Seward, NE - smooth 50 miles.

Had an easy spin into Seward today. It seems to be a picture-perfect
little town. It's perched on a hill and has a nice town square with a
clock tower. I went over to the library but I wasn't able to get the
computer to read my camera. So pictures will have to wait. Now I'm
settling in to watch the Broncos, then the Colts. Not bad at all.

I had a pretty decent crosswind from the south for the last half of
the day. According to the weather, more wind is in store. As long as
it isn't a headwind, it'll be OK. Riding in a crosswind isn't the
greatest, though. It's unpredictable and can blow you around when you
don't expect it.

Tomorrow I'll head to Lincoln, which is only 25 miles. I guess I can
take it slow. I need to visit a bike shop to get some more tubes.

aurora, ne.... sand traps

Today was supposed to be an easy day, but it didn't end up that way.
I thought I'd travel to Aurora, NE, about 60 miles from Kearney.
That's "as the crow flies". Since highway 30 was getting much too
busy for me, I thought I'd try out the back roads.

I started off heading south into a stiff headwind. After about 10
miles, I looked for the road on my map that I was planning to take.
It was dirt, which wasn't so bad. But after about a mile, it turned
into sand. Deep sand. I tried to ride my bike but to no avail. I
had to walk. This repeated itself the entire morning, as I got lost
and tired trying to pedal through sand roads. Finally I looked at the
clock and it was 2pm and I was still 40 miles from Aurora. Once I
found pavement, I pedaled as fast as I could, trying to get to town
before nightfall. It didn't happen. I ended up getting to town about
an hour after dark. Riding at night isn't very reassuring even though
my bike is wrapped in reflective tape and lit up like a Christmas
tree. There are just too many old ladies in Buicks out there.
Seriously, half the cars out here are 1996 Buick Roadmasters driven by
old folks.

I can't overemphasize the importance of Husker football here. There
are Husker banners on all the houses and cars. I tuned into the
pregame show at about 2pm. The game didn't start until 7. I guess
there's enough abou the Huskers to talk about for five hours. When I
checked into my hotel, there was a sweet old lady sitting behind the
desk. As I walked in, she began screaming at the television "NO!!!
GOD DAMN IT!!!". Oklahoma had just scored on the Huskers.

I was hungry enough to eat a horse, and luckily there's a Runza across
the street from my motel. I had heard about Runza, and was eager to
order everything on the menu. It's German fast food, very filling. I
got a Runza mushroom/cheese/beef sandwich, a cherry Coke, fries, a
bowl of chili, French onion dip, and a sundae. I just can't eat
enough.

Lincoln is 75 miles from here, but I think I'm going to take it a
little easy and split it up. I need a bit of a rest. No more
gravel/sand roads, I hope.

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.

north platte, ne

i made it to north platte, ne today, a distance of 83 miles. saw a
lot of the same. farms. grain elevator every 15 miles or so.
following the union pacific rr which is pretty busy. so that's cool
to look at. it was warm out and the winds were friendly. can't
believe this weather. in vail this time of year warm temps are a
drag. but i couldn't ask for better. my legs are pretty torched
tonight. kearney is 93 miles down the road but i can't guarantee
making it that far. we'll see.

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Old sugar beet factory

Wed/Thurs pics

Bike TV - PB & J

I dunno if this vid will work, but in it, I eat a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Riveting.