Day 25 - Halfway with An Abundance of Headwinds!

The day began early again today, and with a ride of only 82 miles, we thought it should be easy-peasy following yesterday's 117 hot miles.  The 6:30 am departure seemed like a good idea to lessen the riding in the midday sun and the stronger winds that develop in the afternoons in S.D.  Here's a shot in front of our hotel at about 6:15 am, riders ready to pack suitcases in the trucks and to get on the road - tires pumped, bikes cleaned, power bars, etc. packed in pockets.

Out on the road, Drew, Gardner and Don stopped to take a picture of the first sighting of the Missouri River, which we would follow for much of the day.  The four of us rode together for much of the day after working on and perfecting our pace line moves to survive the wind yesterday.  This is not the Missouri River yet, just the guys getting ready to take their pictures.    Wait - it's coming.....

Here's the fruits of their labor for this first Missouri River shot.  The river is indeed huge!

At our first "SAG" stop, the ABB Staff made a notation on the pavement that this spot marks the halfway point between Astoria, Oregon and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A celebration of Making it Halfway ensued while we ate our bananas spread with peanut butter and sprinkled with trail mix, among other delights.

The rest of the day was pretty much a grind as we faced continuous winds, mostly from directly ahead or slightly from  the side.  I kept singing the tune "Blowin in the Wind" to myself as we were buffeted around by winds with sustained speeds of  25mph. At times, when they came from a perpendicular direction, we would have to lean our bikes into the wind to keep from being knocked over by a gust.

This last shot is our approach from the top of a hill outside our destination city, Chamberlain, S.D.  Quite a lovely little town. 

We were lucky enough to get a tip on the best milkshakes in town, at the Derby Coffee House, where we enjoyed cooling down and having a bit of respite before we get ready for a new day tomorrow. There are the predicted headwinds again, but the distance is shorter and the amount of climbing is almost 2,000 feet less.  We can only hope!