Day Twenty-seven: Valentine, Nebraska to Atkinson, Nebraska

July 6, 2019

Firecrackers, presumably left over from Independence Day, woke me up a couple of times in the night, but otherwise I slept soundly. The motel room had an unpleasant, slightly musty odor. I was briefly concerned that the source of this odor was me, and when I talked to Joy on the phone, she snarkily advised me to "check your hat." Once, years ago, I forgot to wash my cycling cap for a few days. I suppose I'll never live that down.

I was dragging this morning. All the workingmen who were staying here had already left for the day, leaving only me and couple of housedress-wearing, cigarette-smoking women at the establishment.

I finally got things together, dropped off my key at the office, and left. I decided to try the Cowboy Trail, which I had shunned so far. It had been hard to muster any enthusiasm for it and its soft, slow surface when US-20 had a perfectly good, wide, paved shoulder.

In a few miles there was an impressive bridge on the trail. It was definitely worth riding this part of the trail for the bridge.

I continued on for another few miles. There was water standing everywhere.

My time on the Cowboy Trail abruptly ended when I encountered some fast-moving water that had cut through the trail. There was no way I could cross it, so I had to turn back, an action I truly detest while bike touring. "Move forward" is my motto.

I only had to backtrack a short distance, though, until I got to an incredibly soft, water-logged dirt (mud) road that I carefully rode back to US-20.

My first stop of the day was in Wood Lake, population 63. The town dog came out to greet me, followed by a couple of women leaving a yard sale. One of them, Norma Cozad, had a little shop which she agreed to open up for me.

She appeared to have a wry sense of humor. "Wild times here this morning", she said, apparently referring to the yard sale. I bought some ice cream and a Diet Pepsi and sat at a table in her store, which seemed to be a very casual operation indeed. Among other things, she made Chokecherry jelly, which I was curious about. It's made from a wild plant that is native to the Sandhills region, and I almost a purchased a $5 glass jar of it, but it was so heavy that I ultimately decided against it.

"All the other bicyclists that stop here want ice water", she said, as she observed me swigging my Diet Pepsi.

I'm not like all the other bicyclists.

I said goodbye, studied one of the Nebraska historical markers that I encounter occasionally, and got back on US-20.

There was more standing water, remnants of the terrible March flooding, I guess.

For the first and only time on this trip, there was actually water standing on US-20, but it was such a tiny amount that it hardly deserved the "Water Over Road" sign.

It was only eleven miles to Johnstown, population 64, but I stopped anyway, and went into what appeared to be the sole active business: A bar and grill.

Nobody else was in the place, and I was a little surprised that it was even open in the morning. A television played an old episode of M*A*S*H.

The little old lady running the place was very friendly. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, which, frankly, was the worst grilled cheese sandwich I've ever eaten: A thin slice of cheese between two pieces of dry toast. The french fries were good, though.

I sat for a while watching the 40-year-old episode of M*A*S*H. It was the one where B.J. Hunnicutt is in a bad mood because his wife back home is learning how to fix things around the house without his help.

The sets looked incredibly fake. How were we able to suspend our disbelief years ago and convince ourselves that this was Korea? Also, the laugh track... so very, very jarring. Yet I was a big fan of this show when I was 12 years old.

I talked to the lady at the bar, learning that her daughter had lost a lot of weight on a diet that apparently involves drinking a lot of pickle juice. Then I said goodbye and walked outside and took some photos of Johnstown.

The Sandhills seemed to have ended now. It was flatter, and I rode past plowed fields. Farms, not gigantic ranches. Towns were not as far apart. Traffic was heavier on US-20 now, but the wide shoulder continued to be very rideable.

I stopped in Ainsworth, population 1,649. Nothing was especially interesting in the downtown, but I went into a "Pump and Pantry", after indulging my juvenile sense of humor by taking a cropped photo of the store's sign.

Signs in the store encouraged me to try an "Otis Spunkmeyer" cookie, so I began a search for one, but was unsuccessful until the friendly lady working there located them for me. She expressed the extremely common concern that I was doing this ride by myself, confirming my belief that the number one thing Americans are afraid of is being alone.

Back on US-20, which I was getting bored with, I entered Rock County, AKA "The Beef County."

I rode through Bassett without stopping, but then, several miles later, I did stop at tiny Newport after I saw a sign announcing that a wedding had been relocated from a park to the "Newport Pool Hall."

Most of Newport, population 97, appeared to be at the wedding. I rode up, and attempted to maintain a low profile while I took a few photos, but failed when the man officiating approached me. I talked to him or a minute, but felt self-conscious about crashing *another* wedding on this trip.

Back on the road, it was hot now, and I had a headwind. Many, many cattle haulers passed me, apparently all on their way to some sort of cattle-related event in Stuart.

I was tired when I reached the outskirts of Atkinson, population 1,245. I rode past some sort of carnival, and found that the motel was at the far end of town, away from any restaurants, or other sources of food except for a gas station which had stopped making pizza fifteen minutes before.

I checked into the motel, and discovered that my laptop would not power on. I called my friend Tom, a computer hardware expert, for advice, but nothing we tried worked, so I stoically ate my gas station snacks and went to bed before the sun went down.

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Today's ride: 97 miles (156 km)
Total: 2,189 miles (3,523 km)

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