NEBRASKA (Stuart - Valentine - Gordon - Chadron)

Our total mileage in Nebraska is 480 some! I didn't think there could be a state windier than Illinois, but there is, and it's Nebraska.

Perspectives sure change on a trip like this. Previously, if I had done a century, I would have congratulated myself and taken it easy for about a week. On this trip, I rode 82 miles the very next day.

All the rides are blurring together a bit, possibly as a result of the static scenery. The road curves around dry, grassy hills of sandy soil, which are occasionally dotted with cows or ranches. This is my first time seeing a ranch. They even sell cowboy hats and boots here. Any second, the Good the Bad and the Ugly's soundtrack is going to start playing, or Modest Mouse's Lonesome Crowded West.

Plainview - Stuart: Epic. The whole day began with a surreal cast because we had breakfast at a bowling alley bar. Some people bowled while waiting for their breakfast. I decided to ride with sweep that day and partake in the dance parties planned along the way. The Sweep Armada thus consisted of Jeff and Emily (the actual sweeps), Katharine, Michael, and myself. Marty was with us for the morning, and Hannah Wagley for the afternoon. Every 13 miles, we'd stop to have techno/dance music parties on the side of the road. Katharine had a flat, so we had an impromptu one mixed in. We helped her by dancing around her. We got two cars to stop and ask us what in the world we were doing, and one honk. (Actually, I think the first asked if we wanted more beer.) A bunch of other people decided to go see some dinosaur fossils. I kinda wanted to go, but decided the day was going to be long enough without it. Plus, we got to greet them coming back en route by having our largest dance party yet.

The downside of having dance parties and riding with sweep was that I got in super late, and I was also on laundry crew. Stuart was so small that it didn't even have a laundromat, so we drove 10 miles to Atkinsville, to the shadiest laundromat I've ever seen. Many of the machines didn't work, and we had to rewash quite a few loads (some were crusty with the powder laundry soap-blech). While waiting for our laundry, two local guys came up to us to chat. One was a welder from Oregon who was there helping to build an ethanol plant about to open on August 1st. It sounds like they gypsy from worksite to worksite following the work. We also got to talking about politics, and he said he hadn't voted since 1980 (for various reasons)! He seemed really excited about what we were doing for sure though. He also showed us a map of Nebraska, and told us about some of the terrain we were about to expect (at that point, more of the same ...). I'm excited about what'll come about half way through Wyoming.

From Stuart to Valentine was a long 80 some miles, most of which I rode with Jake Curtis and Katherine. The van played some awesome tunes (My Humps, M.I.A, Bohemian Rhapsody) and blocked wind for us for a few miles, which was an amazing start to the day. It was one of the windiest rides I've ever done, but I still think the ride to Roscoe was harder for me to handle, contrary to most people on the trip, I guess. The wind and I came to terms a while back on the cornfields of Illinois. I remember there were rides when I just got really pissed off at it because it's just this massive, inhuman force that doesn't care about me or how hard it was making the ride for me, but after a while I just came to accept it as fact and move on with life because what can I do about it? Nothing. Being angry at it's just a waste of time.

Valentine - Gordon: Valentine was hopping compared to Stuart. Hannah and I were sweeping for the 93 miles to Gordon, so we decided to get some coffee downtown before leaving. Sweeping on long days is pretty killer, just because the day is longest for us. We generally had a hard time going any faster than 12 - 14 mph, but the terrain did start to get hillier which blocked the wind a bit. Every so often there'd be an oasis of irrigated green in the small valleys of hills, and I'd ask Hannah if she saw it too, to make sure it wasn't a mirage. We also had milkshakes at the Sand Cafe and saw polaroids of former Bike and Builders on the wall! About 10 people didn't ride at all or had to ride in the van because of saddle sores or general exhaustion, so it was certainly a rough day for everyone. By the end of it, I switched my cyclocomputer to cadence because distance was climbing oh so slowly from 85 miles, and time was past 7 hours on the saddle. Sweeps got lots of hugs when we got in though, which was sweet.

One thing that made the last 10 miles more difficult was my derailleur clicking. I set up shop right outside the church to try to fix it up, and ended up talking to some kids from the area (Ciara, Jasmine, and Ashleigh) who seemed really excited about seeing so many shiny bicycles in their neighborhood all of a sudden (future Bike and Builders, perhaps?). They were probably really amused by how loopy I was by that point. By the time I really started to look at my bike it was really late, and I wasn't really thinking straight anymore, which is why I called Jamie in desperation to try to troubleshoot the problem. It was a really simple fix of course (the cable tension was too high and the limit screws just a little off), but thanks again, Jamie. One of these days, I'll become self-sufficient when it comes to bikes.

Gordon - Chadron: AMAZING. It was only 47 miles long! I was pretty sore for about the first 5 miles or so and rode behind some people who were already going at a pretty decent clip of 16 mph. And then the van passed me and played "Who Are You" making me all nostalgic for my high school days and drumming, and I took off. My derailleur is working like clockwork again at last. On one downhill, I hit 35 mph for the first time in forever, and I also kept an average pace of 17mph. The scenery finally changed too: larger hills with more trees in addition to sand dunes. As I crested the final hill, I saw Chadron spreading out in front of me, and it was an incredible feeling.

Physically, I'm pretty sore, but holding up alright. Things bothering me include my eyes which feel like sandpaper from the wind, and my forearms which get the most sun exposure. I'm planning to get some anti-itch cream and aloe for that. And actually, my eyes are doing fine compared to yesterday. The Bean Broker 2nd Street Coffee House is a lovely oasis of Wi-Fi and delicious beverages indicative of higher civilization though, and I'm at peace.