A challenging ride with Gardiner ’27, ending well with hamburgers, hot dogs and pie.
Yesterday, we awoke to the bubbling stream right outside our tents. We took our time eating breakfast and making lunch before packing up to drive over to the start of the Mickelson Trail. There, we made sure our bikes were working well before embarking on our journey of 24 miles. We stopped after we got to around the 7 mile mark, making sure we were staying well hydrated. I endeavored to use the bathroom in the woods, walking for about five minutes before finding a place, just to then realize there was a snake. We then began riding again, only to find there was a bathroom just a few yards down the trail. We rode about nine miles and settled down at a nice spot to eat for a little while. I, however, began falling behind. Pedaling so slowly that although I did not take a break, I arrived at the rest-stop ten minutes after everyone else. We had about eight more miles to go, and I was ready to get back. About half our group overshot the ending of our biking journey, but we eventually all met up. On the car ride to Buffalo Ridge Resort in Custer, SD, we listened to our group playlist, trying to guess who selected what song. Upon arriving, about half our group ran to the pool, while Maura and I took a shower. We enjoyed some downtime for a while before journaling and eating hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. Afterward, we played a game of manhunt before eating pie, after which we played another round of hide-and-seek/tag. We then retired back to our cabins at around 10pm, making sure we would get a good night’s rest for our activities the following day.
