June 18, 2021
Day 12: Tour-de-Nebraska Day 3: Red Cloud to Hastings
Last night was a very hot night where seemingly nobody got much sleep. The temperature at 10pm was still around 90, so I sort of cheated and left my tent and found space in a community center in the park. Some people had pre-arranged to sleep there and they capped the number at 80 (inside a large gym) but that soon got crowded and noisy. I managed to find a small side-room with only one other person and got a few hours of sleep with air-conditioning.
The next morning the local Lions Club had arranged a sausage and pancake breafast for us in the park pavilion:
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This is my favorite cycling breakfast! Some protein and some carbs and sugar. Along with coffee and orange juice I usually feel ready to ride. We got on the road about 6:45 while it was still nice and cool.
The first part of the ride had no wind at all, which was a welcome change. I’m sort of over cornfields and cows by now, but Nebraska does have some very pretty skies at the beginning and end of the day:
I skipped the first rest-stop, which had burgers – I think they were expecting riders to go later in the day, but everyone had heat on their mind and left early, so 8:30am seemed a bit early for burgers!
The next stop was perfect – a little bar in the town of Bladen, which had a buffet with sandwiches and one of the best pasta salads I think I’ve ever had!
Here’s Jeff & Diane on that recumbant tricycle pulling into town. Jeff calls it the land slug, but it keeps up pretty well! A bit slower up hills but faster on the downhill side.
I can’t remember when I’ve last seen a Skelly gas sign but remember them from my childhood. This one in Bladen was long abandoned, but I thought the sign made a cool picture.
We did run into some easterly headwinds before coming into Hastings, but nobody seemed to mind as the partly cloudy skies kept the temperature from getting much above 80, so overall it was a really pleasant ride.
Hastings is a small college town with a cute downtown area, and a beautiful park where our tents were all set up under large shade trees.
The tour offered free beer for riders at Steeple Brewing downtown in the afternoon, and then a closed off street area with food trucks and live music. Our group found a nearby restaurant for dinner and enjoyed some really good burgers. This was easily the best day of the TDN for me!
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 579 miles (932 km)
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