July 5, 2010
Day 33: A night for the books!
Wow what a night!
It started innocently enough. We went for our free 4th of July ice cream at the high school football field not far from the park where we were camping. I had one scoop of chocolate and one of strawberry, not that that matters...oh, and then I went back for another scoop of strawberry and one more of vanilla; I had to try the vanilla after all. But back to the story...
It was REALLY windy and seemed to getting windier as the evening wore on. Our tents were set up behind some scrubby little pine trees that would sort of blocked some of the wind, but would not help if it rained, or worse, hailed. On the way back from ice cream Mike and I passed the 4-H pavilion, which is an all metal structure with a roof and open on all but 3 sides. It was a perfect wind break and would keep us dry, even though they only predicted "isolated" rains.
"I think we should move our tents under the pavilion," I suggested. We went back and forth on the pros and cons, including moving our already set up stuff and the fact that the cops told us to camp in the park. Would they care if we camp in the pavilion? I didn't think they would, and besides, they must be busy with catching holiday ne'er-do-wellers.
So we moved, and while we were moving ran into Andrew and Bobby who were just setting up camp after a 100 mile day--and when I say "setting up" I mean they were trying to get their tents staked without the wind up and blowing the tents, and anyone hanging on to the tents, to Oz. We told them our plan and they joined us under the roof.
Did I tell you the town of Tribune likes their fireworks? I guess not. Well, the town of Tribune likes their fireworks. First, it was the official town fireworks, which we were told about and expected. They went off behind schedule, right near the pavilion, for about 30 minutes...a little before they started we decided we just wanted to go to sleep. I didn't mind that so much and waited it out...
...but then came the unofficial fireworks, namely, the teenager's and their firecrackers and other "explosives". Oh, and the place for THAT was the OTHER side of the pavilion...B-B-B-B-B-B-BANG...for another hour plus.
Finally it ended, but only when the STORM hit. If I have ever seen so much lighting I don't remember it. It seemed there were flashes of it in the sky almost constantly. From the relative safety of the pavilion it was remarkable and quite beautiful. Then the rains came. The heavens opened up with water! It was difficult to tell if it was rain or hail but, this morning, we figured it was likely large rain drops on the metal roof that made it difficult to differentiate. In the back of my mind I thought of tornadoes but I did not feel worried about it. I learned today there were some tornadoes MUCH further away, near Nebraska, that did no damage, but other than that it was just rain, lighting and thunder--oh, and 1.5 inches of rain in just a few hours. I have to say it was spectacular and most memorable. Even the locals made comments about it, so it must have been big.
After all that I didn't not feel a need to get an early start. Mike and his friend left early so I had breakfast with Andrew and Bobby. We hit it off well and rode together today. And it was a beautiful day to ride! The headwinds that were forecast did not materialize and we had cross-tailwinds. That, and beautiful skies after the storm!
I must say, I was not sure whether or not I would like this stretch of the ride but I am enjoying the plains greatly. Some people say it is boring but I think all the sights and scenery are very interesting. I have also found the people extraordinarily friendly overall.
Tomorrow I am taking a rest day. I was tempted to ride further today to take advantage of the tail winds but I want to give Doug and his gang a chance to catch up. Today's short day and tomorrow's rest day should just about do it.
Tonight I got an inexpensive but nice ma and pop hotel with a fridge, and stocked it with fruit, cereal, yogurt and other stuff that is not so easy to carry and eat when you are on the move. I'm looking forward to kicking back, sleeping in, doing laundry and taking it easy tomorrow. I must say, only on a bike tour could you get excited about cereal!
Oh, Andrew and Bobby are ex-military. They had never ridden bikes before taking off cross-country. They seem to be doing great but said that, "bike touring is harder than boot camp."
Today (and last night) was another day for the books and one more great adventure.
Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 2,338 miles (3,763 km)
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