is where we will be staying for the next two nights.

After settling into the room and unloading the gear truck...oh, and showering, I set out to find a bike shop to get a new seat. I found one less than a mile away, and it worked out perfectly! They measured my sit bones and picked out a saddle. I had them put it on my bike so that i could test it out, and I immediately knew it was much better! Unfortunately, the ride director is not as optimistic as me and said that it won't be comfortable on a 100 mile ride...but I don't really believe here. This new seat is a million billion gajillion times better than what I was riding on. I'll let you know how it goes.

It was still early, and I had 2 hours until dinner. I asked if there was anything to do, and they didn't really have any good suggestions. So, I got directions to the mall that was supposed to be less than 2 miles away. False. It was more than 2 miles and completely uphill. Haha, struggle. But I made it...and almost died several times with all the traffic...but I made it. Once I got there, I realized that I had no reason to be at the mall and didn't need anything. I went in anyway and just walked around looking really cool wearing spandex and glittery jelly flip flops and carrying a helmet and biking shoes. Fantastic. I ended up getting two t-shirts for camp since I only brought 3 and the next stretch is 6 days without a rest day. This stretch of 5 without a rest day was a little bit of a struggle in terms of having enough clean clothes.

After my big purchases of the day, i began my journey back to the dorms...not really remembering how to get back. Struggle. Luckily I made all the right turns, and I made it back in one piece! Dinner was provided by the cafeteria here, and isang and I made great plans for tomorrow. Go to the movies and sit in the dark theater in cushy chairs and eat popcorn. We're even considering seeing multiple movies. And I'm also going to go to Mount Rushmore. And organize my life. I just did laundry, and it is currently hanging across the room to dry. It is quite the sight.

I think that pretty much covers everything. Oh, I got a sun burn today...I promise i put on sunscreen! It's not too bad, but sun burns are never good. Oh well, I guess it will just make my awkward tan lines even more attractive. And P.S.- my tan lines are coming along rather well...just in case you were wondering.

Love from SD,
Suzanne

(251) Minnie Mouse strawberry fruit bars from Disney (252) sneaking candy onto the movie theater (253) long summer days (254) trying to play the harmonica (255) playjng the kazoo better than the harmonica (256) being happy (257) hope (258) summer beach houses (259) Ordinary, Kentucky (260) bendy straws (261) clean bikes (262) locking little fingers (263) warm cookies and cold milk (264) red velvet bows with long streamers (265) making wishes (266) wishing coming true (267) reusable water bottles (268) laughing at myself (269) reading out loud (270) abracadabra (271) all the tiny bumps that make up a basketball (272) a friendly smile from a stranger (273) toasty warmth (274) hybrid cars (275) a love you can count on

Two flats...

Today we biked 75.8 miles from Gillette, WY to Newcastle, WY. We had Kristin's birthday donuts for breakfast, and then Tim, Timmy, Izzy, Kristin, George, Sue, and I rolled out of camp. We successfully made it to the first rest stop, and then on the way to lunch at mile 47, I got my first flat! Izzy and Tim were great, and they held back and basically changed my tires for me.

We stopped in Upton, WY for lunch. PB&J, of course. There was also a little convenience store so I got Bugles and Air Heads to bring me back to my childhood years. I think we were all feeling yesterday's long ride, so we stopped for an extra long amount of time. I actually stayed back even longer so that I could ride with Isang. She met her sister in Gillette, so she started the ride a little later than everyone else. We took it easy into Newcastle and had an 8 mile surprise of construction and bumpy road. We were basically riding on a rumble strip. We survived...although my front tire got a slow leak. I didn't realize it until we were right outside a little diner in Newcastle. Isang went inside while I changed my tire. I did it all by myself! My loverly manicure from yesterday got a little chipped, but it was totally worth it. I changed a flat by myself!

On our way to camp, we saw 2 deer successfully cross the street! Then we stopped at the grocery to get some nutella for Kristin and some over stuff. We were only less than half a mile from camp by this point, so we just coasted on in. After the ride, i went for a short 2 mile or wo run. It was super slow, but hopefully i'll get back into it soon,

We're staying at a Senior Center, and we get to sleep inside! They served us Alfredo and baked potatoes and cole slaw and bread and broccoli cauliflower salad and cookies and chocolate milk for dinner. And once again, I'm pooped. It was a long day.

(226) things that stand the test of time (227) stud earrings (228) buying new school supplies (229) no such thing as a stupid (230) looking through old yearbooks (231) icy hot cream (232) rock climbing (233) prairie dogs (234) astronaut ice cream (235) making friendship bracelets (236) free t-shirts (237) following directions (238) quaint coffee shops (239) meeting new people (240) spring skiing (241) down winter jackets (242) unusual toilet seats (243) 'Where's George" dollar bills (244) blueberry picking (245) little luxuries (246) flip flops (247) making bread from scratch (248) hot air balloons (249) tea time (250) outdoors spilling inside

Spotted Horse, WY

Today we went through Spotted Hoerse, WY. It has a population of 2 according to the sign. There was another town that we went through that has a population of 25. There were 3 guys working on a roof, so I got to see over 10% of the population!

This was the longest day in mileage for the entire trip. 112 miles. I woke up to my tent sopping wet from condensation. Struggle. We had breakfast at 5:30, and then began the epic adventure. Actually, it wasn't too bad. It was cold initially, around 44 degrees. It warmed up throughout the day but it stayed pretty pleasant. I got to see some antelope and deer and of course more cows and horses. George even decided to eat some bugs off of the wall at some rest stop. Apparently they're a delicacy. I decided to pass. There were lots and lots of rolling hills, and Kristin beasted it today! Sue and I did our best to keep up but ultimately let her go so that we could wait up for the boys- Timmy, Tim, George, and Izzy. Oh, and I will update yesterday's ride later, but just so everyone knows. Izzy proposed to me yesterday at K-Mart after buying the 299 ring. Haha, you can guess where the decimal goes. It was pretty classy. We're supposed to tie the knot in Rapid City in a few days. Oh, talk about struggle. :p.

My butt is super sore, and my knee has started to bother me. I tend to grind rather than spin, so it's hard on my knees. I got a knee brace at K-Mart, and it actually helped a lot. I've also been having lower back pain, and the icy hot pads I got also did wonders.

I got into camp mid afternoon. I think around 3. It would seem like I have plenty of time to update, but somehow I always just seem to be busy or just resting. We're camping in a playground park, so we had to do the motel showers again. I finally had access to outlets so that I could charge all my electronics. It's crazy how much I depend on it! My camera battery was dead; my phone was dead; my gps watch was dead; and my iPad was dying. Struggle. On the way back to my tent, I walked by a nail salon and decided to have my fingers repainted. I was going to go with neon green and glitter, but I ended up picking bright red, I think it will compliment my lovely blue engagement ring quite nicely. I went over to subway to get dinner, and end up crashing guy time- Tim, Izzy, Chacko, and Sam.

After dinner, we got soft serve ice cream from a truck. It's Kristin's birthday tomorrow, so Izzy and I went to go get her some birthday rests. We stopped in starbucks to use the restroom and bumped into Andy. He was uploading his YouTube videos. I don't know the link offhand, but I'll definitely be posting it soon. I left Izzy at Starbucks and went to the grocery to buy donuts, candles, a balloon, and card. I brought the stuff back to Starbuks, and seriously, 5 minutes later, Timmy and Kristin walked in. She saw it all. Struggle. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. There's still at least one more birthday during this trip. Maybe I'll be sneakier next time,

I'm pooped and have a lot of blogging to catch up on...especially the things that make me happy. We'll be in Rapid City for a rest day before I know it. It'll be a good chance to catch up on stuff. Even though I get to sleep in tomorrow (breakfast is at 7), I'm off to bed.

Good night!
Suzanne

(201) made-up new words (202) peach fuzz (203) bagel bites (204) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (205) getting a really good haircut (206) freed samples (207) knowing the answer (208) not knowing the answer (209) going to a really good concert (210) silver (211) trampolines (212) tax returns (213) hot springs in the winter (214) pretending that willow trees are hotels (215) riding bikes downhills (216) counting down on New Year's Eve (217) making cardboard box forts (218) split-second thrills (219) oatmeal (220) great life choices (221) gratefulness (222) grace (223) color photocopies (224) gum that doesn't lose its flavor (225) not worrying about having what everyone else has

Chris is super duper nice.

I went to Spokes bike shop in Billings this morning, and on the way, Chris, the guy who fit a few of us on our bikes yesterday, called to let me know that Jim was not picking up at the shop. Isang was also super nice and detoured with me, but when we got there, we were disappointed to find out that the shop was closed for the day. Bummer. I called Chris back, and he drove to pick me up and drove me to another bike shop. Alan hung around, but Isang left to start the ride to Hardin. I really appreciated that she came with me. So, Chris spent like 2 hours with me trying to figure out if the 2 saddles at the other bike shop fit. Unfortunately, they were worse than what I'm using now, so I ended up just putting my old seat back on. Struggle. It's ok though because I'll try and find another bike shop in a few days when we get to Rapid City, SD. After all that, Chris led Alan and I to the middle school where the 6 mile climb began. Chris was so incredibly patient and kind. In the end, all I did to my bike was put carbon lube on the seat post, but I guess it's good that I was able to do that.

The ride today was only 55 miles, and once again I had favorable tailwinds. I was by myself with Alan trailing in his van. Not including the climb at the beginning, I averaged 21.2 mph. Yes, the winds were great, and the road was pretty flat with slight inclines.

I'm currently waiting for dinner to be ready, and I'm sitting in my tent. It's drizzling out, and the sound of the rain on the fly is really cool.

Tomorrow the ride is over 100 miles. Struggle. Hopefully my butt will soon get used to my saddle so that it's not as sore.

Love,
Suzanne

(176) "Way to go!" (177) chocolate covered bananas (178) beanie baby collections (179) homemade ice cream (180) wind chimes (181) solving a rubix cube (182) reusable water bottles (183) peppermint patties (184) vitamin water labels (185) picnics (186) watching ants (187) Toy Story (187) brushing my teeth in the morning (188) window gels (189) watching the Bachelorette (190) monopoly money (191) camp fires (192) watercolors (193) running through sprinklers (194) quick transition times (195) Skype (196) Wilbur from Charlotte's Web (197) Wheel of Fortune's colorful wheel (198) comfort and joy (199) ice cream socials (200) the Fit Kit System

-UPDATE-

Dinner was awesome! Beyond Basil catered again- steak, trout, potatoes, edamame, local grain salad, watermelon, strawberries, artichoke dip, pita, homemade strawberry ice cream, mango sorbet! Yum! And there's a charity ice cream social in an hour by the Rainbow girls!

Annnnd there's TV, so I can watch the Bachelorette! Yesss!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, America! And it's my birthday too! I'm 21. Eeeek! I'm getting old!

So, my birthday was pretty lame by most people's standards...

Isang and I got up at 6:45 and walked to Perkins for breakfast. Then we went to the grocery, and it was really strange walking by the beer knowing that I could purchase it. Then I went to church, cleaned my bike, and then spent 5 hours at a bike fit by Chris, who is the founder of Fit Kit Systems. It turns out that my bike is the perfect size except that I should put arch supports in my shoes and switch out my ism adamo seat. I was able to get the inserts today, but I'm going to the bike shop tomorrow to get a new Seat. I'll have to start the ride late, but luckily it's only a 55 mile day. While I was waiting for Izzy to get fitted on his bike, I went to Wal-Mart to get a duffel bag to replace my oversized ziploc bag that's ripping,

Brad ordered pizza for dinner, and unfortunately we couldn't see the fireworks from the dorm. I went up and started packing up my clean laundry from yesterday, and Izzy and Isang carried my in my new duffel to Timmy's room. He took a video so maybe it'll end up on facebook eventually.

That was basically my day in a nutshell. Not really all that exciting, but I'm so glad to be on this ride with such great people. I also really appreciate all the calls, texts, emails, and facebook posts from family and friends. I'm one lucky girl!

(151) birthdays (152) clean hair (153) walking barefoot through newly cut grass (154) fruit punch accelerade (155) compression sacks (156) first day of school outfit (157) bagels and cream cheese (158) free wifi (159) the butterfly effect (160) the bottom line (161) raw brownie batter (162) children singing (163) cabooses (164) balancing on one foot (165) changing seasons (166) community gardens (167) pretzels dipped in frosting (168) my red car with yellow flowers (169) hot tamales (170) not smelling skunks (171) weddings (172) adventure runs (173) rainbow sprinkles (174) ignorance being bliss (175) mood rings

Tailwind = Lazy

I'm in Billings, MT and made it in record timing! The tailwind was great, and we averaged 21.6 mph for 91 miles. For a lot of it we were coasting at 25-27 mph. It was so fun! Sue, George, Tim, Izzy, and I made it in before noon, but I'm being lazy. I'll fill you all in tomorrow. ...I hope this tomorrow thing doesn't become a trend. :p

-UPDATE-

Not much to say about the day except that it was super fast, and we got into Billings by 11:45.

(126) chestnuts roasted on an open fire (127) sunny yellow napkins (128) walk out basements (129) sandbars (130) babbling brooks (131) sunflower bread (132) buying Christmas decorations early (133) brown paper bag lunches (134) doing something nice for someone without letting on that you did it (135) friendship (136) cold apple juice (137) hunky-dory (138) kitchen timers (139) good things coming your way (140) electric toothbrushes (141) neon poster board (142) wild flowers (143) patchwork (144) the Great Barrier Reef (145) snorkeling (146) girl scout cookies (147) sky diving (148) sales (149) zigzag (150) pebbles

Pink Day!

Today is pink day! Pink jersey, pink stripe on shorts, pink arm warmers, pink sun glasses, pink bar tape, pink toenails, pink sports bra, and pink rain pants for hail storm. Yes, a hail storm. With hail the size of golf balls. Luckily, we were all done with the ride and were able to take shelter in our tents or under a shed. I'm currently stealing wifi from a motel that we're showering at, so I'll update tomorrow. We're riding 97 miles to Billings, MT and then will have a rest day, so I will update more tomorrow.

But really quickly, we biked just over 100 miles today from Townsend, MT to Harlowton, MT. The first 85 miles were pretty awesome with a great tail wind and a nice 12 mile climb at the beginning. But at mile 85, there was atrocious headwind/crosswind...it was soooooo bad! More to come tomorrow! Get excited!

Much love,
Suzanne

-UPDATE-

I really shouldn't wait to update this because all the days become a blur. The beginning of the ride was a a 12 mile climb, but it was very gradual. After the climb, I rode most of the rest of the ride with Timmy, Kristin, Izzy, Isang, George, and Sue. The tailwind was amazing, and we were coasting at like 30 mph. One of the rest stops was at a little bar at Checkerboard Inn. There was over $2,000 worth of signed dollar bills on the ceiling, and I contributed to the decor. After the rest stop, it was pretty smooth sailing until mile 85 when there was super strong sidewind. We waited up for Chacko, Isang, and Andy and created a long pace line moving at the pace of a snail. Struggle. The line didn't really even help because the wind was sideways. It was good to keep me moving though or else I probably would have just sat in a ditch to wait for the storm to pass. I didn't have a jacket or arm warmers with me, so I was freezing cold in my sleeveless pink jersey. It started to rain, and I was so afraid that it was going to start hailing as well. I was about to pull over, but then Izzy let me wear his jacket, which helped a lot. After pedaling at like negative 5 miles an hour, we made it into Harlowton! We stopped at an ice cream and coffee shop, and I got some hot chocolate and a scone! Just what I needed after a 15 mile struggle.

Isang, Izzy, Kristin, Timmy, and I went to jailhouse pizza for dinner, and we camped in the football field. I was considering the option of sleeping in the motel that we used for showering, but it was sooooo gross and smelly. It was a great decision because I slept like a baby.

(101) cliff blocks (102) James Avery (103) looking for animals in clouds (104) crisscrosses (105) laughing (106) homemade jelly (107) ore cows (108) crisp and clean air (109) keyless entry systems (110) allowing extra time (111) throwing coins in wishing wells (112) pipe cleaners (113) cream of wheat (114) caramel apples from the fair (115) cutie oranges (116) om nom mix (117) iced americanos (118) backpacking (119) cinnamon on bananas (120) isosceles trapezoids (121) wintergreen lifesavers (122) fluffy pillows (123) doodlebugs (124) club soda (125) playing dodgeball in the cull-de-sac

No Hannah in Montana

Izzy brought to my attention that he has not seen Hannah Montana in Montana. Sad day. What's even sadder is that 12 miles from our end location, I stopped at a gas station convenience store to use the bathroom and buy stamps, and I met a guy who told me that I was going to see a bunch of elk or maybe he said antelope on my way to Townsend. All I know is that I was super excited to see big animals. To my disappointment, all I saw were more cows and horses.

This morning we got to sleep in a little- breakfast was at 6:30. Then we made the 11 mile climb to the continental divide, which will be our highest point during the trip. We stopped and took lots of pictures and then began the 12 mile descent into Helena. I found the random bike shop that I mailed the iPad camera connecetor kit to, but I still can't figure out how to post the pictures on this blog. I also went to the grocery to pick up a few things that I forgot to bring with me. Then I went to the state Capitol with Amy, Evonne, Deidre, Chacko, Tim, and Sam.

After a little exploring, we began the remaining 30 miles to Townsend. Today was a much shorter day than yesterday. We went just over 60 miles from Avon, MT to Townsend, MT, and I actually felt really good. I've done everything I can think of to ease the soreness- compression tights, biofreeze, aleve, the stick, foam roller, massage, you name it and I've probably done it. The problem is that everyone keeps telling me that the third day is the worst. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes.

I spilt off from my group after a few miles because I figure that the slower I ride, the longer my butt is in the saddle. I also thought that everyone else was ahead of me since my group was last to leave the check point. Well, it turns out a bunch of people took a tour of the governor's office, so I was actually ahead of them. So, I was the first person to camp. Whoops. Hopefully I'll get used to my saddle soon so that I can hang with more people. This is a great group of people, and I look forward to getting to know everyone better.

We had sandwiches and salad and chips and watermelon and lemonade for dinner. Then we went to the town general store for ice cream. It was a real general store- ice cream, movies, video games, tanning, mini home depot, mini radio shack...you name it, they've got it!

I'm uploading pictures to Facebook if you're interested! :)

Wishing for a good third day,
Suzanne

(76) pink lemonade (77) Dr. Seuss books (78) the glass half full (79) inflatable armies (80) visiting a farm to see new baby animals (81) blowing bubble gum bubbles (82) camp fires (83) rainbows apologizing for angry skies (84) miniature golf (85) dots and dashes (86) the bunny rabbit in the moon (86) crocheting (87) spiral shoe laces (88) the aurora borealis (89) sleeping during a thunderstorm (90) peanut butter (91) yoga (92) making lists about things that make me happy (93) repeating myself (94) running in the rain (95) hot tubs in the snow (96) monster cookies (97) loco pops (98) Durham farmer's market (99) carving pumpkins (100) tie dye