Day 59 - ending at Kimball, NE - The Great Plains Trail - Sort Of

July 12, 2023

Day 59 - ending at Kimball, NE

Day 59 - Keota, CO to Kimball, NE

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It was calm overnight until 3:00am, when I heard the windmill up on the hill start up. Also the west side of the tent was rattling. Got up at 5:05am. Walked up to the windmill a little later to get a sunrise picture. It was cold up there in the wind. But at that spot I did have a cell signal. It was a struggle staying at the top of that hill until I got the report posted for 2 days ago.

Today's destination was supposed to be Oliver Reservoir State Recreation Area near Kimball, Nebraska. I was getting by OK with the food and water I had, but was wondering if I'm really eating enough. I started the trip with my belt fastened in the first hole. Yesterday I fastened it in the fifth hole. With the hope of finding restaurants, I decided that today's destination would be Kimball, Nebraska. That was doable now, since I was 18 miles closer this morning than I would have been starting from New Raymer.

It was too windy to eat outside, so I ate in the tent at 6:00am. Packed up and left at 8:05am. The ride on the grassland road going west was pleasant, in spite of the few hills I had to walk up. At 8:53am I met up with Road 112, and turned west. Now, the wind was against me. I was following the GPT today. I'd also been on these roads before - 112, 107, 124, 111 - on the trip I took in 2013. So meeting up with hills I had to walk up was no surprise.

I thought the wind had changed to from-the-north. There was a wind turbine field ahead and they confirmed I was correct. I took several breaks today, drinking Gatorade and eating snacks trying to keep my energy up.

The morning had been a slow struggle. At noon I checked. I'd gone 16.1 miles. But the roads were flatter now and that gave me hope. At 12:51pm I crossed the state line into Nebraska. Not much past there is the Nebraska High Point. I wanted to see that when I was here in 2013, but found out then that hiking and bicycling to the high point isn't allowed, due to the fact that there are bison in the field. So I wasn't a disappointment when I found the situation to be the same this year.

Continuing on north from here, I was riding roads that are new to me. There were several turns to make on these gravel roads. All the turns either had me going east or north. At 2:22pm, I turned north onto Road 17W. My next turn wouldn't be for 12 miles. This was a frustrating road. It had recently been graded, and there hadn't been enough vehicles on it since then to pack the gravel down. In some areas there was nothing to do but get off and walk the bike. At 4:27pm, I'd done 9 miles of this road, which brought me to an I-80 overpass. I was so happy to see that the last 3 miles straight ahead would be on a paved road. Not only a paved road, but a paved road with a shoulder. And it is all downhill, and I had a tailwind, since the wind was now from the south. I was in Bushnell, Nebraska in no time.

The next big surprise for me was seeing that US-30, in this section of Nebraska at least, has no shoulder. Turns out it wasn't a problem for me since this section of highway has almost no traffic. I stopped to check out the campground at Oliver Lake Reservoir at 5:15pm. Many more people here than I would have guessed, but then again, camping is free. I continued on to Kimball, with plans of getting a cheap motel room for the night.

I was in Kimball at 6:15pm and kept riding east to where there are some motels. The two I checked were full, so I called around some and found a room at the Super 8 down by Interstate I-80.

Having secured my night's stay, I was really wanting supper. So I emptied the bike and rode it back into the downtown area. First went to Dollar General Store for lunch bag items, then rode to Sugar Shack for a medium vanilla shake. I'd been obsessing on thoughts of having one of those all day. Then finally, I went to nearby Sagebrush Restaurant for supper. I had the Rodeo Burger with mashed potatoes instead of French fries, and three glasses of lemonade. That filled me up.

It was dark now on my ride back to the motel. When I pulled in the parking lot at 9:35pm, a young man named Angel stopped me to talk about my bike. He's from Colorado and is in Kimball to help with construction of their new hospital. He's a painter and has been painting inside the rooms. They work four 10-hour days so they can have enough of a weekend to get home and back.

There's so much I'd like to get done before I go to bed tonight, but it just isn't going to happen. I am full, happy, and falling asleep tired.

Jeff

Spent: $117.60 plus $5 (motel room) + $15.65 (Gatorade, lunch bag items) + $4.80 plus $1.20 (shake) + $18.19 plus $4.81 (supper) = $167.25