Day 23 Pierre to Miller, SD – 74 Miles – Flat with a tailwind!

Sleeping in Pierre’s Morse Middle School gymnasium does not sound like an ideal resting place, but it was an amazing night’s sleep — I fell right asleep and slept the entire night.  It was a pleasure to sleep indoors, with air conditioning, and not have to worry about packing up the tent at 4:30 am.  I got a great recovery and was well-rested for the next day’s ride.  We had breakfast in camp presented by VeloSante and were on our way by 6 am.  The cyclists in this image are riding on a road that was just oiled so it was shiny as we rode out of Pierre headed due east and straight into the sun.  Yesterday, we slayed the high winds; this day we slayed the big bold sun that was directly in front the entire morning.

My “mapmyride” report gave 17.2mph average speed for the 73 miles.  I used one battery on the Pedego e-bike and it took just over four hours to reach our day’s destination: Miller, South Dakota.  Once in town, the agenda was a haircut downtown, dinner at the local steakhouse and then indoor camping at the Miller High School.  The staff at the school were very kind and welcoming.  Next up: Cycling life on the prairie…more South Dakota.

Sun Protection for Bicycle Rides

As I get ready to ride my bike across the country, one of the concerns we all have is how to deal with the daily doses of sunshine.  While most of us love being outside all day in the glorious sun…it can build up when you are riding every day, all day.  This can create damaging exposures.  As I plan for this long ride.  I am thinking about all the products that exist to protect from the sun.  Most people just gob-on the sunscreen, which is chemical based and then naturally absorbed into the body as such.  As a society, we don’t currently know the full effects of long term usage of heavy doses of sunscreen, I am one who would prefer to go chemical free.   So, I am thinking long sleeves and white arm warmers for the upper body.

For my neck and ears, I am thinking about this do rag. to wear under my helmet.  I have gotten some really bad sunburns on the back of my neck under the helmet and I am hoping this do rag will solve that because it has a back flap that comes down behind the neck.  It also doubles as a sweat band.