When we left Gordon, NE several days ago, our goal was to ride the 54 miles to Cody, and overnight there ... one look at Cody prompted Kim and I to undertake the additional 38 miles to Valentine ... total for the day was 92 miles. Frank and Roger were deep into a conversation with a local and intended to camp in the City Park there in Cody ... Mohammed and Muntasir were unsure of their plans for the evening (they expressed discomfort with the fact that you can not smoke in most city parks). After Kim and I had lunch at the Husker's Hub diner in Cody, we took off for Valentine ... 38 more miles which proved to be easier than either of us anticipated. Smooth roads and forgiving winds allowed us to ride at a comfortable pace. Upon arriving in Valentine, we settled into the local McDonald's, and proclaimed ourselves to be super-human to have arrived in such good time and (seemingly) such good physical shape.. Actually, we just said we were proud of ourselves, but the super-human fact remains.
Valentine, the "Heart City of Nebraska" (get it?? Valentine ... Heart City) is a town of around 2700 people. Nice place, but not a lot of activities for the non-car crowd. We settled into a locally owned motel by the name Motel Raine ("Sleep in the Raine" is their motto). The owners, Dana and Tim, were most accommodating. Tim even loaned us his car so we could go out to one of the local "must see" tourist spots.
As a group, the six of us have all been aiming for the start of RAGBRAI (cross Iowa bike ride), which starts in Sioux Center, IA, on Sunday, July 22. Realizing we had eight days in which to complete five days of riding, Kim and I decided to take a rest day in Valentine. Because the accommodations were so relaxing, we decided to make it a two-day rest stop.
Frank and Roger are now one day in front of us (a day closer to Iowa), and I do not know where Mohammed and Muntasir are ... hopefully we will all be able to reconnect in Sioux Center prior to the week of bicycling madness known as RAGBRAI. I had long planned on taking a different route than Frank and Roger once RAGBRAI was complete, but it seems we have already "split the sheets", so to speak. Frank and Roger rejoice in camping ... not so with Kim and I. As far as Mohammed and Muntasir are concerned ... no smoking; no camping. Sad to lose the traveling companions, but then that is the beauty of self-contained bike touring ... adults making adult-like decisions.
So, after two days of rest, Kim and I are now back on the road, which feels good. For some time prior to reaching this segment of the trip, we had planned on riding the Cowboy Trail, a 135 mile rail-to-trail bike path starting in Valentine. We rode out of Valentine on the path, and crossed the bridge (adjacent picture). Very impressive bridge, but pales in comparison to the bridge in Whitehorse, ID. Anyway, we rode the path for about 5 miles, but found the crushed-rock path to be uncomfortable to ride (rock was not compacted). Wider tires would have made the ride comfortable; installing wider tires is not an option. So we jumped onto Highway 20, which runs parallel with the path, and rode the remaining 46 miles to Ainsworth, NE. The wind and the road surfaces were agreeable, so this day's ride was also very agreeable.
With the temperature projected to get up to 105 today (is this really Arizona, and I just don't know it??), keeping a supply of water becomes very important. One oddity that we have discovered is that in these small towns (double-digit population), if there is no store there is certainly a bar. On the ride from Cody to Valentine, we stopped in a bar ... lady barkeep and four customers. Great conversation regarding our trek, and great ice-cold water. The stop could not have been more satisfying. Today we stopped in another bar ... I noticed a few wall-hanging award plaques indicating that Ruth Something-or-other was a champion bowler. I asked the young lady tending bar if she was Ruth. No, she was Ruth's niece. She then told us of her family's many successful bowlers (her second-cousin had even been on TV for a State High School Tournament). Again, ice cold water ... and the realization that if you just talk with people as equals (I am a Leo after all, and better than the rest of you), even the most seemingly struggling people have something of which they are proud. (Old salesman's trick ... look at the client's pictures/plaques and get the client to talk/boast about their accomplishments.)
So we are presently in Ainsworth, NE ... three days out of Sioux City. I have been out here riding for a little over 50 days now, with another 38 days of riding left to get to Washington, D.C. Summer is going fast, but enjoyingly so ... dare I say it ... life is (once again) good.
Are the Jorgensen's, et. al. meeting you at RAGBRAI? Love your updates...I would be right there with you and Kim looking for indoor lodging. Love your updates. Life is definitely good.
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