BikerAl Across America 2018

Talk about a Wierd day. I left hosts Ron and Bev my usual 7am early time in fog so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ron got me on route by sending me on a really nice bike path for 7+ miles. I added a couple miles cause I missed a turn where I was supposed to get on a highway. Backtracked and this highway had no shoulder, some traffic, but the fog was freaking me out. So glad when I got off that one.

Later I passed an ‘oilseed’ plant. Corn must have been part of that because I saw it on the sides of the road. Later I passed the Miracle Gro plant with hundreds of pallets of their product in the yard. Kinda cool. Now I know from where it comes.

South of Council Bluffs aways, I saw the first fields of corn 2-4 inches high. I was actually surprised since I hadn’t seen any in Nebraska yet.

A little over half way to the end, I encountered a ‘loose gravel’ sign and my road instantly turned into a gravel road. Kinda like Packsaddle Rd in Teton county, only lots nicer. But I really tho’t I screwed up again. I checked all the signs and scrutinized my map til I was sure this was my road. Yuk!. My bike and I do NOT like gravel roads. They are unstable, either dusty or muddy, and downright unpleasant. Although this one was better than most. And on this section, there were no farm houses like I had been passing. All morning I kept getting misted and sprinkled on and once heard thunder rumbling so I became obsessed with looking for places to take shelter. Nothing for 4 miles. Then all of a sudden, back to pavement. Strange.

Soon after that I went over the interstate and through a very small town and at the intersection of my road it said, ‘Road closed to thru traffic’. Great. Now what. So I rode til I saw someone and stopped and asked about the road. The guy wasn’t very friendly but he said, just ride up there and walk across the bridge ( that’s what they were working on). So I tho’t to myself, this guy better know what he’s talking about because to back track would be with the wind in my face plus I wouldn’t know where to go. STRESS.

So I rode a few miles to the overpass bridge and, wow, what a dilemma. They were replacing guardrails but part of it was torn up also. There was a 3-4 foot wide strip all the way across the lanes with only rebar showing and you could look down to the highway below. I’m thinking, “yeah, I can hardly walk across this. How am I gonna get my bike over?” So I walked all the way to the other side to see what other obstacle might stop me and I found a piece of plywood that fit in that rebar spot with a few inches to spare on each end. It was stable enough that I was able to carefully thread my feet thru the rebar and push my bike on the plywood. Thank goodness. I was really proud of myself but then I kept thinking, what if someone sees me, turns me into the authorities and I get a ticket. I’m sure it is illegal and fineable to pass thru road closed barricades. But what’s a girl to do?

The last part of my ride into this town was on a 4 lane highway with not much for a shoulder. The traffic was heavy at that time and all I could see in front of me was a half mile long hill, which when it crossed the Missouri River, the shoulder became even skinnier and had a cement wall for a guard rail. I hate those but it does keep you from falling into the river. It was quite high and I just kept pedalling up in my lowest gear. Just freaky more than anything.

Once I’m into town and come out of the shower, the fog is gone, the sun is out, and it’s 15 degrees warmer. Go figure. Interesting day is all I can say.

54.4 miles today. 702.6 total

I started noticing small blooming bushes a couple days ago but 100+ miles further east, the trees are out in full bloom. Really pretty. The lilacs are coming out, as well as some unidentifiable, to me, white blooming bushes. I don’t recognize a lot of the plants here because we don’t have them in my part of the world.

The fog was so thick on my way to dinner last night that you could cut it with a knife. Really kinda spooky. Woke up to rain and more fog. Visibility was really poor and there was a cold NE wind. I just could not make myself ride in those conditions. This trip is supposed to be fun.

So I was able to locate a ride by asking the motel and the cafe. Lucked out this couple from town was heading to Omaha to pick their daughter up at the airport. I hitched a ride and got dropped off in Council Bluffs where it was an entirely different world. No rain and warmer temps even though still super cloudy. Thank you Dick and Karen Gallagher for your generosity in driving me that far.

I was able to contact another warm shower host at the last minute. Bless Ron and Bev for taking me in on short notice. Dinner was scrumptious and did laundry. Great hosts.

.3 miles today. Woohoo!!

I can not believe how tired I must have been. Took a nap yesterday afternoon til dinner time, turned out the lights before 9 pm, only woke up to go to the bathroom at 5 and then back to bed and slept til 8. And I still didn’t feel rested even then. Obviously, the body needed a day off. Means I’ll probably be riding in the rain tomorrow, but that’s life.

Forgot to mention yesterday that I met my first cyclist on this trip. And it was a single female cyclist. We stopped and chatted and agreed 100% that traveling solo is the only way to go. She started in North Carolina but admitted she did cross two states by train.

I’ve just laid around all afternoon reading and will turn in early again tonight. Life is good.

Decided to add the day of the week to my title as I can never remember what day it is. Hence, not prepared last Sunday.

I woke up and knew bad weather was coming in a day or two and knew I’d want to hole up then, so, decided to ride, even though I really didn’t want to. It was really cloudy and kinda dark clear past 9 o’clock. First two hours I rode pretty well. Then the darn wind shifted just enough to almost feel like a head wind. I kept going slower and slower. Body is tired but too stubborn to give up. It was a short day compared to the last week and when I checked my log, I have ridden 8 straight days, most over 50 miles a day.

So we are definitely taking a rest day tomorrow. When I got into town, it was slightly uphill and I was struggling. Then there was a hill right in the middle of town, not big, and rather short, but I had to walk it. OK, I am tired. No way I should have had to walk that little hill.

I have had pretty flat, awesome shoulder, riding the last four days. I know the hills will return in eastern NE, maybe even my next riding day so really need to give my body a rest.

New roadkill today was a rattle snake. I am positive. I was even warned by my warmshowers host that I might see one on the road while riding. Glad he was dead. And, saw another raccoon today.

The agricultural differences across the states has really been interesting. Of course, WY was ranches, few and far between. Near Lusk, I started seeing coal trains, probably from up around Gillette. Then all of a sudden near NE, the railroad disappeared. Not sure where it went.

Western NE still had a few ranches but is known for its turkey hunting. There were hunters at my motel in Harrison.

At Crawford, the train went through town north/south and on the other side of Chadron, the original railroad track became the Cowboy Trail. I asked a local about it and they said it was a walking path now. All across the state I have seen one runner on it. It is a beautiful path, great for mountain bikes etc but not so good for skinny tires like mine. It feels like compacted dirt with a thin layer of pink gravel. Wonder who is going to use it but it goes all across the state until O’Neill where the railroad starts again.

Back in Gordon, I saw signs about potatoes so asked a local and from Gordon to Cody, that is seed potato growing country just like Teton valley used to be. Migrant workers come to help plant and often fill the motels. I asked one motel owner why they’d be filled. I said, ” what’s here that draws people?” And their reply was, “work”. Who would have tho’t.

Lots of the ‘small’ towns I have ridden through are there only for grain elevators and such. I guess with the railroad gone now, trucks take over. And I have seen many, many grain trucks the last few days.

Cattle became very prevalent past Chadron but it wasn’t until Ainsworth that feed lots became the norm. You could smell them for miles. And then, the cattle trucks became the norm on the hiway. I should have counted them.

In WY, it was pickups. In this part of NE, it is cattle hauling trucks.

Now that I seem to be out of cattle country, it is grain hauling trucks and I know for a fact, they are hauling shelled corn. One truck passed me and had a leak and I got showered with shelled corn. That was an experience.

39.5 miles today. 647.9 total

What an awesome ride today. Cool northerly tail wind and I had my best ride yet. Averaged 13.9 mph. I never ride that fast. And this was my longest day so far.

Wanted to take a rest day tomorrow but I’m torn. The wind will be a side wind tomorrow and there is threat of thunderstorms. If I wait a day, I may have the same conditions again but then the next day is definitely rain. If I had a tail wind. I’d go for it but if I have to push against the wind, I get really slow. I guess I’ll wait til morning to decide.

Tho’t I’d mention road kill on this trip as it changes with the terrain. Funniest thing, when I first started in WYOMING, the most common thing I saw was raccoons, which really surprised me. Eventually, a few deer started showing up and the raccoons started to disappear.

Once I entered NE, birds, ducks and an occasional turkey littered the shoulders and sides of the road. Some were beautiful. Even saw one pheasant. About a third of the way across NE, deer became prevalent and in the last 150 miles or so, turtles and some unidentifiable creature has been on the shoulder. I don’t recognize the fur or feathers and really have no idea what it was. The fur was grayish and really pretty though.

66.7 miles today. 608.4 total

Since I haven’t taken any pictures lately, tho’t I’d send another one from back at Shoshoni. That seems so long ago.

Had a great ride today. Light tail wind from the NNW so it was cool and damp but I made great time. Yesterday, I barely managed 8 mph. Today I was over 12.

But when I got to town, the campground situation was not so good again. Apparently. I am too early. The locals said they had 13 inches of snow 3 weeks ago and water has not been turned on yet. Glad the motel was reasonable.

I woke up somewhat tired this morning but didn’t want to waste a tail wind and a nice, sunny day tomorrow, so I rode. But, I must have been more tired than I tho’t. Took a two hour nap and woke up in time for dinner.

Tomorrow is a long day and then I do plan to take a rest day. The next day is forecasted to be somewhat rainy. Great day to take a test day.

49 miles today. 541.7 total.

The most awesome thing happened last evening. I walked over to the grocery store to see their hours and there was a sign on the door that said if you need something after hours, please call Carrie. I tho’t, what the heck, worth a try. I left a message and within 10 minutes, she showed up at the campsite and took me to the store to shop. Saved the day. I got cheese and crackers and tuna and was a happy camper. Now how many places do you know where people would do that? I’m telling you, people are really nice, especially in these out of the way small towns.

Another lady stopped by while walking her dog and chatted a while.
She is the only person so far that has correctly described local roads. Most people don’t understand flat when you are on a bike. But she did.

So today. What can I say except, I survived. I left Cody at 6:30 to beat the wind. Ha! 5 miles out of town it got really strong and was a side wind. Better than a head wind but half way to Valentine, it really picked up and I was struggling to keep my bike, and me, upright. By the last 8 miles, my arms were crying and I wanted to, too. Every flag I saw was straight out horizontal to the ground. This was NOT a fun day. I hurt all over and if I don’t recover by morning, we will be taking a rest day.

I had originally planned to take rte 12 north and east tomorrow but with local info about big hills, narrow road and possible thunderstorms with no where to take cover, I’m thinking of staying on rte 20 and just adding an extra day to SD.

I’m not out here to torture myself and today was definitely torture. Even the locals are complaining about this wind.

37.3 miles today. 492.7 total

This is a Wierd day. Got on the road at 6 am to beat the wind and rain (and I did). I was flying compared to my normal speed. The rain clouds were threatening but I made it to Merriman by 9 and the place had nothing to offer. No place to stay and everything locked up tight. It is Sunday. So I rode on to Cody where I had big long hills and then a head wind the last hour. This town is also locked up tight.

And, unfortunately, I am not prepared with food. I had a candy bar for lunch and only have energy bars for dinner and breakfast. Wasn’t thinking this would be an issue. Darn it.

But the good news is I can camp in the city park. It does have a water hydrant but the bathrooms are locked shut. Thank goodness there are lots of bushes on one side. No motel in this town so I really have no choice. And no way I could ride another 30 miles today. I am tired after all those big hills.

55 miles today. 455.40 total

Another great riding day. Even had more interesting things to see. The windmill above was just one of several dotting the landscape. I’ve always loved windmills and wish I had one just to look at all the time.

Ate lunch at a small local restaurant and the second picture is of the sink in the ladies room. So cool. And this bathroom was roomy even with a chair upon which to sit. Many restrooms I have visited are barely big enough to get into and not always the cleanest looking. This bathroom gets 5 stars from me.

15 miles from my destination I stopped to drink water and rest my butt. Yeah, it still hurts. I was analyzing the motel sign directly in front of me and the owner drives up and offers me fresh water. Didn’t need it but the tho’t was really nice.

However, I got a kick out of the sign. Great big letters said MOTEL. Underneath in medium size letters it said WELCOME. Underneath that I’m smaller letters yet, it said microwaves and refrigerators. Usually one might see ‘hunters’ or ‘cyclists’ etc. I just laughed to myself. Ok, you can say I need to get a life but these kind of things really are humorous when there’s no one to talk to or nothing else to do. Analyzing signs is one of the ways I keep my sanity. Also takes my mind off butt pain.

So another sign I have seen since the border is the Nebraska ByWay sign that says Bridges to Buttes. First time I saw that I figured I’d be riding from the lowest to highest points possible all across the state. So far, very few bridges but I understand that might change tomorrow. Also, have a head wind forecast for tomorrow. Hills and headwinds can be a nightmare but I plan to be on the road at dawn to maybe avoid some wind. Ha, we’ll see.

50.6 miles today. 400.4 total

The best ride so far. Lots to look at for a change. Out croppings like above. And it seemed that right across the border into NE the grass turned green. Even saw lots more trees today. I really think parts of NE are beautiful and this corner of the state is.

I cruised along at 13 mph, my highest so far. Usually hangs around 10mph but I had some downhill and a slight tail wind. Loving it.

I’m staying with my first Warm shower host tonight. He is an avid cyclist and teacher at the college here. His whole garage is dedicated to bike mechanics so I got to use his bike rack when cleaning my chain. So much easier.

One of the things I like about riding out here in sparsely populated areas(25-30 miles betw towns) is the super friendliness of locals. I look for ma and pa cafes and/ or motels and am rarely, if ever, disappointed. Both motel owners, the last two nites, made a point to say goodbye in the morning. People in the small towns treat you like a local and I love that.

Sometimes there aren’t cafes but there always seems to be a bar that serves food. Last night while waiting out that rain storm, I listened to country western music from the 60’s and 70’s and it was a hoot, songs I hadn’t heard in decades. Brought back memories of when I sang in a country western band and played bass in Riverton. Yeah, straight out of college trained in opera and was the lead singer in a country western band. Cool memories.

The little cafe where I ate lunch and dinner yesterday was amazing. The building looked like it had been an old KOA. But the food was unreal. They offered Asian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, and American. And it was all very good. Out in the middle of nowhere. Love those places.

51.70 miles today. 349.80 total