August 25, 2024
Day 42 - ending at Omaha, NE
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I was up for good at 5:45am this morning. Earlier, at 2:30am, I was up to get my earplugs. There was a disturbance down the hallway in the motel. I think management was involved and it has something to do with something being broken. Arguing went on for a while and there was a lot of banging. The ear plugs silenced all that for me.
Yesterday morning after breakfast, Early Bird had given me a to-go coffee. I saved that for this morning. I walked over to nearby Super C for something to go with it. Chocolate covered donuts sounded the best, and I also picked up a package of Skittles for on the trail. There was no chance for rain today, but there is an Excessive Heat Advisory issued, with the predicted high to be 100F. I packed the bike up while it was still in the room, then rolled it to the elevator and outside. The GPSs were locked in and ready at 8:11am.
Today's destination is to the northeast - Louisville State Recreation Area near Louisville, Nebraska - about 40 miles away. I knew the first part of today's routing is on the MoPac Trail, so figured it'd be fairly easy riding to get out of town, once I was on the trail. Though being a Sunday morning, there were a lot of walkers, joggers, and bicyclists on the trail.
I hadn't been able to find a church service to listen to on my radio, so ended up listening to KOOO, 101.9MHz out of Omaha, which had a strong signal, and was playing some songs I know.
At 9:27am, I was at the Novartis Trailhead along the MoPac Trail. I stopped here to drink some of the frozen Gatorade I had. Not much ice left in this bottle. I'd placed the second bottle in my insulated bag. Hopefully it was staying cooler. The trail to here had been concrete, but ahead was packed limestone. Also, there was a marker here saying this is Mile 0. Anyway I'd cleared Lincoln, no problem. Went through Watson at 9:46am.
I arrived where the trail crosses US-34 (O Street) at 10:38am. There was a bench there in the shade so I sat down to take another break. Ever since I left this morning, I'd been wishing that tomorrow was a Sunday, instead of today. My plan for tomorrow is to ride to and through Omaha, including areas near downtown. It seemed to me that doing that on a Sunday instead of a Monday would be so much easier, traffic-wise. I'd been in the shade some this morning, the heat didn't feel too bad yet, and I was feeling good. Then I thought, "Maybe I could make it all the way through Omaha today." That'd be about 82 miles. I'd done one day like that before last year. So I settled on that idea, then moved along.
Eagle, then Elmwood were the next small farm towns ahead. I passed by them at 10:56am and 11:45am, respectively. My noon alarm sounded when I was crossing Fletcher Avenue. I was 26.4 miles along. Not as far as I'd like for an 82-mile day. At 12:24pm I arrived at the Wabash Trailhead, which is the end of the MoPac East Trail. There was a map posted at the trailhead there I found very useful. Since I now didn't need to pass by where Louisville State Recreation Area is, I could ride the map's road-recommended route to a bicycle bridge over the Platte River. I didn't follow the route exactly, but did end up where I wanted to be - Platte River Connection Bridge Trailhead at 1:25pm. I unpacked my second bottle of Gatorade here. The insulated bag had done a good job, for the bottle was still half frozen.
I was soon on Lied Bridge over the Platte River. There was some climbing after the bridge, but then I ended up right back at the river just west of NE-50. The trail went under the highway's bridge over the Platte River. I was on the MoPac North Trail now, which parallels NE-50 on its east side.
The trail is concrete through Springfield. On the north side of Springfield at 3:46pm I got off the trail to have lunch at Runza. I should have had a Runza Sandwich, but ordered a bacon cheeseburger instead. I was able to charge my phone and refill my thermoses with ice. It was a break I needed. It was already 100F outside.
North of Springfield the trail was back to gravel, and it wasn't in the best of shape. I stuck with the trail, though the shoulder of the highway next to me kept calling. At 4:55pm I was in Papillion, according to a sign on the highway to the left.
The trail ended, so I turned east onto Schram Road. I knew Omaha has hills. Schram Road has some and I wasn't even in Omaha proper yet. Also there was a mile of gravel road ahead! At 5:30pm, I was stopped at the intersection with 111th Avenue, since there was a short right turn lane that got me out of traffic for the moment. A pickup truck pulled up on the other side of the intersection, and the driver got out. He walked slowly over to me to inquire about my trip. He'd seen me earlier when I passed his farm. It was such a delight to talk with him. He knew where my hometown of Morton is - two of his sons had worked for Caterpillar for a while. His ancestors had moved to Sarpy County from Ottawa, Illinois. He said a lot of folks from LaSalle County, Illinois had migrated to Sarpy County. As we parted I asked how the harvest would be. He said not a record breaker, but it will be a good harvest.
I turned north off Schram Road to get on Walnut Creek Connector Trail at 5:43pm. That took me to a bike path along the west side of 96th Street. At 6:22pm I turned east to get on West Papio Trail, which follows Papillion Creek. I was near Big Papillion Creek at 7:00pm. I'd miss a turn and had rolled up a dead-end spur, but only a short ways. I took a break here. I was getting a little alarmed about how late it was getting. It'd be dark in another hour or so.
I was near the end of the trail and got onto Cedar Island Road. That was a gravel road for a while up a hill. When I met up with Chandler Road, I mistakenly went east instead of my routing west. But that brought me to a Casey's. I stopped there for a Clif bar and a chocolate milk, and to get some Vitaminwater. Then I figured out a way to get back on-route. My plan had me going north on 25th Street to Gilmore Avenue then Railroad Avenue, which turns into 24th Street.
I couldn't believe the traffic as I approached Q Street. So many cars passing, so many cars parking, people on the sidewalks. Why was everyone out on such a hot day? Getting through all this on my bicycle just wasn't going to work. I did find an out-of-the-way corner to stop and consider. It was almost dark. I wasn't sure how much further I had to go if I stayed on my route, but the way the traffic was, I wouldn't be able to get through anyway. So I decided here to just let Google Maps route me straight to the airport. I was a little upset with myself for my earlier decision to try to ride two days in one. Places I would miss out seeing are a Native American mural, Fort Omaha, and the location where the courthouse had been where Chief Standing Bear's trial was held. Oh well, I had a new goal now - get away from this crowd and get to the airport.
I stair-stepped east and north a couple of blocks, but the traffic was still all around. By then I'd figured out that it was due to a nearby carnival. Google Maps put me on O Street going east toward the river. Eventually I was on Gilford Drive, a road that is only open now for walking and bicycling. It was dark enough there with the tree cover that I needed my headlight to see. After that, Google Maps wanted me to turn east at Homer Street. That way was gated off, so I just kept going north on 9th Street, then 10th Street. That got me over I-80 and all the way to Harney Street. I turned right there, since there was a path and I could see decorative lighting down near the river. From here I found a bike path that got me under I-480 and all the way to Abbott Drive, the road to the airport.
I had it marked on my GPS, but still made two turns too early before I got to the parking lot gate where pedestrians (and bicycles) can get through. I did pay attention to the waypoint I had set for where my truck was, and was able to get right to it. It was 10:20pm, and I was done bicycling for this trip. I took a selfie, then wrote a shorter-than-normal evening report, to get it sent off before it got any later. I checked to see if the truck would start before I unloaded the bike. It did. In fact, the truck looked in great shape, almost like it'd been through a carwash. It was a pleasant evening now that it had cooled down some. I got the bike emptied and loaded into the back, and was on my way out of the parking lot at 11:10pm. The rest of my plan for today was to drive back to Adair, Iowa, where I could camp again for $6. It was late enough that getting out of the airport and onto the correct freeways to get to Iowa was no problem. I arrived at the city campground in Adair at 12:40am. There were other RV and tent campers there this evening, but I was able to set up quiet enough that I don't think I disturbed anyone. Finally in my sleeping bag at 1:30am, with no alarm set. I should make it home tomorrow. Well, actually, that would be later on today.
Jeff
Spent: $6.68 (donuts, Skittles) + $5 (trail pass donation) + $16.99 (lunch) + $10.08 (Vitaminwater, chocolate milk, Clif Bar) = $38.75
Today's ride: 77 miles (124 km)
Total: 1,539 miles (2,477 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 6 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 6 |
Thanks for taking us along on this tour. I didn't know any of the story of the Ponca and between your journal and a bit of Wikipedia, I learned a lot about that sad history. It's sobering what human beings can do to one another.
But mostly, congratulations on another great ride!
3 months ago
As we tour, we do always seem ready and anxious to get home, and I am happy that you made it safely. But as you know, I always wish for more of you cycling days ;’-). Rest well until the next one. It will be interesting to see where that will take you.😊
3 months ago
Thanks! That was a day which maybe should have been done differently. But it all worked out.
Thanks for following along so faithfully. I felt you right there with me.
Jeff
3 months ago
Yes, getting back to my truck to see if it was OK was pulling me along some.
I'm glad you were able to learn about the Ponca Trail of Tears. I intended to expand on that myself, but my wife said before I'd posted anything, "You want to see the locations, and that's fine, but the story isn't yours to tell." That was a light-bulb moment for me.
Thanks so much for following along. Your comments helped me keep everything in perspective.
Jeff
3 months ago
Thanks! Your seemed-like-daily (and then some) comments were a joy to receive. Sorry I didn't return timely responses.
In some ways, I wish I'd stuck with my original two-day plan for that last day. But it worked out OK.
Monday, when I arrived home, and on Tuesday, I was full of energy. By Wednesday afternoon, I was saying, "I need a nap!"
As you know, my phone's weather forecast app kept defaulting to my home location. Seeing how the weather was almost always cooler at home makes me think my next trip should be in Illinois. We’ll see.
Jeff
3 months ago