Day 6 - Alliance to Hyannis - Younger on Two Wheels 2024: Nebraskathon

June 22, 2024

Day 6 - Alliance to Hyannis

Decent day today - a good bit warmer and sunshine all day. Winds were light and mostly off my back left shoulder, so no complaints.

I'm definitely leaving crop-land and heading into cattle-country. But here are a couple of wildflower pics to start off:

So it turns out the yucca I shot yesterday was past blooming and that's how they look afterward. Here is one blooming with the later phase behind it.

A lot of my views this day were this. Winding road through the sandhills with a train track next to it.

I will say I was surprised by the number of small lakes and ponds between the hills. I wasn't expecting these wetland areas so much.

Another coot and something else, or is this a pair of coots?

There were honestly so many waterfowl that I couldn't photograph because as soon as they saw me they flew off. I tried sneaking up on a few ponds, but wasn't successful in catching them. Lots of mallards & ibis, but also many I couldn't identify.

There were lots of these turtles smashed by cars. This one was just sitting in the heat (probably waiting for it to get cooler). I put him back where there were reeds and water - hope that helped.

Very curious cows. They kept pushing each other aside to get a better look.

I did have two complaints about the day. Once the temps got over 80 the flies came out - deer flies. I was wiping down with DEET wipes but that doesn't seem to deter them much. Fortunately, once I got away from more humid areas they seemed to disappear.

The other was roads - one county in particular had terrible shoulder conditions. Looking at you, Sheridan County! The expansion joints were brutal bumps, but at times even between the joints the shoulder looked like the picture above. I resorted to riding over in the lane but had to keep a wary eye on my mirror for approaching cars. I hope those shoulders get some attention soon!

That's it for today - tomorrow takes me to an even smaller town - Thedford. 67 miles due east.

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 359 miles (578 km)

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