117 miles with 2975 feet of climbing. It was 60 degrees at departure and68 on arrival in Pierre.the terrain was mostly rolling with strong winds from the ESE which meant headwinds all day. To top it off, we had a soaking rain all day. The trip leader says he has never seen it rain on any previous trips like he did today. If it rains it's late in the aver noon dur to heat and they pass through quickly. Usually they worry abbot heat exhaustion but today it was hypothermia.
The persistent headwinds an rain made me really have to dig deep to continue. Several riders got into the van at our second SAG stop aroun mile 50.
We started the day very early with loading at 0515 and got to the restaurant at 0530. As luck would have it, the chef slept in! We got off to a later start than desired. At the third SAG stop I spoke with a woman who says her husband works for FEMA and is currently in Pierre. We we rode into Pierre we noticed how high the Missouri is. All the local building had sand bags all around them. The river had overrun it's banks in many places.
My friend and I came in at the tail end today becUse she had 3 flat tires within 15 minutes with about. 30 miles to go. We didn't get to the hotel until 7:40 which meant we were on the road for 13 hours! I hope it doesn't get worse than this.
Tomorrow is supposed to be a little easier, due to less mileage. There are 3 climbs and it's going to be hot.
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