June 24, 2024
Day 8 - Thedford to Valentine
Tough day! Mostly because of the heat and the wind. I didn't take a ton of pictures as I had to concentrate on just keeping moving forward.
The morning wasn't too bad - light crosswind and (thankfully) some cloud cover. My view most of the morning was this:
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The afternoon turned into a hot slog. The clouds disappeared. The light cross-wind turned into a stronger head-wind, and the temperature zoomed up well into the 90s and flirted with 100.
At about 10 miles to go I ran out of water. I had started with 100 oz of fluids and they were almost gone. I did something I've never done before - found a farmhouse that was close to the road and went and rang the doorbell to see if I could get some water. No answer. So I helped myself from the hose-bib that was near the front door. I doubt they'll notice unless they had cameras somewhere.
That got me through the next few miles, but I was having to psych myself into completing 3 miles at a time then take a drink. I finally got to the Niobrara River bridge and had these sights:
The Niobrara River is designated as a "National Scenic River" and I can see why!
Part of the Tour de Nebraska ride I'm doing this year is along this river - it promises to be a really pretty ride!
Of course there was one more (excruciating) climb from the bridge up into Valentine, but I ground my way up and found my hotel.
So a very tough day! Morning was enjoyable - afternoon was not!
Tomorrow should be cooler as I head over to Springview and check in for the 36th TdN. There will be a headwind but it's a shorter ride, so shouldn't be too bad.
This will be my last post until after the TdN. I'm going to leave my laptop behind as I'll be hanging out with friends and family instead of posting. My son Cameron is driving up from Denver, my friend Tom is driving over from Milwaukee, and friends Jeff & Diane will be heading over from just outside Scottsbluff. Might even see Jimmy from Silverthorne, CO and Sandy from Janesville, WI. Once it's done, I'll catch you all back up with a montage of TdN riding footage and lots of pictures.
Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 489 miles (787 km)
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