Today we are scheduled to ride 110 miles to Blackfoot, ID. We ate breakfast at 8:30 AM and loaded immediately afterward. Team “Stop A Lot” was about last out of the parking lot. Why? I really don’t know. Steve and I had a conversation in the lot about our pace line protocol. We decided we would take a 5-minute rotation and try to hold to it. We would make adjustments if necessary. This means each of the four of us would take a pull in the front of the line for 5 minutes and then rotate to the back of the line. Now team “Stop A Lot” is not noted for its discipline except to stop a lot. So this would be a challenge. We knew we would be more efficient if we could stick to this.

So I set my bike computer on the clock mode and kept track of each lead rider’s time. Believe me; I was accused frequently of misreading the clock during the day. I would shout our when it was time to rotate and generally I gave a 30 second warning so the person second in line could mentally prepare to take the lead.

This worked very well throughout the entire day. We arrived in Blackfoot at 2:00 PM. The day was not without challenges. Early in the day the road was very rough. It kept putting our hands to sleep. At times I could not even feel the shift levers. The other part of our anatomy that took a beating was. . . I think you can guess. When we finally hit smooth pavement that was along on the side of a freeway, Dan yelled out, “Hey Mary, check and see if my bike is still under me!” Finally, we had smooth pavement and a tail wind to boot.

The champ of the day was Mary. She is a real trooper! All we need to do is keep feeding her Pop Tarts. Each time it was her turn to take the lead she always accelerated and the line went at least 2 mph faster. She would hold this for all five minutes of her rotation. She was a real strong rider when we started, but she is much stronger now!

At 100 miles we all stopped and took a picture of Mary’s odometer. This was our third century since the start of the tour. We completed the day’s 110 miles with ease. Much can be attributed to the tailwind, but we also rode in a smarter way. When we stopped for lunch we celebrated another good day of riding. We were tired and covered in salt residue from sweating so much but we felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

It is amazing to me how my perception is changing. I used to think of an 80 mile ride as a pretty good workout, a 100 mile ride was something you really had to mentally prepare for, and anything longer than 100 miles was something you did not take lightly and really had to prepare emotionally for, a major effort. Now 100 miles is simply 100 miles and just another day. When we started the tour we were riding at about 16-17 miles per hour. Now that pace is pretty slow for us. We are riding more often at 18-19.5 mph now. After 13 days the road is having an effect on each of us. We are also learning how to work together to be more efficient and effective in working through the challenges of each day. The relationships came first, then the efficiencies. This is not unlike the work I have done all my life. Much of the success was a direct result of the relationships I had with others that made the work successful. It is an accumulation of the talents and skills brought to bear on solving a problem or addressing an issue.

Tomorrow we are scheduled for a lighter day. This will be helpful because the next day we leave Idaho and move on into Wyoming. Yet another state falls behind our rolling tires. I can’t believe that tomorrow I will have been gone two weeks. Oh, the time goes so quickly. I am so blessed! God has provided me wonderful companions to travel across America with. He has also protected us each day and watched over my family at home, my constant companion.

Well, I’ll close my reflections on another beautiful day. Have a great evening! Thanks for joining me in my ride across America, the land of the free.

Click here to see more pictures from today!