I love my wife. She is the best person that could have gone on this trip with me. Brie and I are halfway across America spending every hour of everyday with each other and I am just as excited to spend the next half of the trip with her as I was the first. Some of the best parts of the trip have been the conversations we have had while we bike. Not only does talking make the challenges of the day seem less but it is also fun to discuss so many different things.
As we meet other touring cyclists we have crossed paths with only one other woman rider. It could be that more will come later as the temperatures continue to rise but so far only one. Brie has been brave to withstand the cold. As she has mentioned in previous blogs, some morning temperatures in the mountains have been in the 20’s and some of our time has been spent riding through very cool, cloudy days. She certainly does not like the cold but she has been tough and endured it often with the promise of hot chocolate in the evenings. I have been very impressed with Brie’s ability to climb mountain passes and survive Wyoming winds. During some days she is the one drafting for me. At times, she has bursts of energy, possibly from the skittles she sometimes has in her back pocket, and begins taking off down the road leaving me a ways behind. She makes the evenings fun as we set up camp, make our one pan meals, and hang out in our small tent watching TV shows, playing games, and reading scripture together before bed.
Today we rode a shorter distance through more flat, wheat filled countryside and are staying in Scott City, KS in another city park. Although all of our biking clothes are now dirty and there is no laundromat that we could find, we are doing quite well and the warm days and sunny evenings are very nice. We even stopped at our first Casey’s General Store marking our entry into the Midwest.
The Jake Report: Miles: 48.9; Time on bike: 4 hrs; Average: 12.4; Total: 2239; Weather: warm, 5-10mph headwind; Terrain: flat, flat, and flat.