Cannonball - Day 7

July 11th, 2016

Valentine, NE to Gillette, WY (360 Miles)

The first thing I have seen mentioned in all the blog posts is WIND.  Yup that's major discussion as everyone pulled in for the day.  It was a constant left headwind all throughout the day.  Top speeds were effected across the board and I was regularly getting passed.  Wind buffeting was pretty brutal and I'm sure I have more tire wear on the left from riding at an angle just to maintain some semblance of going straight.  But time is of the essence, we pressed on.

I started out from Valentine a little early.  Clouds were low but it didn't really look like rain.  For the first time on this trip I was a little cold.  I'm not sure what the outside temp was, but I may need to grab some thermals from Walmart tonight for another layer as we get higher up.  This was something I didn't plan for since we were leaving in July.  As the day wore on, the sky cleared and the sun warmed things up.

The scenery sure did change as we approached Mount Rushmore.  

The first few hill were a bear though.  Mt top speed was 30 miles per hour with the throttle pegged.  This is the first tine I have seen Mount Rushmore in real life.  As you round the corner, it really pops out.  Amazing.  I'll have to stop and actually look more on the return trip.  One major drawback of the Cannonball, no time to stop and smell the roses.

So back on the road.

And out of the pretty

Then end the day at the Hotel.  It's a routine.  One of the great things about the Cannonball is the people you meet.  The depth of knowledge of this crew is incredible and most people will get together and help each other out at the end of the day. 

And that's it for today.  I will add our altitude charts for the next few days as the spikes are really awesome.

Tomorrow, Livingston, MT


BTW, you probably know this, but there is no way to get thermals in Walmart in July.  I'll just have to bundle up as the temps are supposed to start out in the high 40's.