Back in the Saddle Again

OK, we are back in WY after our trip to RAGBRAI. Since we want to get to the Mississippi as quickly as possible, I decided to take a couple long days and get into Nebraska.
Well, the first day went well. We got up a little late and got out to our starting point about 9:30 AM. That's a little late and I knew I would be biking in the heat of the day (about 90). Did close to 80 miles and didn't get to the hotel until dark. Showered and had a quick pizza and went to bed.
I knew the next day would be tough. I had to get back to I 80 and climb my highest pass to date. I have the picture, but it is still in the camera. Anyhow, I waited until 8AM until the solar glare was over. I wanted those truckers to see me. Got started on the uphill and things just weren't working right. I was pedalling very slow and it was really tough. I decided to give my coach, Larry Hart a call and check in. I described my problems and wanted to know if this was all in my head. He assured me that I was exhausted. I believed him. He told me to get off the mountain, have a nap and some GU (a high energy gel) and relax for a couple hours and try again.
Lo and behold, I fell asleep in the van on the way back to the motel and slept another hour when we got there. I guess I did not re-charge fully after the long ride the day before.
Got back on the bike about 1PM and what do you know? I got a good headwind( about 30 MPH) to accompany the trucks and the hill. It was probably my roughest climb to date, but also my last big hill. I went over 8650 feet, climbing about 1600 feet in 4 miles.
Finally got over that after 2 PM, and started the downhill. Got another 15 miles down the road with the headwind blowing me one way and the trucks blowing me another way. Still it was downhill and I didn't have to pedal hard. However, the wind turned ugly and a thunderstorm developed, so I called it quits after 25 miles at about 4 PM.
We went into Cheyenne and found a hotel with a hot tub (really needed that). We had dinner at a nice brew pub and did laundry. Fell asleep around 11.
Now it is 6:45 and time for me to get ready to bike again. There is about 50 more mile, mostly downhill to go today then we will be out of WY. Nebraska is next and I saw a mileage sign that said 525 miles to Omaha, so that state should take a while. One day, one pedal at a time.
Not much else to report.
Later.
PS, Thanks to Diane for the title of today's blog. Yes, back in the saddle and it is tender going.