July 11, 2024
Day Twenty-seven: Rushville, Nebraska to Valentine, Nebraska
Yesterday evening I took some Nyquil and went to sleep at 6:30. I'd been concerned that the workingmen next door, who were drinking beer and smoking outside their room, a few feet from my door, might be noisy and keep me up, but I never heard them. I did wake up a few times for some reason, soaked in sweat. When I get home I'm going to have to see my doctor and get a checkup.
I got up at 3:30, got everything put together, and was riding out at 4:45, my earliest start on this tour, and one of my earliest starts on any bike tour ever. I had both blinking rear red lights on. There was almost no traffic on US-20 at this hour.
I'd ridden this section of US-20, in the same direction, back in 2019, so I wasn't extremely interested in the scenery. It was nice at this very early hour, though. It was going to get hot today, but it was cool now.
I was concerned that I would have a headwind much of the day, but for the first few hours, anyway, the wind seemed neutral, or was possibly even a semi-tailwind.
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I arrived in Gordon, population 1,465, and immediately went into a Pump & Pantry gas station and bought an apple fritter. I'd stayed in Gordon in 2019, in the decent motel on the edge of town, but hadn't looked around much. This time, even though I was in a hurry to cover a lot of miles today, I looked around more.
Back on US-20, I headed to the next town, Merriman. Unlike the last few days, there were a few trees along the road that I could get under for shade.
I was in the Sandhills region now.
I arrived in Merriman, population 128. The farm supply business was still open, as it had been in 2019. I walked in asked the lady there if she had any snacks for sale. She directed me to the gas station a few hundred feet away. I'd had an unpleasant experience at that gas station in 2019, so was hoping I could get snacks and a cold drink somewhere else this time. I walked around tiny Merriman and took a few photos while I pondered things.
I decided I'd give the gas station another try. The last time I was there, in 2019, the place had a very unfriendly vibe, with overtly angry political signs plastered everywhere. The owner had been wearing an offensive (to me) political shirt.
The owner, an older man, was there again, but was stooped over and looked frail now. Do I look that much older five years later?!
I decided to ignore the annoying hat he was wearing and buy a few snacks (the Nut Roll was in stock!) and a cold Gatorade. I even talked to him for a few minutes.
Back on the road, it was getting hot now. The headwind I'd feared still I hadn't developed. It was 24 miles to Cody, the next town. I was making good progress so far today.
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5 months ago
I kept the discussion with the guy in Merriman limited to his selection of snacks, and about some other touring cyclists he'd seen recently ;)
5 months ago
I pulled into Cody, population 154.
My first stop was the little supermarket run by high school students, where I bought two Gatorades. I decided I needed a real meal, so I rode over to the bar and grill, which was a nice place. There was no grilled cheese sandwich on the menu, but they cheerfully agreed to make it for me anyway, and it was the best one of this trip. I probably sat in the cool, pleasant place for too long before going back out into the heat. At least there wasn't much humidity here.
I'd done about 70 miles to get to Cody. It was another 38 to Valentine, my destination for the day. It had finally gotten hot, and the wind was against me about half the time. This was the most difficult part of the day.
There were a few little communities before I reached Valentine, but they didn't have much.
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I entered the Central time zone, and lost an hour, which is always aggravating on a bike tour.
I stopped in Crookston for a few minutes, hoping to find a pop machine at the big grain elevator, but was unsuccessful.
I continued. It was hot and windy, and I was ready to be done for the day. I finally reached Valentine, population 2,737, a big, bustling town where the lodging is grossly overpriced because it's a very touristy area.
I took a few photos, then stopped at the first gas station and purchased an ice cold lemon lime Gatorade, which I chugged in less than 30 seconds.
Then I rode to my hotel, cleaned up, walked across the street to a busy supermarket and bought my usual post-ride supplies (soda pop, chocolate milk, ice cream). All the regular checkout lines were very busy, but no one was using the self-checkouts, so I did that. I thought it was odd that no one was checking out their own groceries here. Maybe this advanced technology is a recent introduction to Valentine, and the locals haven't learned how much better it is?
As is my pattern on bike tours, I decided to do a short, easier day tomorrow after today's big ride, and arranged for a place to stay about fifty miles away tomorrow.
Today's ride: 109 miles (175 km)
Total: 1,809 miles (2,911 km)
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5 months ago
Now that you've tried the super early start, what do you think? I really like riding that early, but I find I don't sleep well the night before, waking up multiple times, checking the clock, how much longer do I have to sleep.
5 months ago
5 months ago
I like starting out early in general. In our hot and humid Midwest summers, I've done day rides, with a headlight obviously, starting as early as 3:30.
On bike tours I've often started between 5:30 and 6:30. Very rarely have I been able to get out before 5:00, like yesterday. And yes, I woke up a few times the other night, checking the time.
One thing I definitely could not do on a regular basis: Start riding while the sun is already way up in the sky. Today it was close to 9:00 before I left on my short-ish day, and it was not pleasant.
5 months ago