Jul
31
2009
0

Day 48 – Nebraska City, NE to Bedford, IA (Lake of Three Fires State Park) – Dogs

72 miles in 7.75 hours – Max Speed 32.5mph

On leaving this morning I immediately crossed the Missouri River, and passed into the state of Iowa.

Missouri River

Missouri River

Iowa

Iowa

After crossing I stopped at a Subway for some breakfast, and talked to a truck driver who toured around the Midwest some years ago for around 15 minutes. After that I got to enjoy around 10-15 miles of flat land, but then that all ended pretty suddenly.

I had been asked once or twice when I would really feel like I was home, and I had said when I got to Pennsylvania, that would probably be the moment that I really felt like I had just about done it. However, as soon as I hit the hills in Iowa, it felt like I was home. I was in a forest that looked like it could be 5 miles away from where I grew up. I had to keep telling myself that I had another 1000 miles to do and not to get too excited.

Really, this could be from outside my house.

Really, this could be from outside my house.

After a short time I left the forest behind. But while the trees had been replaced by farm fields, the hills remained with me.

Hills

Hills

See! Even the signs know.

See! Even the signs know.

Now some of you, particularly experienced bike tourers have noticed that something has been absent over the last 3200 miles. Notably dog attacks. I have been lucky in that I had not been chased by a single dog the entire trip. Well, that all changed today. Once I got through the forest, immediately five (!!) dogs came bolting from a property to my right. I saw I couldn’t outrun them, so I stopped and got off the bike and faced them, and we stood there for a while looking at each other. Eventually they got bored and went away. Then just a little while after that, from the left two dogs came flying down a hill after me, and one looked like a pit or half-pit. But, what they didn’t see (there were bushes on the edge of the property) was that a truck was coming the other way. The dogs literally got out into the street and across not even a full second before this truck came through. A half second later and they would both have been dead. And I know from reading other journals (dogs die chasing bikes more than you may imagine), that while the accident is 100% the fault of the dog owners, often times they are very emotional, own shotguns, and blame the bicyclist. Clearly something I want to avoid. Anyway, there were a few more dog encounters today as well, and in total I had 12 chasing me at one time or another. Welcome to Iowa indeed.

Anyway. I went through a few very small towns and ate lunch in one while it looked extremely threatening outside. It never did rain though, and I went on my way after my pit stop. I chugged along until I reached the town of Bedford at around 5:00. I went inside a cafe for dinner.

Pretty much every town for the next 500 miles would have a large courthouse that looked like this in the town square.

Pretty much every town for the next 500 miles would have a large courthouse that looked like this in the town square.

Barn with Ivy

Barn with Ivy

I haven’t really talked about small town America much in this blog. It is a part of America that some people never really get a chance to see. Even when people travel around the country, generally the stops are in cities, but I imagine that a very large portion of the country lives in towns of 1000 or less. Bedford was a perfect example. So this cafe was really crowded, and a little while after I got there every seat was taken. But, no worries, everyone knows everyone else, so the guy who owns the store just starts sitting people with other people who also have just arrived. Everyone seems happy with this arrangement. The only person who does not get anyone sat with them is the sort of dirty looking, smelly, outsider (me). This is a pretty good example of what small town America is all about.

After dinner I went down a big hill, and then turned off onto a side road, and climbed three miles to a state park with a campground.

Iowa definitely had the nicest road signs of the trip.

Iowa definitely had the nicest road signs of the trip.

I got there, looked around for the most remote spot that was available, and chose one and got set up. I went and took a shower in by far the dirtiest bathroom of the trip (State of Iowa! Clean your damn bathrooms!). After that bit of nastiness was done with I sat at a picnic table and did some work on the blog that does not require the internet for about 3 hours. I also talked to a guy who was camping who owned a long haul trucker. He said he really wanted to go on a bike ride like mine, but couldn’t for the usual reasons I hear (work, family, money). He talked about how he finally became clean a few years ago after being on drugs and ‘ruining his body’ for the 10-15 years before that. It seems like biking and camping really attract a lot of people who used to abuse their body. I think something about the outdoors really ends up helping a lot of these people heal.

Anyway, I crawled into the tent, listened to the loud party going on a few campsites down for a while, and then got to sleep at around midnight, again swearing I would never again go to a state park on a weekend.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
30
2009
0

Day 47 – Lincoln, NE to Nebraska City, NE – Another Long Rest Day

60 miles in 7.5 hours – Max Speed 18.5mph

I woke up late this morning confident that I was not making a mistake in doing so since I only had 55 miles to do, and knowing that there was no way that it would take more than six hours no matter how hilly it was or how hard the wind blew.

I left the hotel at around 11 and went and rode through downtown Lincoln on the 34. It was a pretty cool town, but the 34 is a horrible street for biking, and I ended up having to bail to the sidewalk after a little while.

Looking into Lincoln

Looking into Lincoln

People sitting in a  park in Lincoln

People sitting in a park in Lincoln

Go Huskers?

Go Huskers?

I needed to go to the bank, and Bank of America had an ATM in a mall in Eastern Lincoln that I was making my way towards. A piece of advice for any bike tourers – try to put your money in a bank that doesn’t charge you to use other people’s ATM’s. No matter how allegedly big your bank is (and B of A is supposedly the biggest) you will hit 500 mile stretches of the country where there simply aren’t any ATM’s within 25 miles of you. Those $5 charges end up adding up after a while.

Anyway, I got my money out and headed south to meet up with route 2, which was to be my home for the next couple hundred miles. Because of my late start the wind was picking up already, and once I got on the 2 it was really blowing.

I stopped at a Walmart with a McDonald’s in the food court (some would probably consider that the most evil of marriages… if only there was an Exxon outside) for lunch and to buy some supplies and then headed towards Nebraska City. It was slow slow slow going, but I got there after really a day where there wasn’t too much to look at at around 7.

At least I am back on some historic roads.

At least I am back on some historic roads.

Maybe my favorite picture of the trip. That little guy was climbing straight up a flagpole outside of the McDonald's I ate at, and there were a bunch more higher up. His shell has got to weigh at least ten times more than he does.

Maybe my favorite picture of the trip. That little guy was climbing straight up a flagpole outside of the McDonald's I ate at, and there were a bunch more higher up. His shell has got to weigh at least ten times more than he does.

I talked to the lady who ran an RV park there, and she gave me a spot for $10, which was a significant discount to what it would have cost full price. I set up, went and grabbed dinner back in town, and got to bed fairly early.

The profile of a bike tourer. Part I: Face always sunburnt and disheveled.

The profile of a bike tourer. Part I: Face always sunburnt and disheveled.

Part II: Don't put your fingers in campfires kids. (Just kidding, that is just my awful sunburn peeling. It really looked gross for a few days, as you can see).

Part II: Don't put your fingers in campfires kids. (Just kidding, that is just my awful sunburn peeling. It really looked gross for a few days, as you can see).

Part III: Legs always cut up and bleeding. Always.

Part III: Legs always cut up and bleeding. Always.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
29
2009
0

Day 46 – Grand Island, NE to Lincoln, NE – Long Rest Day

86 miles in 8.83 hours – Max Speed 22.5mph

I was looking forward to today, because if you look back over the last week, you will notice that I have done six centuries in a row, and then two in the four days before that. So I was feeling a little bit beaten down, so I was hoping that an early start would allow me to get to Lincoln bright and early in the day. Unfortunately, the story of my trip, the headwinds, would not allow it.

I set off at around 7:30, and headed back up to the 30. The roads were newly paved, so like in Utah, I got bogged down for around an hour by all the tar and rocks that get stuck to my wheel after going through that stuff.

Thanks new tar

Thanks new tar

Eventually it all fell off and I began looking around for some breakfast. There was a little diner in the town of Eureka that was open, and I stopped and ate my usual massive breakfast there. While I was on the road I loved going to diners. For the most part every single one had a meal where you could get eggs, hash browns, sausage, and toast for like $5 and then I would order a pancake or two on the side to go with it. It kept me going for a few hours at least.

Q: How do you get ahead in the office?

Q: How do you get ahead in the office?

A whole bunch of stuff had Nebraska Lied this and that on it. I still don't quite know what it means, but it is a good thing.

A whole bunch of stuff had Nebraska Lied this and that on it. I still don't quite know what it means, but it is a good thing.

I got back on the road and chugged through some more towns, and actually ate an early lunch despite my breakfast in York, NE.

This was exciting since UFC 100 was like three days away at the time.

This was exciting since UFC 100 was like three days away at the time.

It was flat, much like most of the last 400 miles were until I reached the town of Seward. Then, out of nowhere, it got really hilly. I think it actually wasn’t that hilly, but it caught me so off guard that it seemed much worse than it actually was. Between the hills and the winds I absolutely crawled the last 20 miles into Lincoln, where I got to my cheap Motel 6 at around 5:30. Still not all that bad, but it was later than what I had wanted. I ended up staying awake way to late like usual at these hotels looking at maps and updating the website.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
28
2009
0

Day 45 – Gothenburg, NE to Grand Island, NE – LONG DAY

113 miles in 10.16 hours – Max Speed 23mph

I got up as early as I could for not getting to bed until Midnight, and started off on what I knew would be another long day. I headed through Gothenburg and went through the town of Cozad early in the day. This is an important milestone because it is where the 100th Meridian lies, and is considered the cutoff between the east and west. It was pretty cool to see all the historic stuff around town.

100th Meridian!

100th Meridian!

I went on and stopped to have an early lunch in Lexington. It was really strange for me in Lexington and Ogallala because I have been there before, but only from the viewpoint of a highway driver, so I recognized both of the roads around the services near the highways, but you get a little more color on the town by coming from the 30 rather than I-80.

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

A section of the original Lincoln Highway

A section of the original Lincoln Highway

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

Once I began getting near Kearney I really did begin to feel that I was getting closer to the east, as the towns continued to get bigger. When I was like 8 miles outside of Kearney suburbs started, with neighborhoods and lots of little roads everywhere. This is something that I really haven’t seen since Salt Lake, and not for a smaller city ever on this trip. This was pretty exciting for me. I celebrated by getting ice cream at a TCBY.

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

I moved on and got to the town of Grand Island at around 7:30. I grabbed a quick dinner in town and got to the campground I was going to at around 9:00, just at twilight. I got set up and was asleep long before I was the night before.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
27
2009
0

Day 44 – Big Springs, NE to Gothenburg, NE – Long Day

112 miles in 10.25 hours – Max Speed 26mph

Sometimes you have these thoughts that when you think back to them, you honestly have no idea what made you believe what you believed. I got up late this day, and putzed around the room for a few hours, even though I knew I had over 100 miles to bike today. But it was okay since ‘it would be easy because it was Nebraska, and hence, flat’. I don’t know how or why I thought any 100 mile day would be easy.

I eventually got going at just after 10, and went back up to route 30. That was an interesting thing about these roads. The entire town was almost always built on the 30 (Big Springs was actually an exception), but most of the services had moved down next to the highway, usually three or so miles away. It was interesting to see how the towns had evolved to the changing conditions.

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

Is it sad that grain elevators really were the most exciting things I saw every day?

Is it sad that grain elevators really were the most exciting things I saw every day?

Anyway, it was more of the same, as I went through numerous small towns, and two large ones. Ogallala and North Platte were nice changes, and I ate Lunch and Dinner in them, respectively. After dinner I got back on the road, knowing that I wasn’t going to make it to the KOA by nightfall. Oh well, that is what I get for putzing around all morning.

Old Town Ogallala

Old Town Ogallala

Okay, last grain elevator... I promise.

Okay, last grain elevator... I promise.

Empty train that went under me.

Empty train that went under me.

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

I went through a few small towns as the twilight was waning, then did the last 13 or so miles in total darkness. It was amazing. The sides of the road were just filled with lightning bugs, there was a large shoulder, and almost no traffic. The weather was beautiful, and the headwind that I had died down. Not only that, but you could see the city as just a bulb of light ahead that kept getting larger. It really was a cool ride. Once I got to the town I made it over the freeway and to the KOA, which was somehow still open at 10:45. I got a tent site and went to sleep.

There were a lot of tiny bugs out. They went for the eyes and mouth, but as you can see some missed and only got my arm.

There were a lot of tiny bugs out. They went for the eyes and mouth, but as you can see some missed and only got my arm.

End of twilight

End of twilight

Beginning of darkness

Beginning of darkness


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
24
2009
2

Day 43 – Oliver, NE to Big Springs, NE – Running for my Life and Failing

100 miles in 8.16 hours – Max Speed 24.5mph

Upon getting to a new state, the first thing I do is look and see where the motel 6’s are, and what their prices are. Since I was to run parallel to the 80 in Nebraska on old route 30, they were plentiful. Two were under $40, one in Big Springs, and one in Lincoln. I was around 100 miles outside of Big Springs, so I figured that that was a reasonable goal for today.

So I packed up my tent and got moving towards the first real town in Nebraska, Kimball. I went all the way through the town looking for a place to eat breakfast, and then reached the end of town having seen only a Subway. I sighed, turned around, and went to a Subway which appeared to be open back in the middle of town. It was, and I had breakfast there (aside: Subway breakfast is pretty good, I just was in the mood for pancakes).

Picture outside of Kimball

Picture outside of Kimball

I left Subway and got back on the 30. This is a good time to talk about this stretch of route 30. If you look at it on Google Street View you will notice that there is no shoulder. This is okay though, since I literally probably saw 50 cars all day between towns. And in the towns the lanes usually widen so it is no problem.

Route 30

Route 30

I went through town after town with populations under 1000, and kept eating up miles. I had a wind from the south, and I was going ESE, so I had a very slight headwind, and it did slow me down a little.

Small town.

Small town.

Grain Elevator in Potter

Grain Elevator in Potter

Cool picture

Cool picture

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

Sign for Sidney, NE

Sign for Sidney, NE

Continuing the look at local gas station chains

Continuing the look at local gas station chains

Cabela's world headquarters in Sidney, NE

Cabela's world headquarters in Sidney, NE

Still on the Lincoln Highway

Still on the Lincoln Highway

One side of a historical marker. Notice a sponsor is 'Generic Motel'.

One side of a historical marker. Notice a sponsor is 'Generic Motel'.

Historical Marker

Historical Marker

Colton NE: A hell of a lot nicer than Colton, CA

Colton NE: A hell of a lot nicer than Colton, CA

I just kept chugging and to my surprise, after the town of Chappell, it suddenly got hilly!

Chappell Grain Elevator

Chappell Grain Elevator

Not only that but at the same time rain clouds of doom formed above me. These were dark, and seemingly came out of nowhere. I thought about going back to town, but decided to soldier on because there were nasty clouds behind me for as far as I could see.

Then it started thundering and lightning like crazy around, and the rain began. It wasn’t hard, but it was annoying. It rained for about an hour, but I am happy to report I did not get struck by lightning. This lightning storm irked me though because I thought I had gotten good at spotting nasty weather coming in, but this just seemed to materialize out of nowhere. After the storms ended the sun actually came out again, much to my delight. I went through the rest of the hills and reached the turnoff for Big Springs.

Enjoying the Grain Elevators?

Enjoying the Grain Elevators?

I rode down a big hill into the town, and then reached my Motel 6. Since it was on the interstate it had a large sign outside where it was advertising their great rates of $50 a night. ‘What the hell’ I thought, as I looked at my phone to confirm that I did infact see $40 on their website. I did, so then, standing infront of the entrance to the motel, I used my phone to book myself a room at $39.95 (or whatever). I went inside, said I had a reservation, and got the room for $10 cheaper than I would have otherwise. After that I went to a cheap buffet in the truck stop next door, ate too much, then went back to the room for the night.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
23
2009
0

Day 42 – Laramie, WY to Oliver, NE – Running for my Life and Making It

109 miles in 9.25 hours – Max Speed 26mph

I woke up in the middle of the night because it was FREEZING. I put on all of my layers and got back into the bag and tried to shiver myself to sleep. When I woke up the next morning it was still cold as sin out, but it was at least sunny and looked like it would be a nice day. But I knew from looking at the forecasts that this wouldn’t last.

I set out while it was sunny and after riding through the college town of Laramie (pretty cool place), I immediately hit a massive hill.

I like Laramie already.

I like Laramie already.

Actually a popular gas station around Wyoming. Seriously.

Actually a popular gas station around Wyoming. Seriously.

Another popular gas station/convenience store. I don't know why, but I really like this name (unlike the Kum and Go, which just made me uncomfortable).

Another popular gas station/convenience store. I don't know why, but I really like this name (unlike the Kum and Go, which just made me uncomfortable).

I knew this was coming, it was the final pass out of the Rockies. I climbed and climbed, and then, suddenly, hit the top. I decided to do another little climb into the rest stop at the top of the pass to take some pictures. It was still freezing out while I was up there. And the bugs were horrendous.

Woo Hoo!

Woo Hoo!

A better sign at the top in the rest area.

A better sign at the top in the rest area.

'Did you say Abe Lincoln?' 'No! I said Hey Blinkin!'

'Did you say Abe Lincoln?' 'No! I said Hey Blinkin!'

The Lincoln Highway seems to be a recurring theme for me. And don't think I am even close to done with it either.

The Lincoln Highway seems to be a recurring theme for me. And don't think I am even close to done with it either.

Information on the Lincoln Highway.

Information on the Lincoln Highway.

I talked to a few more people up there, including a nice guy from the Quad Cities for a while (Illinois side). While talking to many of these people, I get the ‘I wish I had done that when I was your age’ or ‘I wish I could do something like that’ a lot. Here’s the thing: I didn’t train for this, it doesn’t require a ton of money, equipment, or anything else. You just have to want to go do it. I am a firm believer that when people say they really want to do something like this, they are lying, or else they would. I understand that some people have these annoying things like ‘family’ and ‘jobs’, but really you can still do a long weekend ride if you want. I mean, you don’t have to do the two month long 4200 mile adventure like I am, you can take small pieces at a time.

Anyway, I got going and had the worst decent into Cheyenne of my life. The pass was at 8600 feet, and Cheyenne was at 6000 feet. Sounds like it should be easy right? Well when I got there it literally didn’t feel like I descended a foot because of the number of rolling hills and a headwind that started on the pass.

Clouds, Mountain, Car

Clouds, Mountain, Car

I guess that means I am getting closer.

I guess that means I am getting closer.

Eastern Wyoming

Eastern Wyoming

I rode through Cheyenne, which was a cool town also, and stopped for lunch. While I was there I talked to some kids (probably like 14 years old) who wanted to know if I lost a bet and that is why I was riding. Haha. I told them I had not, but they still couldn’t figure out why someone would ride their bike when there were cars and planes and stuff.

I got back out onto the highway and rode for another few miles before some threatening clouds rolled in, so I stopped at a truckstop to wait them out. Truckstops are another great thing about riding on the interstate. They are generally every 50 miles or so, have some decent food (high in calories anyway), clean bathrooms, and a general store. Once there was a break in the clouds I got back on the bike and started hauling.

I got to the small town of Pine Bluffs, and once I got there, was shocked to see that there was a restaurant open (it was about 6pm on the 4th of July).

Saw this beauty just outside of Pine Bluffs. I have no comment.

Saw this beauty just outside of Pine Bluffs. I have no comment.

I ate there, gratefully, and then set off again towards Kimball, where I knew there was an RV Park. I crossed the border into Nebraska, and as soon as I did the sky opened up.

I just love how it isn't possible to put a sign on a back road in the west without it being shot to pieces by people with shotguns.

I just love how it isn't possible to put a sign on a back road in the west without it being shot to pieces by people with shotguns.

I looked above me, saw that I was right on the border of the rain clouds, and booked it.

I got out of the rain and felt better, and since the wind was from the East, and I was going East, I assumed the clouds would wander off. Instead they kept on following me at a slow and leisurely pace, like the killer in a horror movie. I cursed the physics of rainclouds for making no sense, and picked up the pace again to try to gain some distance. Around 12 miles into Nebraska I saw a state campgrounds on my left. I checked it out, saw it was $7, so I got a spot. I got the tent all set up and unpacked before the rain came again. I got to watch some fireworks that people had brought to the campground, and then climbed into the tent to sleep as the rain returned.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
22
2009
0

Day 41 – Rawlings, WY to Laramie, WY – Sun! Too much sun?!

102 miles in 7.83 hours – Max Speed 35mph

When I woke up the next morning, I heard the sound of rain on my tent. I sighed and tried to go back to sleep. I didn’t have any luck, but as I was laying there the rain slowed down to a drizzle. I figured that that was a good as it was going to get, so I got up and got packed. By the time I was done it had stopped raining, but I knew it was supposed to start again later in the Afternoon, so I got moving quickly.

The day involved a 100 mile ride over some mountains into Laramie, but there was the option of taking old route 30, adding around 10-15 miles on, but taking most of the mountains out of the ride. I set off not knowing which I would decide to take.

It was a pretty easy ride to where the 30 broke off from the 80, so I arrived pretty quickly. After a brief thought, I figured that with rain coming I would stick to the interstate, so I hopped back on the bike and got going. There was also a sign at this intersection saying ‘No Services 75 Miles’. Oh well, that’s fine, I have plenty of food and water.

I reached the first big hill (you can always tell where the hills are because they add a third truck lane to the interstate there) and just pounded up it in my middle ring. Not good for my knees I know, but it was much faster than spinning up it in the granny.

That mountain probably saved my butt. See how the clouds have to  go through it. I think it was breaking up a lot of the rain clouds as they drifted by, and they had to rain quite a bit to get high enough to get over it.

That mountain probably saved my butt. See how the clouds have to go through it. I think it was breaking up a lot of the rain clouds as they drifted by, and they had to rain quite a bit to get high enough to get over it.

I went over a few more hills and then at the top of the biggest hill on the first range (there were two today) I stopped at a rest area. Stopping at a rest area on interstates is always fun because lots of people usually come up and talk to you, and today was no exception. Someone gave me a bunch of granola bars (not really necessary, but thanks!) and I talked to a few others while I ate a ‘lunch’ up there.

The only problem with interstate riding is that people always walk up to you and open with the line ‘I saw you on the road’. I mean, people will do that on regular roads too, but not nearly as often. And I never was smart enough to have a clever or witty retort to that line that wasn’t a little rude, so I would just stand there awkwardly and end up saying something like ‘yup’.

Anyway, I got going in a hurry because I saw some mean looking clouds creeping in, and sure enough, around 5 miles after my rest area, it began to rain on me. I sighed, put on my rain clothes, and got back on the bike. Then, 5 minutes after that, it stopped raining on me. I didn’t trust the weather though, so I left my rain clothes on for as long as I could without dieing of heat stroke. Eventually I had to take them off, but the rain continued to stay away.

As I got over the second range and drifted down into Laramie the sun actually came out for an extended period. I got into town, stopped at a KOA, did some laundry, showered, ate, and did a little work on the computer. Because I had pushed it as hard as I could, it was only 3:00 or so when I got there despite the distance and the hills.

I realized that I only took one picture that day, so I took another and made a video apologizing to everyone. The other thing you can notice in the video is how extremely badly I got burned that day. It wasn’t super sunny, but I think when you spend all day over 8000 feet the thin air makes you much more susceptible to burns.

Haha. Because my gloves were soaked and gross from the night before I rode without today. You can see the tan dots on my hand where the sun shines through the holes of my old gloves, and the horrible sunburn over the rest of my hand. That hurt for a while.

Haha. Because my gloves were soaked and gross from the night before I rode without today. You can see the tan dots on my hand where the sun shines through the holes of my old gloves, and the horrible sunburn over the rest of my hand. That hurt for a while.

As you can see my hands really got it also. I winced for the next week every time I had to get something out of my pockets. After I washed up and brushed the teeth that night I saw a tremendous lightning storm, so took a quick video of that. I don’t think all the flashes really showed up in the camera, but it looks fairly cool none the less.

With all that taken care of, I got into the tent and went to sleep.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
21
2009
1

Day 40 – Rock Springs, WY to Rawlins, WY – Rain

119 miles in 10.33 hours – Max Speed 26mph

I woke up early the next day and walked over to the diner attached to the holiday inn for some very mediocre breakfast. The nice thing about the Holiday Inn was that they gave everyone an USA Today (pronounced ooo-sa… the today is silent) which I could read while waiting for my food. It beat reading it on my cell phone, which is what I usually did to stay in touch with the world.

I headed out and got immediately back onto the 80. This was a horrible mistake, as there was a tunnel of despair just a couple miles down the road that I believe I could have avoided. There was no shoulder through this tunnel… and it was pretty long… and the interstate has a lot of traffic on it. And the scariest part about tunnels is always the sound. This was the most frightening moment of the entire trip for me I believe. But I made it.

Just looking at this picture makes me shake a little.

Just looking at this picture makes me shake a little.

I can see for miles and miles and miles.

I can see for miles and miles and miles.

After that I did around 30 quick miles to Point of Rocks, a ‘town’ much like many of the ‘towns’ in Nevada. They had two buildings and a bunch of people living out of their RV’s. I sat inside for a while though and talked to the proprietors of the gas station/convenience store/post office. I headed back out onto the highway feeling refreshed and headed towards the next small town of Wamsutter.

Interesting road name... sounds like the name of some anime show or something to me.

Interesting road name... sounds like the name of some anime show or something to me.

Vowels: Only required in 49 states

Vowels: Only required in 49 states

Actually, believe it or not, there were two continental divides today. There is a basin in Wyoming, so you have to go through the basin to get to the other one. I did not take a picture of it because I was trying to construct my arc to live through the floods at the time, but it said 7000 feet on the nose, you will have to take my word on it.

Actually, believe it or not, there were two continental divides today. There is a basin in Wyoming, so you have to go through the basin to get to the other one. I did not take a picture of it because I was trying to construct my arc to live through the floods at the time, but it said 7000 feet on the nose, you will have to take my word on it.

When I was about 10 miles away though, the interstate on my side became closed, thanks to some construction so it suddenly just became 2 way traffic on the other side. Worse, I was riding in a left shoulder, which is around 18 inches instead of the standard 6 foot right shoulder (I had to to stay traveling with traffic… think about it). Anyway, around 7 or 8 miles after this happened, a police pulled up, and told me to just go ride through the construction on the other side, because he didn’t want me in the small shoulder that I was in. I said alright and got to ride on my very own highway… it was sweet (aside – police in the middle of nowhere: very friendly and treat you as an equal… police in more populated areas: generally not very friendly at all and talk down to you).

My very own highway.

My very own highway.

I got to Wamsutter and pulled over to grab some food and wait for some thunderstorms to pass. I figured they would pass in 15 minutes as they had been, but I ended up waiting here for around an hour.

Eventually I ended up leaving, and as soon as I did it began to rain on me. And rain. And rain. I had around 40 miles left to Rawlins, and it rained on me for 35 of those miles. It only skipped the first two miles after I left Wamsutter and the last two miles into Rawlins. I have rain gear, and it had served me pretty well before this, but because of the length of time that it rained and the intensity, I ended up becoming absolutely drenched anyway. It was absolutely miserable riding.

I eventually pulled into town, with nothing on my mind except a hot meal and hot shower. I went to the McDonald’s and then poked around seeing if there were any inexpensive hotels. There was not… everything was exorbitantly expensive, so I went to the KOA in town, which was around a mile back on the highway. I set up there, took my shower, and went to sleep.


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Written by in: America,Everything |
Jul
20
2009
0

Day 39 – Fort Bridger, WY to Rock Springs, WY – Quick and Easy

69 miles in 5.16 hours – Max Speed 31mph

Good morning from Wyoming!

Good morning from Wyoming!

I got up early and headed through the small town of Lyman the next morning. However, I was almost all the way through it and had not seen any restaurants that were open yet. I was beginning to panic because I knew this was the only town until I reached Green River, right near my final destination, so I needed to eat. Luckily, there was a cafe at the far end of town that was open.

I went in, ate way too much, and then talked to the people in there for a while. One mentioned that he saw me the night before working up the ridiculous hills and he said that he considered stopping to ask if I needed a ride. I said thanks, I guess, but that I would have turned him down anyway, so no harm was done. He said the rest of the state would be more flat compared to what I went through the day before, so that made me happy.

Anyway, my plan was to go to Rock Springs and get a room in the Holiday Inn to allow me to get my free room that I spoke of a few days ago. It was expensive, but cheaper than any of the other possibilities. As promised the route was somewhat flatter than it had been for the last few weeks, and I had a nice tailwind which pushed me along.

Business route 80, which I took in the morning, was really busy as you can plainly see.

Business route 80, which I took in the morning, was really busy as you can plainly see.

These signs are all over Wyoming... I guess they have to close the interstate quite a bit in the Winter.

These signs are all over Wyoming... I guess they have to close the interstate quite a bit in the Winter.

I did some easy highway riding and arrived at the Holiday Inn at around 2pm. Once I got into the room it poured outside, which made me happy that I managed to avoid that.

A little highway riding.

A little highway riding.

Views heading into Rock Springs. My hand makes a cameo in the upper left. That is the lazy man's way to make the intelligent auto of one's camera brighten everything up. Was that last sentence English?

Views heading into Rock Springs. My hand makes a cameo in the upper left. That is the lazy man's way to make the intelligent auto of one's camera brighten everything up. Was that last sentence English?

More Rock Springs

More Rock Springs

Yet more Rock Springs

Yet more Rock Springs

I showered and threw some things into the laundry, and when that I done I took a little walk over to the Wal-Mart to buy some Gatorade, toiletries, granola bars, and most importantly, a huge box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. Once I got back to the room I realized how preposterously large this box was so I ate three of them that night and put the rest into a bag. They were still heavy and took up a lot of space, and not only that, now my stomach hurt from eating too many oatmeal cream pies. Oh well, bike touring isn’t fun and games all the time.


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Written by in: America,Everything |

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