Foggy start to a another great day of biking

This morning I planned to leave the hotel at 5:45 to start our 72 mile ride from Mitchell, SD to Sioux Falls, SD.  Only 72 miles stood between me and our rest day.  When I went out at 5:45 it was like a sauna and it was sooo foggy.  I left about 10 minutes later and after a few turns I could barely see 1 foot in front of me and it was so humid that I was dripping.  Between the sweat, the sunscreen and the bug spray - it was pretty nasty.  I kept thinking of those guys in spin class that need to put all of the towels down around them to catch all of the sweat. I thought we were going to be in for a long day but it turned out to be pleasant.

About an hour and half later the sun finally broke through and we had a nice breeze - not always in the right direction but it helped with the heat.  The goal was to stay hydrated and moving so I could get in before it got too hot.  The scenery was pretty today with lots of lakes and color.  Riding onto Sioux Fall felt like riding into any typical suburb.  We are staying in the middle of Anytown USA - think if we were on Long Island we would be across from Roosevelt Field, in Chicago we would be near Old Orchard, in MA we would be in Burlington and in MN we would be near Ridgedale.  Anything we need is right here so I rode directly to Sprint to get my phone fixed.  At the Sprint store they told me that the heat index was 105. 

Everyday there are many funny things that happen along the way.  Today, Travis had a flat tire and thought his pump was broken when he his tire would not inflate.  He tried my pump, didn't work, he tried Bob's pump, didn't work.  It turned out the new tube was defective and already leaking air.  He had to change the tire again.  Luckily, people are always around to help - see pic below.

Everyone is very excited for our day off.  It's hard to explain because it is not the biking people want a day off from, I think it's more of a day off from the routine of always being on the go, not having to go to bed at 8:30 (when it is still daylight) and not having to get up at the crack of dawn.  There are actually a lot of people who ride their bikes on the rest days.  I, for one need to give my legs and bum a chance to recover so I do a lot of walking - plus a massage (of course).

On Monday we will say goodbye to South Dakota and ride into Minnesota.  I can't believe how the trip is flying by.

I wanted to introduce Colin Dunbar - the person who got me through the 117 mile ride

Travis and Bob fixing the tire for the second time.  Today was "jersey day "- so we are all dressed alike.