A Look Back

…. the road went on forever and the ride did finally end! In January 1995, a good friend and I each bought our first road bike for the sole purpose of participating in RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. RAGBRAI is a seven-day ride the last week of July that covers approximately 500 miles from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River.) Over the next six months, we trained for a total of 1,500 miles in preparation. The first day of RAGBRAI was 78 miles. I had never ridden that far in one day in my life and I wasn’t sure that I could ride that far. I can still remember euphoria that flushed through my body as I entered the campgrounds in Lake View, Iowa. I could hear the music to Rocky in my mind as I threw my arms in the air to celebrate my accomplishment – 78 miles in one day! I couldn’t tell you anything about that ride, except that I finished. Thirteen years later, as I arrived at the beach in Plum Island Massachusetts, I can honestly say that I did not experience the same rush of euphoria after riding my bike 3,465 miles across America. And perhaps this was because I never doubted my ability to complete this ride (God willing and the creek didn’t rise) as I had ridden almost 30,000 miles on my three-year old bike when I arrived at the beach in Plum Island. The magnitude of the accomplishment didn’t seem important to me that day on the beach, and it still doesn’t. I did, however, experience feelings of satisfaction that were derived from the journey itself. The enjoyment of getting on my bike for the 32 of the past 33 days – each day filled with the comradery of friends, the incredible sights of this vast country, the conversations with individuals we met in the thirteen states we rode through, and the physical challenges of the route. It was an adventure that I was able to share with three of my best friends, Bob Loch, Larry Hart and Matt Joseph. For 33 days, they were my “family” on the road. I will never know what the ride would have been had they not been there, and for that I am glad. I finished every day with a smile on my face, even that infamous day in Nebraska with the rain, the 30+ mph head winds and rough roads. I will forever be indebted and grateful to these guys for taking time from their busy lives to share this adventure with me. They have given me memories that I will cherish forever. And just in case I did not say it often enough in our daily blogs, the support that Larry and Bob provided us was second to none. Their support made our part of the journey simple…get on our bikes and do nothing more than enjoy the ride. The only time we got worried is when we didn’t see the comforting sight of that white SUV looming on the horizon. The unfortunate part of this ride was that it took me away from Kathy, my wife of twenty-six years. She is, without a doubt, my best friend. There was not a day that went by on my journey that she was not on my mind. She is also the one sight that I longed for each and every day. She fully supported me in my pursuit of this endeavor, and knowing this allowed me to relax and truly enjoy the ride. And, yes, I did miss the rest of my family – Paige, Kyle, Ryan, Meagan and Sammy. (By the way Sammy, I saw thousands of cars on the ride – a few a bit closer than I wanted). Thanks to everyone who followed our ride via our website. Your words of encouragement, comments, text messages and calls were much appreciated and will always be a part of the ride. In closing, I would like to ask everyone one small favor, please… SHARE THE ROAD!

Day 33 – Keene NH to Plum Island MA

Today we finished our ride. It should have been a short 60 mile ride, but we managed to get lost a couple times and wound up riding 75.8 miles. We should have traveled on Hwy 101, 111, and 113. Even though we added a few miles, it was still a good ride. The scenery was great and the climbs, though many, were small. We climbed a total of 2,072 feet. Larry met up with us about 18 miles from the finish in Haverhill MA. He led us back to the finish since we were having a difficult time making it on our own. We finally arrived at the Atlantic around 1:30 PM. Josh Roche and Greg Wilson were there to meet us. The beach was full and people were wondering what the heck was wrong with us, dragging bikes down to the beach. We really didn’t care.

We dipped our wheels and took a couple dips into the Ocean. The water was ice cold, but it felt great. I think most of the miles I rode over the past 33 days left my body and are now floating harmlessly in the water. We rode a total of 3,465 miles and climbed over 93,184 feet.

We celebrated with a drink of champagne and will head out for dinner at a micro-brewery later. Hard to believe it is over. Tomorrow we will figure out what that all means. We leave in the morning to head back to Iowa for RAGBRAI, bikes cleaned and ready to go. I will make one more entry to my blog once I have a little time to reflect back on the ride. Check back in a week or so.

Day 32 – Fri/Jul 18 – Latham NY to Keene NH

Today, our 2nd to the last day, we left New York, traveled through Vermont and wound up in New Hampshire. We traveled on Hwy 7, State Hwy 9 and Hwy 101.

Once again the weather held…no rain, although the humidity was high. We actually rode 26 miles into tomorrow’s ride, leaving us with just 60 miles to Plum Island and the Atlantic Ocean. Total distance today – 120.2 miles with 7,900 feet of climb, our biggest climb day of our trip. Despite the humidity, total climb and distance, today’s ride was rather enjoyable with great scenery. We rode through several towns or villages that were established before 1776 making them older than our nation. We also encountered a house fire and a car fire on our route…slowed us a bit, but did not keep us from completing the last of the climbs (over 100 feet).

Our total mileage to date – 3,389 miles with over 90,000 feet of climb. Tomorrow’s ride should be flat and short. We do not plan on hitting the cranks until after 8:00 AM. It looks like the rain will hold off one more day. With a little luck, we should be to the Atlantic shortly after noon tomorrow. Larry will ride the last 10 to 20 miles with us on the spare bike. We think that it is only appropriate that he do so since he has been an integral part of us making it from the Pacific to the Atlantic. We only wish that Bob could have joined us as he ran support for 8 days in Larry’s absence.

Day 31 – Thu/Jul 17 – Oneida NY to Latham NY

Today was scheduled to be a relatively flat ride, more or less a rest before the big climb tomorrow. The ride started down Hwy 5 with a quick climb (max elevation of 715 feet) over the first 10 miles at the start and then down hill with rolling hills and a couple of teasers toward the end. Seemed easy enough, but things don’t always go as planned. Just 27 miles into the ride we missed our turn onto old route 5 and wound up on a very busy road (Hwy 5 in New Hartford) with no shoulder. Enter tour director (Larry) with his trusty GPS. Within 30 minutes we were back on the right road (old route 5, not Hwy 5) with a smooth shoulder and low traffic, just a small hiccup in the grand scheme of things.

Then 33 miles later, our tour director located a shortcut on the GPS. We blindly followed his directions as we always do…our sole purpose on this trip is to ride our bikes, which we do everyday. At this point in the ride, we were at about 300-350 feet of elevation. Immediately after turning onto the shortcut, we started climbing…and climbing…and didn’t stop until we reached an elevation of 950 feet. A couple times during this climb, the grades ranged from 8% to 13%. As it turned out, despite the steep climbs, we cut across a ridge that was primarily Amish farms. It was like taking a step back in time…farming without John Deere tractors. And the best part was, after about five miles of climbs and rolling hills, we descended right back to 300 feet of elevation. Matt and I both think Larry was just getting our legs ready for tomorrow…he will not deny or confirm this though.

Aside from the distinct architecture of the big cities we went through, we felt like we were riding RAGBRAI back in Iowa. Once again the weather was great, 65 degrees at the start and 85 degrees when we finished. The humidity is starting to rise, but overcast skies for the early part of the day kept up comfortable until late in the ride. We rode a total distance of 106.5 miles, climbed 2,969 (thanks to the shortcut) and averaged just 17.4 mph (city riding again with lots of stop lights).

When we got back to the hotel, we took time to clean our bikes one last time in preparation of the climbs that tomorrow will bring. Hard to believe that we are down to 191 miles – 2 days

Day 30 – Wed/Jul 16 – Lima NY to Oneida NY

“…the hills go on forever and the party never ends.” Today we traveled along Hwy 5 all day long with lots of rolling hills. This is just a warm up for our ride on Friday which will have more than 6,000 feet of climb. Today we wound up with just over 3,200 feet of climb. We enjoyed riding the smooth shoulder most of the day, except for the stretch of road that went through the southern portion of the Syracuse metro area. We lost our shoulder and truly shared the road with the city traffic for over 10 miles and 50 or more stop lights. We were glad to get out of the city and back to the rolling hills which showed up as soon as the stop lights disappeared. Our average speed for the day was 17.4 miles – hills and stop lights. The total distance today was 114.2 miles. Once again, we couldn’t complain about the weather: temperatures ranged from 62 to 87 degrees (even though it was fairly humid); winds were out of the south early and SW later in the day; and no rain (severe storms passed south of us a few hours after we finished).

Matt had bike trouble today – rear hub (see details in his blog). Once again our tour director (as so named by Gill, the Scottish trans-America biker) saved the day. He took Matt’s bike to two different bike shops to get it back in working conditions. Both shops squeezed Matt’s bike in, even though both were very busy. We thank both of them for their help.

We have now traveled 3,162 miles with total climb of 80,243 feet in 30 days (you were right, Bud, we will probably do more than 90,000 feet of climb before we finish). The end continues to approach, but it won’t really be here until we actually dip our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean. The weather forecast still looks like there is a better than average chance that we will stay dry the rest of the way, but the temperatures and humidity will be rising. We will need to get an early start the rest of the way as afternoon showers seem to be in the forecast.

Day 29 – Tue/Jul 15 – Westfield NY to Lima NY

Today we started our ride the same way we will start the next 4 days – this being the longest ride remaining. Today we rode 127.5 miles, climbed 3,982 feet averaging 17.7 mph. The next four days we will ride 113, 112, 103 and 88 miles. We were back to rolling hills, three or four were long and steep – 8% to 11% grade. We rode Hwy 5 and 20 today. This was perhaps the best roads so far on the ride. The shoulder was about 12 feet wide and smooth. If you had asked me which state would have the best roads for bikers before I left, New York would not have made my top five.

We crossed paths with a gal from Scotland who was biking across the US. She was doing her ride totally unsupported and has been biking for 60 days now – about 14 days left. She averages about 50 miles a day. She has business in Canada when she finishes the ride and hopes to be home by August 28th.

Our weather today was again ideal, sunny skies with crosswind in the morning and tail wind in the afternoon – maybe 10 mph. Temperatures started at 60 degrees and hit 81 degrees when we finished at about 4:30 this afternoon. It looks like the temperatures and humidity may rise by Thursday, but the chances of rain are still low – but like everywhere else, that could change in a New York minute.

Tonight we are staying at a hotel that has been at this site since 1790. The current structure is 150 years old – small rooms but does have running water and air-conditioning. A lot of history – see the pictures.

Today we topped 3,000 miles on our journey – just 420 miles left to Plum Island. We have one big day of climbs left. We have averaged over 100 miles per day since we left Oregon. Everyday since Oregon, our routine has been the same – get up early and ride about 100 miles. As I ride now, I’m starting to think about what will my routine be starting Sunday – can’t say now but I’m sure I will adjust.

Day 28 – Mon/Jul14 - Warren OH to Westfield NY

Today we finished off Ohio, raced through Pennsylvania, and would up in New York. We left Warren OH and headed straight north on Hwy 5/7 for 56 miles and then rode northeast along Lake Erie for about 50 miles. Over the last 20 miles we could see the lake. Another relatively flat ride with about three climbs of 8% grades. We rode 114.5 miles today with 2,254 feet of climb, averaging 19.9 mph. The temperatures started out at 62 degrees and would up at 78 degrees with a stiff wind out of the west all day.

About 80 miles into the ride we rode through Erie PA for the next 20 miles, we saw miles and miles of vineyards. The terrain was relatively flat, but you could see wooded hillsides as you looked away from the lake. Pretty country.

We now have only 5 days left to cover just over 550 miles to the Atlantic Ocean at Plum Island (not Plumb as previously written) – this may add a few miles to our ride – recalculating (Garmin GPS).

Day 27 – Sun/Jul 13 – Willard OH to Warren OH

Today we woke up to showers for only the second time since we started this ride. We took advantage of the time to have a good breakfast and watch the first 30 minutes of the Tour. At 8:00 AM, we started our ride for the day in a light shower – no lightning. We rode in rain for about an hour and wet roads for an additional hour or so. The terrain was more rolling hills with trees everywhere. We hit the steepest hill on the ride so far, luckily the hill was only about ½ mile long – 16% to 18% grade…and yes, Matt beat me to the top – Rule of 27 still applies.

We climbed a total of 3,387 feet over the 114.2 miles we rode today. Once again we were chased by dogs. This time we had three of them at once. Matt has taken up the habit of growling at them. This usually freezes them for just a second – giving us a chance to sprint by them.

We met Matt’s sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece for lunch in Cuyahoga Falls, about 70 miles into the ride. We had a good visit and then rode the last 44 miles to Warren OH under sunny skies. Matt’s sister brought us dinner shortly after we arrived at the hotel. We averaged 18.5 mph today, not bad considering the wet conditions and hilly terrain.

Based upon the weather forecast, we should have good weather the rest of the way – no rain and relatively cool temperatures. We are now less than a week from the Atlantic Ocean. What started out as a Ride Across America has now become a Ride to Saturday. We are now 2,807 miles from our start and 650 miles from our goal.

Day 26 – Sat/Jul 12 – 25 Miles east of Decatur IN to Willard OH

We got up early with breakfast at the Comfort Inn. As we finished up, the desk clerk gave us a small bag of apples and bananas for the day. We appreciated their gesture. We started our day just inside the Ohio border and headed due east on Hwy 114 and 224. Today and tomorrow were the two days that the forecast indicated could be rainy. We got off to a good start. With all the homes and farms that line the road, we were chased by dogs at least three separate times. At these times, I tried to make sure I stayed ahead of Matt.

Just 38 miles into the ride, the skies broke open with heavy rain – no lightning. Lucky for us, Larry had stopped for gas and we found him just before the rain. We spent about an hour in the gas station – taking the time to grab a quick meal.

After waiting an hour, the skies lightened up but the rain didn’t quit. The decision was made to continue our ride and we spent the next hour riding in light rain, trying to get to Willard before the predicted afternoon showers hit. The last 53 miles were in overcast skies as we arrived at our hotel for the evening. Shortly after we arrived, we got one of the predicted showers. More rain is predicted for the evening and morning tomorrow. We will deal with that in the morning. The roads were generally good today, but the last 25 miles were rough. The route was again flat with total climb of just over 1,200 feet. We averaged 18.9, despite the wet conditions. We had a stiff crosswind (20 mph) almost all day long.

Tomorrow we will start our last week of riding with about 770 miles remaining. We have one long day (over 125 miles) and one day of climbing before we dip our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean at Plumb Island.

Day 25 – Fri/Jul 11 – Winamac IN to 25 Miles East of Decatur IN

Yesterday we entered Indiana and today we left Indiana. We traveled a total distance of 108.7 miles today stopping about 5 miles over the Ohio border. We traveled almost straight east today. Winds were out of the south/southwest at about 10 – 15 mph. The total climb today was 1,307 feet, 1-3% grade. We averaged 19.4 mph.

The weather and terrain were once again very favorable – flat with temperatures in the 80s. There are many more towns on our route now, we go through one almost every 10 miles. Between each town, homes line the roads. Larry has done a great job keeping us on very low traffic roads.

We now have 8 days left in our ride with just over 880 miles to go. We have traveled 2,582 miles over the past 25 days (including 1 rest day). If we can get through this weekend without rain, it looks good for the last week.

Day 24 – Thu/Jul 10 – Ottawa IL to Winamac IN

We started our day once again enjoying a meal prepared by John Garrity – breakfast at his office – french toast, sausage and coffee ( by the way – it was a great cup of coffee). After a quick meal and some laughs with the employees at his office, we were back in route to the start of today’s ride. The route was similar to yesterday, but we wound up with a net increase in elevation of a couple hundred feet. This was hardly noticeable over the 127 miles we rode today. The temperature was like yesterday, started at 69 degrees and reached a high of 86 degrees. Winds were out of the SSE as we traveled almost straight east. We averaged 19.8 mph. We did manage to slip in a short (1/2 mile climb with an 8% grade) – total climb for the day – 1,168 feet.

Larry did an outstanding job of guiding us to Winamac today. Not only did he save us about 5 miles, but he kept us on smoother roads with less traffic. Lesson learned – don’t try a ride like this without a lot of Hart!

We have now traveled almost 2,475 miles since leaving Astoria 24 days ago. We only have 9 days left in our ride. A week from Saturday we hope to complete our ride – just over 1,000 miles to go. The weather patterns appear to be holding yet – high temperatures remaining in the mid 80s with the chances of rain Saturday and Sunday.

Day 23 – Wed/Jul 9 – Bettendorf IA to Ottawa IL

Today is our first in Illinois. Tomorrow evening we will enter Indiana. We started the day (6:45 AM) by riding across the Arsenal Bridge to Rock Island IL. This bridge is the site of the first railroad bridge to cross the Mississippi River. The water is still high from the recent flooding. We rode the first 40 miles on bike trail along the Mississippi, a few city streets and the Hennepin Canal State Trail. This was a relaxing ride since we encountered very little vehicle traffic.

Bob (ex-support driver) rode to Ottawa with us today. He led for most of the first 40 miles since he was familiar with the route. This gave us an opportunity to rest a bit. The route today was the flattest route yet, even though we climbed a total of 1,322 feet. We traveled a total of 110 miles to Ottawa, where Bob stopped at the hotel (3:30 PM) to shower and Matt and I rode an additional 10 miles into tomorrow’s ride – another long ride, over 140 miles. Our average speed is 18.1 mph. The terrain was much like Iowa, except table-top flat. The crops were the same, but the fields were much larger. The crops looked great.

When we got back to the hotel, we greeted by two friends of mine, Russ Domeyer and John McLean, who traveled from Chicago to visit and enjoy a meal of pork chops, beans, potato salad, watermelon and desert prepared by John Garrity. John lives on a farm about 18 miles from Ottawa near the town of Earlville. Two other friends joined us, Dennis Schemmel (Des Moines, IA) and Terry Gogel (Freeport, IL). The food was great and we were entertained as everyone retold stories about their college days. It was great to see everyone again.

Day 22 – Tue/Jul 8 – Fremont IA to Bettendorf IA

Yesterday was Day 21 of our ride…but we didn’t ride, it was a rest day we had planned back in Twin Falls ID. The rest day turned out to be a family time. Monday our family gathered in Dubuque IA to celebrate the life of my step-mother Rosemary who left this world sometime in the night of July 1-2. When you get to be my age, it seems most family gatherings turn out to be either weddings or funerals. Although it was good to see my brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and even a few great nieces and nephews, you still never want to see them under these circumstances.

We arrived in Fremont on Sunday afternoon after a 97 mile ride. My family (Kathy, Paige and Kyle) traveled to Iowa for a visit with Kathy’s family and hoped to be there when I came through Fremont. Paige and Kyle left on July 5th, one day before I arrived in Fremont due to prior commitments. Shortly after arriving, we were treated to the best meal of our ride to date (sorry Paul, you dropped into second), compliments of Kathy and her mom Bonnie. Since I needed to be in Dubuque for the funeral, Kathy and I left Fremont for the three-hour trip to Dubuque shortly after we ate.

I returned Monday afternoon after the funeral just in time to enjoy another great meal. As it turned out, the temperatures soared to 96 degrees – a great day to be off the bike. Larry thought it would be a good day for a ride and took advantage of the opportunity by riding a quick 20 miles. He rode in the same head wind we had yesterday, but since he rode a loop (out and back in), he enjoyed a tail wind on his return. Storms hit just as we retired for the evening, cooling everything down by morning. Bonnie, thanks for putting up us for the past two days.

We started moving shortly after 5:00 AM and hit the road by 6:45. We finally had the elusive tail wind we have been looking for, although it was a relatively light wind. Bob, our former support driver, had researched our route today due to the flooding over the past few weeks in Iowa. Bob chose a great route – light traffic and nothing but gently rolling hills. The total distance today was just over 123 miles, with almost 2,500 feet of climb. Thanks to our first tailwind today, we averaged 19.9 mph.

Our route started out on Hwy 23, traveled across Hwy 149 and then hit a series of county roads. We rode about 7 miles on the Duck Creek bike trail and ended in front of the Arsenal Bridge which will take us out of Iowa and into Illinois. We continue to ride a weather bubble across the country. Temperatures started a 69 degrees and ended at 82 degrees – absolutely perfect riding conditions.

Bob had called a local bike shop as we were in route to Bettendorf and scheduled a quick tune up. As it turned out this tune up was exactly what I needed since just over 75 miles into the ride, I broke a derailer cable. Larry unloaded our back-up bike and we were back riding again within a few minutes. Does support get any better than that? Thanks to the guys at Healthy Habits Bike Shop, our bikes are now ready to tackle the rest of our ride…hopefully our engines will be ready.

Day 20 – Sun/Jul 6 - Adel IA to Fremont IA

Yesterday Bob ended his role as support driver and Larry returned. Bob did a fantastic job. Hard to believe it was last Saturday when Bob first joined us. Time is flying. We appreciate Bob’s efforts and hope he enjoyed the experience. We hope to hook up within a few days over in Bettendorf where he threatens to ride along with us to Ottawa IL. Matt and I are looking forward to a full day of drafting. My brother Paul got up this morning at 5:30 and made us breakfast before we head out to Fremont IA where Kathy’s mom lives. She will host us the next two days. Finally, we get a rest day.

Today we started on the bike trail in Adel and rode an additional 17 miles to Des Moines. It was a relaxing ride as there was limited vehicle traffic, but a lot of bikers and joggers. It was good to see so many people using this trail. You may not believe this, but at the end of the bike trail there was a Starbuck’s, of course we had to stop for a coffee. This may not happen again on our trip.

Today is day 20. With the 97.2 miles we rode today, our total mileage is 2,103 miles. We are now 60% of the way across the US.

We rode the entire day with the same head/cross wind that we had yesterday. The big difference was the total climb was only 1,960 feet, less than half of what we did yesterday. We had a few steep climbs early going through Des Moines, but after that none of the grades were more than 3%, most climbs were between 1%-2%. Still holding out hope that we will get a day of tailwinds, but either way, we keep heading east. After the bike trail, we rode University Ave through Des Moines which turned into Hwy 163. We then took Hwy 92 to Hwy 23 all the way to Fremont.

Tomorrow will be our first, and maybe, only rest day for the trip. Tuesday morning we will be back in the saddle headed to the Mississippi River in Davenport, IA. Weather is still holding and we hope it will continue. Yesterday I had yet another flat - Matt 2 tubes/1 tire - Gary 8 tubes/3 tires.

Day 19 – Sat/Jul 5 – Blair NE to Adel IA

Today was another long day in the saddle, and not necessarily because of the 120.4 miles we rode. We faced a strong head/cross wind all day – in excess of 20 mph. In addition, we managed to accumulate 4,430 feet of climb, even though we started our ride at approximately 1,000 feet elevation and ended at about the same elevation. It was one rolling hill after the next….."the hills go on forever and the party never ends." Our max elevation for the day was 1,508 feet.

The rolling hills would have been a welcomed sight if the head/cross wind didn’t take away almost all of the momentum of the descents. We rode on Hwy 30, F58, Hwy 191 and Hwy 44. Hwy 30 was a lot like Hwy 20, 26, & 275 – relatively smooth with a good shoulder for bikes. Hwy F58, 191 and 44 had no shoulder for bikes so we shared the road with traffic. There were only a few miles when traffic was somewhat heavy, but once again we were given space to ride by all vehicles.

We ended the day with the last 20 miles from Panora to Adel riding a trails-to-rails bike trail. The bike trail was asphalt/concrete all the way and was lined with trees most of the way, creating a canopy for us to go through. There was very little grade which allowed us to have a relaxing finish to today’s ride. We wound up averaging a mere 16.1 mph for today - 7 hours and 27 minutes in the saddle. We will start the morning riding another 20 miles before riding across Des Moines on our way to Fremont.

We celebrated the end of the ride today with a cold Samuel Adams, compliments of Brock “I finally rode my bike” Gamble. Thanks!

My brother Paul provided us with a delicious hot meal, a hot shower and place to rest our weary legs. It was a treat to not have to go out to eat. My appetite actually returned tonight, I didn’t have to force myself to eat.

Day 18 – Fri/Jul 4 – 32 Miles East of O’Neil NE to Blair NE

Today we started at 7:19 AM, hoping to get as many miles in as possible before the winds picked up. The forecast was for head/cross winds at 10-20 mph. The last 17 miles of the day were directly into a 20 mph head wind. Our ride covered a total of 131.2 miles, on a flat route again – actually had a net drop of 700 feet in elevation today. We traveled on Hwy 275, Hwy 32 and Hwy 75. Hwy 275 and 75 had a wide shoulder, which were fairly smooth and clear. Hwy 32 started out very rough with no shoulder for the first mile and then the road turned smoother with a three foot shoulder. Traffic for the 4th was relatively light and vehicles gave us plenty of room to ride.

Once again, even though we had a flat route today, we had total climb of 2,082 feet. There were two stretches of road with a series of hills that tested our legs, or maybe I should say, tested my legs. Matt had a strong day today, good thing since the back-to-back 130+ days had taken a toll on my legs. Hopefully, we will have less wind tomorrow or maybe a tail wind. We will leave Nebraska and start our trek across Iowa.

The temperature today was relatively cool again – started at 62 degrees and ended at 84 degrees. Despite a couple of days of head winds, we really can’t complain about the weather. Relatively cool and dry for the most part. I hope this trend will continue. Everything considered, we have been very lucky.

We are now 1,885 miles into a 3,500 mile ride. Before we take a rest day Monday, we will have logged just short of 2,100 miles. Just a note – the flat tire count is now – Matt – 2 tubes/1 tire, Gary 7 tubes/3 tires. I had another flat two days ago (a very tough day) and could not locate the cause of the flat so I changed out the tire.

Day 17 – Thu/Jul 3 – 5 Miles East of Valentine NE to 32 Miles East of O’Neil NE

We woke up this morning still feeling the effects of yesterday’s grueling 82 mile ride and a bit apprehensive about what today would bring. As bad as yesterday was, today was as good. God smiled on us today – sunny skies, light and variable winds (primarily head and cross) and cool temperatures (54 – 73 degrees). This along with the smooth roads and a flat route (change in elevation of about 900 feet with only 951 feet of climb) allowed us to ride 138.1 miles today, averaging 18.7 mph. This is the 7th consecutive day of net descent since crossing the continental divide. Maybe the climb was worth it after all.

Yesterday at 1:30 PM, we had ridden a grand total of 27 miles. Today, we had 87 miles in by 1:30. What a difference 24 hours makes. We “banked” an additional 32 miles today (riding past our hotel into tomorrow’s ride) which means we will only have to ride 131 miles tomorrow to get to our hotel. Tomorrow’s ride was scheduled to be 163 miles by an over-aggressive planner (yet to be identified). The temperatures are forecast to be relatively cool tomorrow, but unfortunately is looks like we will have a stiff head wind. Hopefully the forecast is wrong and we will get another day like today.

We rode past a billboard today the stated “Now entering ‘the middle of nowhere’”. My guess is that the past few days have been the beginning of nowhere and the next few days the end of nowhere. We are now starting to ride through small towns every 10 miles or so. This makes it easier riding.

Day 16 – Wed/Jul 2 – 30 Miles East of Rushville NE to 5 Miles East of Valentine NE

Today we got up early and were ready to hit the cranks by 6:10 AM. Showers and lightning kept us waiting until 8:35 when we finally decided to take off even though there was still some light rain – but the lightning was gone. The first five miles were tough due to a strong head wind – 20 to 30 mph. Things just went down hill after that as we hit a section of road (it turned out to be 9.5 miles long) that had been prepared to be resurfaced with asphalt. The old surface had been ground off, leaving the road as rough as a washboard. It took us over two hours to cover the first 14.5 miles of the ride today.

The head wind did not subside until just before we stopped shortly after 5 PM (we are now in the central time zone). This may have been the worst 5 ½ hours I spent on a bike. Despite the constant head wind, we were lucky that the temperatures never left the 60s and the elevation dropped about 1,300 feet. We wound up averaging 15.3 mph, but it never felt like we were going that fast. We started the day with 30 miles in the bank and by the time we finished we had 5 miles left.

The terrain was pretty much the same as yesterday, but to tell you the truth, I did not even notice it. A dear friend of mine had a saying that summed up the way I felt we put our bikes up for the day…

“I feel like I have been shot at and missed, and shit at and hit!”

Day 15 – Tue/Jul 1 – 25 Miles East of Lusk WY to 30 Miles East of Rushville NE

Today is our first full day in Nebraska and our first day of the third week of this trip. We have traveled 1,534 miles and climbed a total of 48,411 feet in 15 days. With that being said, we are still not even half way to Plumb Island yet. The only way we will get there is to continue to get up every day and head east – one mile at a time.

We got an early start, on the crank at 6:58 AM. The temperature was already at 62 degrees, a good indication that today would be our hottest day so far. We were well into the 80s by 9:00 AM. And we finished with a temperature of 95 degrees. The hotter temperatures increases water intake (hydration) but also suppresses our appetite. We have to force ourselves to eat so we have enough calories to ride these long rides.

The ride was relatively flat, but we still managed to climb 2,369 feet. Within the last five miles, we hit three back to back hills ranging from ½ mile to a little over a mile with 6% grades. After over 100 miles today, there was not much left in the legs for these hills. We rode a total distance today of 118.8 miles. We are still riding at relatively high elevation – max was 4,976 feet and this evening we are still at 3,800 feet. Tomorrow we will drop another 1,300 feet.

We traveled on Hwy 20 all day. This is the first day when the roads were rough for most of the ride. Every 10 yards we hit a crack on the shoulder. By the end of the ride, our wrists were sore. Every chance we got we rode the road which was a lot smoother. Traffic was again light. The terrain is starting to remain green. We traveled through the Nebraska buttes and within a few miles of the Nebraska National Forest – I didn’t know Nebraska had either. Grasslands, hay fields and wheat fields lined the road. Toward the end of the ride, I spotted a few corn fields. Small farms could be seen most of the day. This reminds me of the terrain in Iowa where I grew up. We are definitely in the Midwest now.

Day 14 – Mon/Jun 30 – Glenrock WY to 25 Miles East of Lusk WY

Today we once again got an early start – 6:40 AM. The temperature was expected to top 90 degrees (and it did by late afternoon) for the first time in a while and we want to be able to finish in the early afternoon before that happened. The first 26 miles were on Interstate 25. The shoulder on the interstate was approximately 12 feet wide and for the most part clear. There was very limited traffic on I25 – at least during the time we were on it.

Our revised schedule had today as an 82 mile ride, but since we still have a 160 mile day ahead of us on July 4th, we decided to get an additional 25 miles in. If the weather holds, and we can get a few extra miles in over the next 3 days, we should not ride over 120 miles on the 4th. The additional miles put in took us out of Wyoming and into the state of Nebraska.

The maximum elevation today was 5,356 feet with a total climb of 2,336. We ended the day at approximately 4,800 feet of elevation. Tomorrow we will have a 1,200 foot descent, with about 1,000 feet of this over a 5-6 mile distance less than 20 miles into the ride. My legs have steadily recovered over the last few days, ever since we put the big climbs behind us. Occasionally we hit a small climb that slows me down, but the recovery is quick and since I know there are no big climbs ahead, I can push through these for the most part.

The terrain for most of the day was better than yesterday. We were surrounded by grassland or hay fields – both which were green. Some areas had Pondera pines. Bob has picked up where Larry left off – the support has been great. We now have two full weeks of riding behind us – covering just over 1,400 miles. We hope to put in almost 700 miles over the next 6 days before we take a day off to rest - that is if the weather continues to cooperate. We seem to have hit a good pocket in the weather so far. According to a couple of the local residents, a few days ago, the temperatures were in the 90s with winds around 60 mph. And no – it would not have been a tail wind. I hope our luck continues to hold with the weather. The forecast for the next 6 days has the temperatures in the 80s with a chance of rain Wednesday through Friday.