October 3, 2022
Day Twenty-two: Wisner, Nebraska to Onawa, Iowa
I was not very enthusiastic about the ride I'd planned for today, to just beyond the Nebraska/Iowa border, since I'd already ridden most of it three years ago.
Before I left, I had to take care of some work, including the tedious chore of sending out monthly invoices, a process which I have partially, but unfortunately not completely, automated.
I took a break from that chore and walked over to the Prime Stop, where the friendly woman in the kitchen made me an egg-cheese-biscuit, which I ate while sitting in a booth and observing the customers stream in and out.
I estimate that 80% of them purchased cigarettes, which has become a shockingly expensive habit.
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Back in my room, I answered emails and took a phone call from a customer. I unwisely drank chocolate milk and Gatorade in quick succession, and became nauseated. Just then my brother called and attempted to engage me in an annoying conversation about some nonsensical disagreement he was having with another effete, spoiled member of the Cincinnati wedding industry in which my brother works.
The sun was way up in the sky. It was after 10:00, and I had to get on the road. I cut the conversation short, quickly packed everything up, and rode out.
The first several miles I retraced yesterday's route, which is always annoying.
Then I turned onto gravel.
I was on the gravel in order to avoid riding on the shoulder of a busy highway, but in retrospect, I should have just done the highway. The gravel was rough and slow.
The gravel abruptly turned to pavement at a very improbably-located country club. I rode past it, and then past a "Road Closed" sign. No way was I taking the marked gravel detour that would add who knows how many miles on a day when I was already not feeling much like riding.
I passed another "Road Closed" sign. Maybe it was just some minor culvert work.
It was more than minor culvert work. It looked a new road was being built.
I approached three stern-looking men wearing hardhats. They stared at me for a few long seconds as I attempted to summon the Jeff Lee Bicycle Touring Charm - specifically the apologetic, humble goofball variant.
"Do you think it would be alright if I carefully walked my bike through here?"
There was a long pause before the boss responded. I was sure he was going to tell me to turn around.
"Go ahead but be careful. This is an active construction zone."
I successfully made it through a long section of soft dirt, hard dirt, and mud, and arrived in Beemer, population 678.
I wasn't really hungry, but I walked into a café, mostly because I wanted some sort of pleasant diversion.
I sat down before I noticed that the TV was turned to "Newsmax", an overt propaganda outlet I'd read about, but never actually seen. Ugh. I was in no mood for that nonsense, so I quickly ordered, and ate, a grilled cheese sandwich and left.
I walked around Beemer for a few minutes, found a few photo-worthy subjects, and rode out of town a quiet paved road.
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It was 18 miles, six or seven of which were on decent gravel, to the next town: Lyons, population 851.
I stopped first at the town park and sat at a picnic table in the shade, and ate a bag of Peanut M&Ms I was carrying in my handlebar bag. A 73-year-old man walked up with his small dog. The dog was very interested in my M&Ms, which I obviously refused to share, since chocolate is poison for dogs, I've been told. Also, I wanted them all for myself.
The man had an expanded version of the Usual Questions about bicycle touring, but I was in the mood to talk about this tour, and in fact stopped myself once and asked him: "Is this boring you?" He replied "No; it's very interesting." Ha.
I rode into downtown Lyons and looked around.
I walked into the "SAVEMORE" supermarket and bought a few snacks. The three ladies working there were very involved with setting up the Halloween decorations in the store. When I left, they were still discussing whether to cross the legs of one of the plastic skeletons that had hung up near the register.
It was pleasant pavement all the way to the last Nebraska town, Decatur. This is now the third time I've crossed the Missouri River at Decatur on bicycle tours, so nothing I saw was especially interesting. But it was a nice ride.
I crossed into Iowa and didn't bother taking a state line photo. This, which I saw just after the actual state line sign, will have to suffice:
I received a text from Joy. She can see where I'm riding using the Strava app's "Beacon" feature, and wanted to be the first to pose this oft-asked question now that I was in Iowa:
I checked into the interstate motel in Onawa, a place in which I've now stayed three times on bicycle tours. I walked next door to the Dairy Queen for French fries and a chocolate shake, then to the "Cubby's" convenience store, which is about 1% as good as Casey's, the gold standard for Midwest convenience stores.
The bed in my room was soft, and I was asleep quickly. I needed to rest for tomorrow, which was going to be a long, very hilly day.
Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 1,494 miles (2,404 km)
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