Day 16, Hardin, MT to Sheridan, WY

Yes indeed, the picture tells the story. Our support crew painted this message on the road at the 1,000 mile mark.

We were talking about 2005 today, the year we decided to get back into biking. That year we were Soooo proud of bicycling 500 miles total. Just incredibly full of ourselves. This year we have bicycled over 1,000 miles in 13 days on the bike, 16 days if you count the rest days. I don't know where we go from here, but I bet it will be fun.

Today's ride proved to be a bit of a challenge. Everyone in our group seemed a bit punk, us included. No one could come up with a reason other than that we have had a rest day, followed by a very light day - 56 miles down wind. Perhaps, the thinking goes, our bodies just forgot what we were doing and decided they no longer had to work hard. During the Tour De France, the cyclists always do a training ride on a rest day. Perhaps we will follow their example in the future.

The ride itself today was fairly flat and on lightly traveled roads. We did have a 5 to 10 mph head wind for most of the day, and it was HOT. Temperature into the low 90's. I think the heat will be our next challenge. Riding in the cold? Got it. Climbing long hills? Got that too. Riding in the rain? Piece of cake for Michiganders. Riding long distances in 90 to 100 plus temperatures? We'll need to tackle that next.

We will be getting up at 04:00 tomorrow with the idea of getting on the road by 05:30 to get some miles in before it gets hot. We ride 112 miles tomorrow from Seridan to Gillette, WY. Wish us luck.