Kearney, NE

I made it to Kearney, Nebraska today, a distance of 93 miles. It's
the longest I've ever pedaled a bike. It wasn't all that brutal, it
was just long. Special thanks to Sirius satellite radio, especially
Classic Rewind and NPR. My butt and back and legs and feet are sore.
I'm not completely spent though. It wasn't as bad as the legendarily
awful Downieville, California 5000 foot hill climb I did with Michael
in 2001, although that was particularly tough as I was sweating Jack
Daniels the whole time.

I took US 30 all the way. The American Discovery Trail maps suggest
taking backwoods country roads, but I've found that they often don't
go in the direction you want to go, nor are they paved. Riding
through crushed gravel or dirt/sand is tedious and tough on the tires.
However, US 30 has become a lot busier the further east I travel. I
was fairly miserable most of the day, concentrating more on my
rearview mirror than the view around me. Tonight I'm going to look at
the map and see if there are any alternate routes. I may trade some
speed for a more relaxing ride. I would have to give up riding next
to the Union Pacific, which has been fun. I think all the train
conductors along this stretch must know me by now as they all wave and
sometimes give me a short blast of their horn.

Kearney seems all right. It smells of cattle, has wide streets, and
has the requisite grain elevator by the railroad. It also is the home
of a particularly mangy hotel where I happen to be staying at the
moment. The blanket seemed to be woven of other people's hair, so I
managed to locate another from the office. I don't think any
trick-or-treaters will be showing up here. At least there is a
Mexican restaurant nearby that is OK. I thought about taking a taxi
to the movie theater to see Appaloosa but that's a lot of effort.
I'll just study my maps and watch a creature feature on the TV.

I guess I'm only about 130 miles from Lincoln so I ought to be there
in two days. Jared's family and friends live there so I'll stay with
somebody. It was promised that I would be taken to eat some beef.
Thankfully they taste better than they smell.