July 23, 2024
Day 9 - ending at Neligh, NE
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Up at 6:12am this morning after sleeping so very well. Since I only made half my planned distance yesterday, I had another short day ahead of me to get from Creighton to Neligh, Nebraska. With the extra time I worked on reports. A fellow mowing the lawn pulled up and talked for a while, then later a fellow who was filling a water tank on an ATV so he could water the city's flowers.
I packed up and took off at 11:49am, heading to Subway for lunch. I stopped for pictures along the way. Noon arrived just when I got there. 0.4 miles so far.
Inside Subway there were four older ladies having lunch and conversation. At the table next to the door three teenage boys sat down to eat their lunch. They were quiet, all looking at their phones after they were done eating. As the ladies were leaving, one of them said, "Here are three friends who have a lot to talk about to each other." The boys took it well, raising their heads from their phones and half smiling.
Done with lunch at 12:43pm, I headed straight south through town. I ended up passing a shaded picnic table as I passed the park. I sat down for a moment of thought. I'm needing to do laundry, and also wondering where I might find a wifi signal - Subway didn't have one for customer use. A motel would meet those needs, but I wanted to save motel nights for stormy weather. So I checked my weather forecast app: Isolated showers and thunderstorms between 3:00pm and 1:00am. OK, maybe this should be a motel night. I called the Deluxe Motel in Neligh to reserve a room. They don't have guest laundry, but there is a laundromat in town. There, that's all set. I got back to bicycling. Later I had another thought: My phone's weather forecast app defaults to my hometown weather. Did I forget to change location when I checked the forecast? Yes I did. It's not going to rain here!
I left town on NE-13 riding into a south wind. At 2:23pm I turned west for four miles on US-20, which was a pleasant change with its shoulder and the wind at my side. A turn back south on Spur 2B brought me through Brunswick. I continued on south. Later the pavement turned to gravel and it started getting hilly. Eventually, at 6:33pm, I arrived at Laurel Hill Cemetery northeast of Neligh. A Nebraska Historical Marker is there which points out the kindness of 1877 Neligh residents. That kindness has continued on through the years. White Buffalo Girl's gravesite is the only one in the cemetery allowed to have flowers displayed all year long.
Neligh was a short downhill coast away. I bicycled around town some, before getting to the motel. I'd been here before, in 2013, when I camped at Riverside Park. I saw that the restaurant I ate breakfast at then is now a different business and closed. I also located the laundromat, which is kind of rough looking, but is open 24/7.
I came up to the motel on a side street. I was stopped waiting for traffic to clear to use the highway entrance when I heard a voice say, "We're over here." It was the motel owner. He had me checked in for room 5 by 7:25pm. Even though it's only a few blocks away, the motel owner offered me a ride to the laundromat.
The bike just fit in the room. I got a shower, then loaded all the dirty clothes onto the bike. It was after 9:00pm now and dark by the time I made my way to the laundromat. I found two machines that were working, and used them both, since I was washing my sleeping bag/sheet also.
Back in my room at 11:10pm, and in bed at 11:55pm with no rain outside.
Jeff
Today's ride: 31 miles (50 km)
Total: 290 miles (467 km)
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