Day 45

73 Miles
The ground was hard but the day's miles made it feel like a feather bed. I slept so soundly. The thunder in the night didn't leave us with rain as I had expected. The rainfly of my tent looked dry. Low battery had forced me to keep my phone (and hence clock) off for the night. Light began to make the walls of my tent glow and I wondered the time. I heard Oak climb down out of the truck he had slept in. I contemplated getting up but laid there silent wondering how much more sleep I would manage before I gently told to wake up. Not that Oak and Lily seemed the type to pressure anyone to move when they didn't want, but I slept so well I wasn't sure I didn't want more. Conflicting was the grin on my face when I thought of the previous days epic amount of miles, and what day might hold.
I heard Oak moving around. Then I heard the gentle strum of guitar strings...
"Lily, it's time to get up..." Oak sang along to his strumming outside Lily's tent. I hear her giggle with glee and hear the smile in her voice as you exclaims "best wake up ever!"
Oak's cute little songs as, still strumming, he walks to my tent...
"Kristy, it's time to get up..."
He was right. Those miles weren't "going to ride themselves". Lily and I emerged from our tents beaming with smiles. We all got up. We ate our breakfast there. Donovan stopped by and wished us well. We thanked him again.
The day was a little slower paced then the day before. We stopped every 20 miles or so. Each stop I got to know them more and more. The sun was hot and the heat became more intense through out the day. The plains offered no shade. The plains were mostly desert like. The grass mostly browned. Along the way though I learned that the grasses were much greener than most years at this time. The rain had been more plentiful than it had been in decades.
About 60 miles into the day which was around 2:30 or 3 pm, I got an excruciating headache. I had to stop riding. I sat on the side of the road my head on my knees. I took Tylenol and drank water. I knew it was related to my teeth. Eventually the pain subsided enough that I could ride on. I tilted my head and closed one eye, because it lessened the pain somehow.
I found Oak and Lily waiting for me at the next town. They had gotten quite worried about me. I found shade and waited for the Tylenol to kick in more.
We all decided maybe a campground would be a good idea for the night. The sun was so bright and hot. Every passerby told us we should stay out of the sun. We were all surely burnt by the sun's rays despite frequent applications of sunblock.
We headed to the local library. Oak and Lily checked email. I charged my phone and made some calls. I was feeling better. The air conditioning of the library was refreshing.
We met a man outside the library with the most elaborate setup of a bike I'd ever seen. Fully loaded barely covered the description. He told us he'd been everywhere.
We found a campground and went to the store. The campground was a cute little place. They let us use their grill and put our bikes inside. A storm erupted shortly after we got there. It was intense. But it was short. I was in the shower for most of it. And when I emerged, so did the sun. And with every rough day, and nearly every storm, I saw another rainbow.

Shortly after dinner we started planning the next day. It would be my last day with them unless I decided to head further North. I was almost completely convinced of Washington State being my end point.
The painkillers had started to wear off. I took something stronger but the pain became excruciating before it could kick in. I retired to my tent very early. I begged my body for sleep. Eventually the pain reduced enough and I managed to doze off.