It seems like I am always heading into storms.  Between Lost Springs and Douglas there was only one truckstop and rest area.  I found nothing I wanted to eat at the truckstop and lucked out at the rest area.  There were two old men sitting under a tent selling snacks.  Not just selling, but taking donations for snacks.  They wanted to give me so much, but I settled for a couple ziplocks of fruit and vegetables and homemade muffin.  As I sat there to eat, the rest area hostess came by and talked to me.  She told me all about what was happening with the eclipse and about where to stop along the way.  The eclipse is a big thing here.  Whe said she was expecting 10,000 people to be at her rest stop to watch it.  My plan was to be in Jackson, WY for the eclipse, but all campsites, hotels, and everything else is booked.  So now, I will try to be on some desolate road in Idaho.  She advised me to stay off of the interstate on my way to Casper (two days away) and stay on Highway 20.  She also said it would protect me from most of the wind!

I guess I was more tired than I had thought.  The rest of the way was slow.  I stopped a lot to look at the cacti and different rock formations.  Occasionally I would see a group of pronghorn.  Highway 20 was more out of the wind and the only traffic on it was from a cement factory.  The road itself was covered in cracks filled with rubber.  That kept my mind busy because each time I hit a crack my tires would be absorbed in the rubber and my pace slowed dramatically.  

As soon as I reached Douglas the rain started.  I hid out at a car wash for 10-15 minutes until it slowed enough to move on.  In town, there were more choices for food than I was used to.  I decided to splurge and went to Sapporo Japanese Steakhouse.  Everyone in there were Chinese.  From there I went to the railroad museum and talked to the caretaker.  She advised me to go to Riverside Park for the night, which had free camping and hot showers.

They also had a sign that read no camping on the grass, but due to the sprinkler system.  The sprinklers came on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3 AM.  I scoured the park for somewhere to pitch the tent and found nothing.  I tried in the parking lot, but only bent one my stakes.  I then tried under a picnic table, but it was too short.  I then tried on top of the picnic table, but my tent was too wide.  I settled on hanging the hammock with the tarp over it.  At this point, the skies were clear and it was nice out.  Soon after, the wind picked up and the rain started.  I should mention, that I picked a spot not directly over or near a sprinkler.  The sprinkler would only hit my tarp.  When the storm came, I quickly got the tent out and set it up.  I was camping on the grass on a Wednesday and they could get over it.  I had still not acquired any more stakes and had was using some stakes for both the tent and the tarp.  It stormed, not just rained, until nearly 1 AM.  Then, at 3, the heard the sprinklers come on.  

That morning, I woke up at 6 and the rain had started again.  It rained until 3 pm and I stayed inside the tent the whole time.  I went through all of my peanut butter, snack bars, and tortillas.  All that was left was a jar of honey and some dry cereal.  I probably could have made it to Casper before nightfall, but decided to make a day of Douglas.  I went to the grocery store and loaded up on food and then to the laundry mat.  There I met a couple of guys that followed and crewed at music festivals.  They were living out of a small Toyota truck with a bed cover.  They were nomads, some might say hippies.  They did offer to get me stoned but I decided against it.  One of them said that they pick up a lot of extra gear after each festival and that they had camping gear they were sorting through.  When he mentioned the lot of stakes I offered to buy them off of him and he just gave them to me.  Now, I have almost too many stakes! They invited me to winter with them in California at a nomad camp called Slab City.  

After leaving them I had dinner and then met two more guys at the campground.  They were doing a summer tour of Canada and making a loop down to Colorado before heading back to the east coast.  I talked with Patrick for a long time and eventually followed him to look at an old Toyota mini motorhome he had spotted.  It measured no more than 16 foot and we just happened to catch the owner.  The owner opened up the camper and then showed us his shop and all of the toys he was working on.  Patrick would make for an excellent traveling buddy and I am sure if I met him in Arkansas he would have dropped everything to come with me.  

Oh, and my shoes are dead…

Only nine miles to the border and no more Nebraska!  There were more and more rock formations after crossing the border and I saw my first pronghorn of the trip.  I also started seeing more cacti, but no prickly pears.  I climbed up to one of the rock formations to see it covered in swallow nests.  

I stopped for lunch in Lusk and watched as all of the bikers from Sturgis came and went.  Many of them stopped to talk to me.  One of the locals came and sat at my table.  I was not sure if he was the local bum or the local preacher.  He had a lot to say and sat with me until I left.  From there I went to the grocery store and restored my food supply and then road on.  My goal was to get to Lost Springs, WY for the night.  

Ten miles from Lost Springs another storm hit.  This time the wind was blowing so hard I had to get off of the road.  Those same electric buildings that lined the Cowboy Trail were alongside the existing railroad here.  Unfortunately, it was still working and locked.  So, I hid behind it.  Eventually a rancher pulled up and asked me what I was doing and when I told him he and I both were hiding behind the box peeking out looking at the storm.  The storm was heading South so I decided to chance it.  Not 2 miles down the road was another box and hiding behind it were two motorcyclists.  Stacy and Jodi were coming from Sturgis and took a wrong turn back in Lusk.  They were from Chicago and lived in a tiny house so we had plenty in common.  We talked for nearly half an hour and by the time I left them the storm was gone and the sun setting.  

Lost Springs, WY has a population of four.  One of the four directed me to their park.  They had hot water, a pavilion, and the nicest grass I have ever seen.  It was so nice that they had a sign up saying no camping on the grass.  It was a good thing that I grabbed food from the store, but I am not buying anymore French baguettes.  It was too hard to eat.

I was slow to get around, sitting with Ken and Jan talking until nearly 11.  I saw a donut shop in town and Ken said he would go with me for breakfast.  It has been nice knowing that I would be able to stay with someone I knew every week or so.  Camping out can be somewhat stressful, being in a strange place with nothing but a piece of nylon between me and the rest of the world.  It is comforting when I am with other people and not having to guess at every car that shines their lights on me or every footstep that goes by.

Just outside of Chadron I ran into a small stretch of roadwork.  Right where the flagger stopped me, there was a small storage building sitting in the middle of a field with a sign with the words, “Local honey sold here”.  It was filled with local made crafts and of course honey!  It was $12 a jar, but I couldn’t resist.  The coolest part of the store was that it only had a money box and no attendant.  If I had not of stopped for the construction I probably would not have noticed it.

Not far after the store I started seeing more landmarks.  Large rock structures stuck out of the ground like something out of an old western movie.  After seeing corn for weeks and then sand hills for so long it was motivating to see a change in the landscape.

For lunch, I stopped in the town of Crawford.  I found a small park to rest, eat, and write some.  The park had an old caboose on show.  The attendant remarked that it was just like those tiny houses people are living in.  It had about twice the living space as my boat and I immediately thought about all that I could do with the space.  The attendant was full of advice for the days ahead.

That morning, Ken and I were looking at the map and the elevation change.  He used Google Earth to look at the roads and found a steep grade sign.  He told me that those signs indicate a steepness of between 6 and 10 percent.  I found the hill!  It was the first real hill I have climbed in a long time.  It was 3 to 4 miles long and took me to the top of a rise.  I wish I had a better photo.  Not sure if the view was as inspiring as I felt or if it had to do with me conquering it.  From the top, it was easy riding to Harrison.

With only five miles to go I could see it raining in the distance, right over Harrison.  Wolfgang told me about an A-frame restaurant just as you get into Harrison.  He said they had Mexican, Thai, and American food.  It was hard to believe that a town of just a couple hundred would have Thai food, but I was excited.  If the the restaurant was any further into town, I would have been drenched.  So, for dinner I had pad thai and a salsa!

The rain never stopped and it was getting cold.  There was a motel right next to the restaurant that I thought about staying in.  The only other option I saw on the map was the high school.  It faced the road and had no protection from the wind.  I rode around town looking for other options when I saw the sign for a park and RV.  The park was small, having only one parking spot and hookup, but perfect for me.  I set up camp for the night.  The wind blasted me all night.  I only brought six stakes for the tent and needed another four for the tarp.  I made a mental note to grab some tent stakes at the next big town.  

Yesterday I crossed over into Mountain Time, which makes me feel like I have made some progress.  Riding from Valentine to Cody was fairly slow.  I still had a moderate wind coming out of the Southeast.

Seven miles from Cody I spotted a sign for a winery just south of Nenzel.  I followed the signs and they wined me around into the back country for a couple of miles until I saw the vines.  I arrived there an hour before opening and there was a sign on the door that said, “In vineyard, call for tasting”.  I sat there, out of the wind, and worked on the latest blog post.  At 2:00, I gave the number a call and he said he would be right up.  About that time a couple of ladies pulled up as well.

We three sat down together while the Reed, the viticulturist, helped us to the tasting.  Just like the beers the day before, I tried everything they had.  I preffered the sweet whites, but would still rather have Gatorade or tea.  The ladies ordered several cases and said they stopped at all the wineries and beer rooms.  After they left, I stuck around a bit and talked with Reed.   I told him I planned to stay in Cody and he said that is where he is from.  He said there was a park with showers and that there would be a cookout there that night.  

After sitting for so long, the ride to Cody was an easy one.  I stopped at the Husker Hub for dinner because 3 people had told me about it by now.  Not much on the menu for me, so I had fried cauliflower and mushrooms again.  I have to stop eating that. 

At the park were some kids playing tag.  They all came up and said hi, without any reservations.  This was much different than the kids I watched in Columbus.  I set up the hammock on one side of the park and decided to take a nap.  After a while people starting showing up from everywhere.  I was wrapped up to keep the wind out and one curious little girl came up and poked me.  When I popped my head out she ran a ways and then called for her dad.  Later, the group hosting the cookout came over and invited me to join them.  I did and found Reed there.  Reed and I sat down and soon I got to meet the Superintendent who was also that little girl’s dad, the sheriff, the pastor, and a few others from the town.  

We stayed there till after dark watching the 30+ kids run around playing a game of capture the flag.  Reed and I were the last to leave and he invited me to stay on his couch.  On the way out of the park he spotted an article of clothing that he assumed was left by one of the kids.  It turned out to be the riding shorts I changed out of earlier.  They must have fallen off of my bike when I rode in.  Reed really made my day.

Earlier that day I sat at the crossroads at Nenzel debating whether I should check out the winery or ride on to Cody.  I sure am glad I took that road.  

According to my photo gallery, not much happened the last two days.  Wednesday, I woke up and did not want to move.  I just felt lazy, more so than usual.  Valentine was the next stop and it was 55 miles away.  The forecast said it would be cold with a high chance of rain.  

I got a late start and had only ridden 30 miles by noon.  I stopped in the tiny town of Wood Lake, population less than 100.  They had a quaint diner that had been closed for probably 20 years, a post office, old school, and a city park.  The park was very nice.  They must have set it up for the Cowboy Trail.  They even had a log book for visitors to write in.  Most of the cyclists commented on the cold water, since it had been so hot recently.  I had another PB&J sandwich for lunch.  I started to setup the hammock to relax and the wind started to pick up.  In the distance I could see storm clouds, but no rain.  I debated staying there and waiting out the storm.  Instead, I tried to beat it. 

I got about 5 miles down the road when it came a down pour.  I rode another 2 miles before I found a canopy.  I through the tarp up over a fallen tree to make a lean-to and hid there with the bike until the storm passed.  Only twenty more miles to Valentine.

There was a cold wind coming out of the North that did not help my progress.  With 5.5 miles to go I see a car pulled over to the side.  When I reach him, he waves me down and I ask if everything is alright.  George, was a fellow cyclist and just wanted to chat about my trip.  We swapped information and decided to meet up after he settled in to his hotel and I set up camp.  I remember it being 5.5 miles from Valentine because the bridge on the Cowboy Trail that everyone insisted I see was 4.5 miles from where I met George and from there it was 1 mile to the RV park I stayed in.  The bridge was an old railroad bridge built high over the Niabrara River. 

 George picked me up and we toured the bridge and then the town, which took about 10 minutes.  We chose one of the three restaurants in town and sat there talking about his trips and mine and about everything cycling.  It was nice to talk to someone that understands.  
That night it got cold and the wind howled all night.  The howling was probably a combination of the cattle at the sale lot and the wind.  The next morning I got up around 6:30 and it was in the mid 40’s and the wind was blowing 15-20 mph.  I decided right then that I was not moving from the tent.

I eventually moved.  I washed my clothes and took a shower and then when it got warmer I explored the town.  After buying groceries for the next few days I ran across a brewery, so I stopped in for a tasting.  I don’t like beer and I knew that going in.  When I came out of there, I still didn’t like beer.

I did a whole lot of nothing the rest of the day.  

The mission of the day was to find a pillow, alcohol wipes, and some food to carry.  I don’t want to run into a town and not have food again.  Ask yourself, if you could only have one food for the rest of your life, or better yet, for a month, what would it be?  So far, I have eaten a lot of french fries and am getting tired of them.  Bring me more burritos!

Not much exciting happened on the ride.  I woke up, I packed, I ate, and then I pedalled until I stopped to eat again.  The countryside has changed some.  Monday I wished to stopped seeing corn, and my wish came true.  The land is still flat, with the occasional hill, but the acres of corn were then hay.  Signs everywhere called it hay country.  So much for showering in the corn fields.  

I stopped just before noon in Bassett.  Bassett was an historical town with the old bank, saloon, and hotel downtown.   In the hotel was the town’s diner.  I got a few death stares when I walked in, and a few more when I walked out.  Between then, I had some grease with a salad, wrapped in a tortilla.  Yea… it was kind of a burrito.

I like walking around all of the squares and seeing the old architecture and what each town has done with the buildings.  Most are antique stores.  In one,  I spotted my pillow!  I was across the street at the gas station when I saw it.  The store was only open on Saturday.  Around the corner was a small grocery store.  I got a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of peach jam.  Oh, and some alcohol wipes and mosquito spray.

When I find one, I spend time in the local library.  The libraries are open to the public, and have computers and A/C.  I use that time to update the blog, check email, and charge devices.  This time, I used the library to get out of the rain.  A small storm came in, lasting about an hour.  

From Bassett, it was 10 miles to Long Pine and 18 to Ainsworth.  Ainsworth would put me at 50 miles for the day.  When I got to Long Pine I decided to call it a night.  Long Pine had a recration area with primitive camping.  I started to set up camp at the top of a hill under a pavilion like I usually do, when a truck drove by with innertubes strapped to the roof.  I followed him down and found a fast running creek.  So I set up right there next to it.  I waded around some and used it as an ice bath for my legs.  It was cold enough.

No service, so I finished the rest of my audiobook and ate my PB&J.  I need a new book, so recommendations are welcomed.  A little after 10 and right when I decided to call it a night, I saw lights coming down the creek.  There were almost a dozen on innertubes and with headlamps floating down.  Too cold and too late for me.

Sunday after lunch I got back in the car and drove the 8 hours up to Norfolk, NE.  A friend of my Dad volunteered to give me a lift back to Neligh.  Justin saved me a day’s ride.  I camped that night at a park in Norfolk.  In the morning, I woke up to walkers and joggers.  Actually, I was awake, just not up.  One group was the Norfolk High School Cross Country team.  One kid told me they had already ran 180 miles that summer.  I hope the Tech Cross country girls have run at least that much this summer.  Some have asked whether I lock the bike up and how.  I do lock the bike, most times.  My panniers have a large buckle with an opening of the center.  I run the cable lock through the buckles, around whatever, and then through the frame.  If there is nothing to lock the bike to, then I run the cable through the wheel.  Someone can still steal the bike, but they won’t go far if trying to ride it.

How to lock the bike

The ride from Norfolk to Neligh seemed so short.  What took me a day took Justin not even an hour.  Justin looked and seemed much younger than he is.  When talking to him on the phone, I expected someone in their early 30’s.  Thanks for the lift.

Since I had planned to ride the Cowboy Trail, I thought I should give it a try.  It is known for being covered in goat head thorns and many cyclists on the blogs advise against riding it.  Even people in town advise against it.  After about two miles, I hopped off.  My 14 mph average that I have been holding dropped to an 8 mph as soon as I hit the gravel.  It felt kind of like being on an elliptical or exercise bike and someone coming by and cranking the resistance all the way up.  Occasionally I would get back on the trail if I saw something interesting, but I was more than happy on the road.

Bridge at O’Neill

One of the interesting things on the trail were the many bridges.  I am told they get better, bigger, and higher the further West.  Every now and then I would spot a small building located between the road and the trail.  I assumed they were toilets and did not stop until the 3rd one I saw.  Each one was painted by the locals.  Turns out they were some kind of electric room.  They were all unlocked and looked like they were abandoned and not used for many years. They would make a perfect little bunker or bike hotel.  I will try to stay in one before reaching Chadron.

While in Owasso, I took the bike to a bike shop to have some work done.  My chain was stretched out so I got a new one and I had them give it a look over.  One of the things they did was tighten the brakes.  It did not take me long to learn that the brakes were over tightened, and I had to stop and adjust them.  So, I can’t blame solely blame the trail for my diminished speed.  After that I was rolling smooth and fast-ish.

Just a few adjustments

It is amazing the things you can find on the side of the road.  The usual trash includes, bottles, cans, plastic bags, diapers, and McDonald’s.  The better items are hats, gloves, and sunglasses.  The best things I have found were a sling bag, an LG cell phone, a Samsung S6, and the $20 I found that day.  The next sign said just a few miles to O’Neill, the Irish capital of Nebraska.  The very next sign was for a casino.  I was feeling lucky and thought it a good idea to see how far that $20 would go.

Can you see it?

All of the food places in town were closed.  I stopped at a flower shop to get directions and the ladies kept me talking in there for nearly half an hour.  They were nice and wanted to mother me, but I was hungry.  After leaving the shop I ran into an older couple that started asking me questions.  They were from eastern Arkansas and also very nice.  They kept me another 20 minutes.  By this time it was nearly 2:00 and I was running on nothing.  I was not yet hangry, but I was getting close.

The truck-stop offered the typical breakfast, burgers, and steaks.  So I got my usual pancakes and hashbrowns.  The man at the table next to me kept trying to strike up a conversation with me.  I tried to be nice, but until I got food I was not feeling talkative.  The only person that did not talk to me was the lady at the table behind me.  When she left, she left a $20 to buy my lunch.  After a little food, I obliged the guy and talked some with him.  After he asked all of the usual questions he then went into his life story.  He was a little awkward, but mostly lonely.  Before leaving he left $10 for me to get dinner on.  I must have had a friendly, inviting look about me.

O’Neill was my destination for the day, but it was still cool and I was still fresh.  The next town, Atkinson, was only 18 miles.  When I got there I stopped to scout the city park.  There was a city pool, but I opted for a shower under the faucet outside of the park bathroom.  I would usually set up the hammock and relax until dinner , but the mosquitoes were terrible.  Instead, I set up the tent and napped for almost 2 hours.  I remembered then what I had forgotten to bring on the trip, a pillow.  Just before 7, I packed up and went looking for food.  I stopped at a Dollar Store to find a neck pillow with no luck.  I found something, but would hold out until I find something better  I then went to the grocery store, but they were all closed.  I asked someone what was open and they said the bowling alley was the only thing open that night.

The bowling alley, named The Alley, was everything to this small town.  It had liquor and beer, coffee and espresso, ice-cream, pizza and burgers, and bowling.  I ordered a small pizza, that was surprisingly decent.  Since I had recently come into some money, I thought I would pay to camp.  The campsite was an unattended park with an outhouse style bathroom.  I took another shower under the faucet outside and set up the tent for the night.

Each year my extended family gets together for a reunion.  This year the reunion would be in a suburb of Tulsa.  My longest tour prior to this was when I rode from Russellville to Tulsa and it was for that year’s reunion.   The idea of showing up grew with each day.  When I finally decided to take a long break to restore the legs it made sense to do so with the family.  

When I left Pierce I started looking for a way to get to Tulsa.  The closest rental car company was in Norfolk, but I had passed it.  The next closest was in North Platte, which was 230 miles southwest.  That would take a minimum of 5 days to reach.  I called the Enterprise there and asked if they would really pick me up.  They said yes, as long as I was within 20 miles.  That was no good.  The Enterprise in Norfolk said they would pick me up within a 5 mile radius.  I then looked for a other rental companies.  I found a U-Haul rental in Valentine, which was a 3 days ride from me.  The bike would easily fit in the back and I would still have room to setup my bed each night.  I once thought about living in a truck like that.  Maybe one day I will.  It was impulsive, but I called and made the reservation.  I had to speak to three people before finding someone that knew anything.  That was not a good sign.  Afterwards, I did the math and it was only $80 for the four days, but it would be another $1300 for mileage.  They did not mention that on the phone.  I quickly called back to cancel.      

After speaking with a friend about my options, it was clear that the only thing to would be to go back to Norfolk.  I had to make it look like I was making forward progress and I would get too bored if I just sat somewhere so I continued West and would loop back.  I had a reasonable explanation for hitting Neligh.  It was not just reasonable, I needed to go there for food and the movie theatre did not hurt.  It put me within 40 miles of Norfolk.  

I got around that morning and went by the RV park to take a shower.  This time it cost me a dollar.  The further North the more expensive showers are.  I went back to Mamas’ & Nanas’ for another round of waffles and fries.  I could tell this was the local hangout for the 60+ crowd.  There were two tables filling up as I waited for my food.  The grandpas all sat at one and the grandmas another.  Of course the grandmas and I talked.  They liked what I was doing, one even took me by the arm to introduce me to her husband.  Before leaving, I asked the group how they would feel if it were their grandkid cycling cross country.  That gave them a little different perspective.  They thought me showing up at the reunion would be a fun surprise.  

The ride to Norfolk was slow.  Usually I try to maintain a constant, high RPM, low crank resistance pace.  This day I pedaled a few strokes, coasted, and repeated.  My legs really did need a long rest.  When I started the day,  my odometer read 974 miles.  Once I hit 1000, I was only 7 miles from Norfolk and lunch. 

After lunch I found a small park and a tree to hang from.  My rental would be ready at 5 pm, so I sat there until then.  I may have dozed off a couple times.  When I stop to rest I change out of my cycling clothes and into my running shorts and sandals.  I do this to let my riding shorts dry and to prevent saddle sores.  

I reserved a compact car from Enterprise.  Actually, I ordered the smallest car they had that would fit a bicycle.  When I got there, the lady waiting said they had a pickup, minivan, and a grand cherokee.  None of these were compact cars, but I could easily sleep in the back of all of them.  The girl helping me turned out to be a bit of an adventurer like me.  She helped me stuff the bike in the car and then we talked a while.  If I end up writing from Europe next summer you can blame her.  She also reminded me that I have been neglecting the rest of my body.  My legs and stabilizing muscles have been getting a good workout, but only in one range of motion.  I had planned to do yoga each day along with some strength exercises.  I had planned to do a lot of things.  This, I will start doing.  I am glad to have met her.  I hope she gets to go on her adventure.  If she reaches out, I may have to go with her.  Oh, and I got the 300!

I’ll skip the boring 8 hour drive.  I finished two audiobooks by the time I pulled into the hotel parking lot at 1:30.  I would have slept in the back of my Dad’s truck had it been unlocked.  I searched around for some trees and decided to just lay the car seat down.  It was only 4 hours until breakfast.  I got little sleep that night.  At 6 I got up and went inside.  I just walked into the breakfast room, grabbed some food and sat down.  I also, freshened up in the bathroom.  It crossed my mind to do this as I am traveling, wander into a hotel for breakfast.  Waiting for my parents to come down gave me time to update the blog.  At 8 I almost gave up and layed down for a nap.  I was all about to lie down when they finally walked in.  I could see their eyes get a bit misty as we sat and talked.  I was afraid my Mom would figure it out from the few clues that I left, but she didn’t.  It was a good surprise.  They said they recognized my jersey immediately.  

Later, my Mom sprung the surpise on my aunt and grandma.  My grandma I think was in disbelief and for a moment she looked like she was going to swat me.  After showering and laundry we went for lunch.  I spotted a Cici’s on the way in the night before.  I may have endulged too much.  I got a veggie pizza and a broccoli buffalo pizza, and ate every piece.

I took the bike to the shop for its 1000 mile check-up and spent the rest of the day napping and watching movies.  I will spend the rest of the weekend resting and working on my gear.  My next update won’t be until after the weekend when I return to Nebraska to continue on.