Day 3: Vantage to Odessa

83 miles in the rain is not as miserable as it sounds! We had about an hour of riding before the rain began, but it lasted the rest of the day. It was a lot of rolling hills and in total we climbed about 4,000 feet today, although I find them much more bearable than the ups and downs we've encountered thus far. Some of the best advice I've gotten is from my bike club back in NYC: don't look more than three feet in front of you on the hills. It makes it go by a lot faster and easier. I rode with Cara, one of my fellow big riders, for majority of the day and it is so much better riding with other people than riding alone. We are staying in the high school gym tonight so we didn't have to set up tents, which left more time for hangin out and eating! We walked to town for first dinner, then came back and had a second dinner in the school cafeteria here. After dinner Charlton, one of the ride leaders, gave us a class on some cycling mistakes he's been seeing, how to improve our skills, and tips for dealing with nasty weather. Tomorrow is a 77 mile ride to Spokane then we have a day of rest.