Day 42 - ending at Harrison, NE - Tri-points on the Tri-speed

June 24, 2013

Day 42 - ending at Harrison, NE

Posted via email Tue Jun 25 13:20:02 2013 PDT

No sunrise pictures today - I slept to 7:17am! Made some coffee with the room coffee maker, while I worked some on the report. Walked over to Penny's Diner at 7:55am for breakfast. It was a sunny morning, with cottonwood seeds floating around in the air. I used the meal coupon that came with my room last night to get a free breakfast: three pancakes, bacon, and coffee. Back at the motel room I had another cup of coffee as I packed up. Checked out at the front desk, and took off at 10:17am.

My goal today was north of me: Harrison, Nebraska. Wind was from the south, so that was good. My pre-trip waypoint routing had me going straight north on country roads, while the road map showed NE-29 as the way to go. I decided to go with the original plan, and headed north out of Morrill on Liberty Oil Road (CR-9; its name changed to Morrill Road when I crossed the county line). Saw lots of interesting stuff related to irrigation along this road. Lots of cottonwood trees around. Then after I crossed the last waterway canal, the terrain changed to no trees, just grass. The road went from pavement to dirt when I crossed SC Road. This dirt-road route would save me a few miles, but I wasn't sure it was going to save me time. There were a lot of ups and downs. I could already see clouds building up to the west and north. Got me wondering about afternoon rain.

I was coasting down a hill when I heard/felt what must be the biggest rock I've deflected yet. A half-mile later I was able to take my eyes off the road to check GPS mileage progress. Where's the PN-60 GPS?! All that was on the handlebar where the PN-60 is supposed to be was the hose clamp I'd rigged for mounting it. The GPS falling off must have been that clunk I'd felt! I pedaled back up the hill, where I found the GPS lying face-down on the road. It was still on working! It got a new place to sit for today.

At 12:45pm, I took a break to check the weather radar. Looked like rain to the north, and maybe some building to the southwest. That got me to thinking about bicycle-impassable wet roads and having to camp next to one again. Decided I better ditch my "shortcut" and head east to the highway. Didn't come to a road going east until 2:14pm. After turning east onto Murphy Road, I kept moving to avoid (or delay) getting rained on by the southwest clouds (except I did stop to eat some peanuts). Made it to NE-29 at 3:49pm. I may get wet, but at least now I won't get stranded. Going on the highway was much faster, and the wind was helping me. At 4:50pm, I stopped next to a cell phone tower to eat some cookies. Called my friend Jim to give him an update on where I was. Found out he's been keeping up with my trip at the library.

I crossed the Niobrara River at 5:20pm. There was some climbing to do to get out of the river valley. At 5:38pm, the wind suddenly changed to from-the-northeast, slowing me down. Cattle I came across on the 'open range' tended to get away from me. Along the highway, fenced-in cattle tended to come toward me. At one spot, I had herds on both sides of the highway following me as far as their fences would allow. It was like they were rooting me on.

At 7:20pm, I was at the spot where NE-29 goes west for three miles. That went quickly - downhill with a tailwind. If my math is correct, I averaged 18mph for that stretch. Made it to the city limits of Harrison at 8:21pm. Remarkably, I didn't get wet, nor did I see any water on the pavement. Both storms had moved on to the east.

As I rode into town, I passed a gentleman walking toward the Longhorn Saloon. He asked if I was staying at the city park. I said yes. He told me how to get there. I arrived at 8:27pm. There were two RV back-in spots, and a lot of green grass beyond. I checked the outlet box, and it had power. If I set the tent up between the gravel pads, I could be close to the outlet box for my extension cord, yet far enough away from the sprinklers (I thought). I got the tent up and threw in the gear. At 9:00pm, the first set of sprinkles came on. The bike, which was parked on the gravel, was getting wet, so I quickly moved it. It was the next set of sprinklers that would maybe be getting the tent wet. So I figured in ten minutes, I'd hold up my plastic sheet to protect the tent, and at 9:20pm be on my way to find supper. 9:10pm came, still spraying from the first set. 9:20pm, 9:30pm, 9:45pm . . . still spraying from the first set! I'm not going to defend the tent with the plastic sheet for this long. So I moved the tent as far as I could and still have electricity. Finally, at 10:00pm, the second set came on, and I saw the tent was in the clear.

Rode up to US-20 to see what food places were there - nothing. Rode back into town to the Longhorn Saloon. They had sandwiches that could be heated up, large pizzas, or hot dogs. I went for the hot dogs, and BBQ chips. The bartender asked me what I wanted to drink. I'd seen in movies what happens to guys who order chocolate milk at a bar, so asked for a beer instead. I inquired about where to eat breakfast in town. The bartender said there wasn't any place. The bar, which opens at 10:00am, and Rea's (grocery), which opens at 7:00am, are the only two places in town for food.

The bar cleared out at 10:30pm, I finished my supper and headed back to the park. I still needed to buy food, check the bike tires, and re-mount the GPS holder. I hadn't expected to lose an hour battling sprinklers. Camping here is free. I think I'll take tomorrow off.

Jeff

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Spent: $0 [coupon] plus $2 (breakfast) + $7 plus $3 (supper) = $12.

Day 42 - Morrill, NE to Harrison, NE

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