Day 13 - (the) Youngstown (and the restless cyclists)

Another long ride through the prairies, though again it was not what I'd call flat. Ilan and I rode together in tight formation, which saved a lot of energy when we rode into the wind from the north.

The scenery was much the same as yesterday: vast expanses of green fields. Our route guide said there would be a water tower in Hanna feeding a gravity-fed water pipeline, meaning that the rest of the ride would be downhill. We were eagerly anticipating a huge water tower, but were a bit underwhelmed when we got there.

The downhill was a bit of a let down too. It was better described as up-and-down with a slight bias towards down. Also, the road surface became rough with creases across the road every 10 meters or so sending shocks through our already weary bodies. The last 20 k were definitely the hardest. When we reached the Windmill Motel I felt like I'd just been through the spin cycle. It felt great to lie down.

As I lay there and started to dose off, the sky suddenly opened up. Some of us went out into the hallway to watch the thunderstorm.

Unfortunately, this rained out the meal preparations that had been going on outside. Instead of chicken sandwiches, we ordered pizza from a local joint. My gut could only handle two pieces, but we did get treated to awesome deserts by the motel owners. Hopefully that'll get me through another long day tomorrow.

Today's track

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