August 13, 2019
Day 9 - ending at Merriman, NE
Today is my big day - my longest planned day, and the day I've probably thought more about during planning than any other day. Re-reading the May 8, 2013 entry of Emily Sharp's Range Roaming journal gave me the inspiration to try this. Her journals are found on her website Ramble Out Yonder, and the "Range Roaming" journal is listed under "Long Tours".
Emily wanted to head north from Mullen that day on NE-97 to get into the heart of the Sandhills, but the wind and weather were against her, so she headed west. My thought was I wanted the revisit Merriman. When I was there before, on my 2013 trip, I remember thinking that the road into town from the south came from nowhere. Now I wanted to be arriving from "nowhere". But just like for Emily, the weather would have to cooperate.
I was up at 4:15am and checked the weather first thing. Wind mostly from the east, except it was raining between here and Merriman. The rain was moving ESE. By the time I get there it could be out of the way, so I decided it was "a go".
I left the motel at 5:34am, then stopped at Sandhill Oil #2 (Sinclair station) for breakfast and for on-the-road items: Gatorade, Clif Bars, and ice. I was on my way at 6:14am, turning north onto NE-61 at 6:17am.
At 6:55am I stopped near Brennemann Road. It was getting dark. This storm wasn't moving quite as fast as I'd hoped. Time to cover the cargo with plastic and get my rain gear on. I was rainproof at 7:30am, but now had a strong, cold NW wind blowing on me. The wind died down momentarily at 7:45am, and I headed on. There was rain at 7:56am - with wind. It let up by 8:20am, just when my PN-60 GPS needed new batteries.
At 8:30am I crossed into Cherry County - the largest county in Nebraska. At 9:00am I was seeing what looked like snow here and there on the ground. No, that's piles of pea-size hail! Glad I waited some for this storm to pass. At 9:20am I was stopping again, since I didn't want to ride through the new storm ahead. After a half-hour wait the worst of it moved on, and I started riding again - in the rain.
There isn't much traffic on NE-61, it's mostly trucks, but all the drivers wave. I had three drivers stop in the morning checking on me. One just followed alongside me with his passenger window down as I rode in the rain. After offering me a twenty-mile lift, he smiled and said, "I figured you would say that, but I wanted to check."
The rain came to an end at 11:15am, and there was some sun. I stopped for a break. It was so quiet - just soft sounds from bugs, birds, and distant thunder. I love this!
At noon I'd only made 26.5 miles. I took a break for a Clif Bar. I had 38.6 straight-line miles to go. At 1:00pm I took my rubber boots off and removed the cargo plastic, which gave me access to my Gatorade. I didn't need it chilled, but there were still plenty of piles of ice around that could of chilled it.
I crossed the Snake River at 2:45pm. At 3:50pm I was seeing a distant radio station tower, and was able to tune in 91.5 MHz - KRNE, which is a NPR station. Listening to the radio helped cover a few miles.
I had to walk some today, maybe about six times, up hills. The hills were easier on me later in the day, except at the Niobrara River. I was there at 5:30pm and back out of the valley at 5:58pm. Time for another Clif Bar/Gatorade break! Seven miles to go.
Shadows were beginning to form across the road at places where the hills are high. A few more ups and downs than I expected for this last segment, thanks in part to Leander Creek. I was close to Merriman before I could see their water tower. At 7:24pm I was there!
The city park where I camped in 2013 looked about the same. The park sign had been fixed up, and a few trees were missing. I set the tent up under the picnic shelter, then walked over to the former Sand Cafe to check their open hours. They're closed for vacation! And the Sand Bar isn't open this evening, either.
I was planning to spend two nights here getting caught up on report-writing. But add to the places-to-eat situation, the phone signal here is only 1x, and the only working electrical outlet for phone recharge is in the bathroom. Maybe a different plan is needed. I'll sleep on it. Still, I'm happy to be here this evening and got started on sleeping at 9:45pm.
Jeff
Spent: $5.21 (breakfast) + $6.96 (Gatorade, Clif Bars) = $12.17.
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http://www.kswildflower.org/flower_details.php?flowerID=343
5 years ago
Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 385 miles (620 km)
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5 years ago
Mary and I had a meal with Emily in Corowa during our ride along the Murray - See our journal Australia's Great River.
Mike
5 years ago
Thanks. I'll remember that day, even without the photos!
Jeff
5 years ago
What a fun time!
I look forward to Emily's posts of her rides in Australia. She is one determined gal!
Jeff
5 years ago