PROFILE:  Scott Johnson is the youngest coast to coast rider at age 17. We had one 16 year old (Robbie, here with his Dad Bob from NJ), for one week. Scott turns 18 before the trip gets to Canada, and he can't wait to celebrate there. Scott is here with his brother Max (21) and they reside in Vermont. Scott connected with us early the first week. The first week I could not remember his name, so I nicknamed him "Vladimir", as he is originally adopted from Moscow, Russia. Sometimes we still call him that. Vlad is a competitive skier, who told us he joined the trip because he wanted to get his legs in shape for skiing, plus, his brother Max already did a coast to coast. Since he was not an experienced cyclist, we have been coaching Scott along the way. He now knows the responsibility of being in a pace line (because we dropped him when he did not comply), and he knows the value of lightening your load. Over the first 4 weeks, he shed his backpack, knee brace, seat pack and any thing else not nailed down, including losing numerous water bottles. One of mine even. He joined us on our second summit of Grand Tetons, and has improved a great deal. I am always amused by watching he and Max, especially when they are tenting. They fight with each other like they are stars in a reality show. Anyway, Scott (and his brother Max) are good guys. I have enjoyed teaching Scott and watching his progress. I think he will end up being an excellent cyclist. Here are some pictures of Scott (last picture is his brother Max, on left, with Ken).

UPDATE: Unfortunately Scott had a crash, injured his hand, had to have surgey and left the tour one of the weeks I was away. I did get to see him in Lake Placid, as he and his Mom came to see Max that weekend.

DAY 25 (Saturday July 14th) Phillip, SD to Pierre, SD. 90 miles. My last ride on this leg of the trip. A total of 2,059 miles at the end of this ride. I will re-join the group at Niagara Falls in early August to ride across New York State and complete my ride in Lake Placid. Andrew's bike was fabulous today. As I said, it is similar to mine, both carbon fiber Specialized Roubaix size 54 frames, and with his tweaks, it felt like I had been on it before. Andrews bike even had a nicer computer, which said I burned over 7,000 calories on the Saturday ride. No wonder we have all been eating like pigs. This was not a day for climbers. No major climbs, but lots of little rolling hills that allowed sprinters to race up and down all day. I liked it a lot. Four of us teamed up to do my last ride - Tim, Theo, Malcolm and I. Me and the "international" team. We each pulled and tore through the first 1/3 to 1/2. We averaged 18 mph by picnic. Just before picnic, we took a right hand turn and hit a strong head wind that would stay with us the rest of the day. And, we had the heat again, as it was around 100 degrees. Several people SAG'd again due to the heat and head winds. But coast to coast riders with me are EFI riders (every f---ing inch). The wind was tough, as we even fought it going downhill on the last 2 mile descend into town. We stopped for milk shakes in town and completed the ride relatively early. Pictures:(1) view, (2) Malcolm - Australia, (3-4) Tim - UK - forgot to mention, this crazy man rode the Friday Badlands ride, 65 miles, without a seat - had it removed, so he could rest his bottom - crazy !!, (5) Max - From VT & Scott's brother, Ken from Canada, (6) the International team - Tim, Theo, Malcolm, (7-8) views, (9) me and 3 other people leave Pierre, (10) I think I can see Monday's ride from here. See you all in NY

DAY 24 (Friday July 13) Interior, SD to Phillip, SD: 61 miles. Interesting day. Billed as one of the nicest rides on the tour, because we spend the first part of the day going through Badlands National Park. It lived up to the billing. It was very beautiful, especially with the morning sun against the landscape. Theo, Scott and I enjoyed stopping at all the scenic pull overs while in the park. We also had a nice climb inside the park, and left the park just after mile 22. We went through Wall, SD and stopped in at the famous Wall Drug store. Kind of like "South of the Border" for us East Coasters. The ride went south on the second half, as what was a clear and clean highway the night before, got paved that morning unannounced. I mean...a 30 mile stretch and it was "chip seal". Basically a layer of tar and then small chip stones spread on top. We had around 100 degree weather, so it was a mess for 30 miles. Theo and I stopped a couple times to take refuge under a shaded tree (when one could be found). Water bottles where like hot tea bottles. On that 30 mile stretch, we had stones and tar hitting us in all directions. With only 4 miles to go, I would became one of what was eventually four victims. A stone got stuck in my derailer as I chugged up a hill, and it stopped me dead in  my tracks, broke the derailer in two and threw me to the ground. I had only minor scrapes on my leg (and tar all over me) but the bike was toast. I called in for SAG help. Given we had fallen cyclists up and down the route (and many just gave up due to heat and road conditions) the SAG vans were very busy. I got into camp very late that night. The bike could not be fixed immediately, due to lack of parts available, so Andrew (one of our mechanics) who happens to ride a similar bike to mine and the same frame size, offered up his bike for me to complete my ride on Saturday. I had no choice, I accepted. I thank Andrew a lot, as he not only put my seat post and pedals on his bike, but also put my headset on as well. It was great fit (he said it is faster than my bike LOL). Pictures:(1-2) night before, view of Badlands from our camp site, (3-16) Badland views - Scott on 16, (17-18) views, (19-21) chip seal riding, broken derailer, scrapes, (22) view in town

DAY 23 (Thursday July 12th) Rapid City, SD to Interior, SD:  80 miles. This was what I call a travel day....mostly no hills and clear sailing. I felt good again today and we hauled ass. By Picnic we were averaging over 20 mph, and ended the day at 19.5 mph. We did not have a lot of unique scenery today, but at picnic we stopped in a small ghost town called Scenic, SD. It is famous, as the town has been up for sale for a few years. It was recently purchased, but nothing is brewing there yet. It has only one active business at the moment, a trading post. Scott drafted off Theo and I for 70 miles, then took off before the last water stop, when he should have pulled us. As veterans, it was our duty to teach the young lad a lesson, so at the last water stop, we ditched him when he stopped to relieve himself. He got the message, and helped pull on Friday. At the tail end of the ride, we crossed into Badlands National Park and got a teaser for what we will see on Friday. Malcolm caught us, so the three of us, (Theo, Malcolm and I) completed the ride by 11:40am. Tim was already there, as he wanted to get through it fast and save some saddle time. It was a hot day, so we chugged down gallons of chocolate milk when we arrived and some of us even jumped in the pool at the RV park. Pictures: (1-4) Scenic, SD, (5-7) teaser for Badlands Nat'l Park