String of Friends

Ride video Map I got yesterday's D6 installment written in the middle of the night in my tent. Good, no. I woke up for good around 5:30. I wanted some good shots of sunrise on Frye Lake. The night had been clear as a bell when I got up to do my business despite very heavy condensation on the rain fly. Sunrise was 6:30. I slowly got ready. The dew was on the inside of the rain fly. If I bumped the tent a little shower of drops fell inside. I never have had dew this bad. I kept the tent interior mostly dry through careful movements. At first light I crawled outside to see gray fog. No repeats of the those Carhenge at dawn shots. Still, I enjoyed the somber, mysterious feeling. The grass, sand, and fog reminded me strangely of the area around Point Reyes Station in West Marin County. Both are cow country, too. I was ready to go shortly after 7:00 am and the notional sunrise. I biked into Hyannis. Three cattle trucks moving opposite my blew huge blas...

Ride Video Map This stage was scenically uneventful. It was 60 miles on pavement which meant I could be slow departing. After breakfast at Ken and Dale's, a couple of errands, a second goodbye to Arlo, and some personal business over the phone, I left at 10:00. The Sandhills were farther than I thought from Alliance, but I made it soon enough. A stiff cross wind pushed me. The shoulder is six feet wide which is great in this situation. Shortly after 11:00 I ride by the WWI era potash plant. Germany was a major supplier. We lost the source in the war. This place made got it from the alkaline lakes in the area.  Not all the lakes are alkaline. I saw many with homes and alfalfa fields around them or cows. This is cattle country. Sadly the only sandhills turtles I saw were smashed on the road. I saw my first live road rattlesnake though! It was sidewinding it's way across. I wanted to help it cross, but feared it wouldn't know I w...

(Notices at Vintage Coffee. Note the local currency) Ride Video Map After a restful but sometimes truck noisy night, John my tent neighbor got up and started packing up. He was joined soon by Mick and Amy in the van. We chatted and explored Carhenge at sunrise. It might seem like a cute piece of Americana on the surface but it is art and a magical place. A couple of years ago 25,000 people celebrated the summer solstice there. I was a bit envious of the trios plan to hang a bit in Alliance. They had a 10:30 tour of the Greenhouse of the Snow and were going to get breakfast in town. Since they had motors and I didn't, I didn't try to tag along. Still, I thought breakfast in town was better than Grape Nuts. I pedalled the for miles into town to Ken and Dale's. Along the way I found a nice town of 8,000. The main street into town was brick lined with big houses.  Outside Ken and Dale's, a young guy approached me and asked where I was hea...

Ride video Map Monday dawned clear. Cheryl was got ready for school. She hugged me goodbye and went to teach the kids of Chadron about nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. (Side note, Chadron has a Marshallese community! At one point it was 100 people). I had breakfast with Steve while my tent dried on the line in the backyard. We studied the map and plotted a course for me to take to avoid Highway 385. We found a way along Bordeaux Rd and then through a series of farm roads until close to Carhenge. The big unknown was road condition. Rain, some of it hard, had fallen two days in a row.  About 9am my tent was dry and off I went with a big wave to Steve and Leila their dog. My first step was the Museum of the Fur Trade. I thought it was a local history museum, but it was the whole fur trade. It was fun to see Pacific NW artifacts in Chadron. The museum is on the site of an early fur trading post which was rebuilt in the 1970s. It is very small and now loo...

FYI - I am running behind because I am either having too much fun or have no cell service or both. Ride video Map (Written September 10) Man, it rained and thundered last night. It's morning and it's still raining. I'm getting a jump on writing. (Ooh, big lightning just now. Scary). I am grateful my Warmshowers host who live 45 minutes away by car extended a rescue offer. That's especially nice because it's 12 miles to pavement. I could be stuck regardless of my desire to stick it out. That's a pleasant surprise, my desire to stick it out, I mean. I am in good spirits despite the scary weather.  My tent has held up well, just a little leaking around the edges. The first thunderstorm came through around 11pm with a lot of wind. I spent an hour pushing against the side wall, but I don't think that was necessary.  My work phone gets two bars but my personal is in and out of service. Nice again to have two phones. It is nice to be able to get informa...

(Toadstool Park) Video ride map Static Ride Map Another great day on the bike! I was on the road by 8:05, one minute different than day one. The day was 50% feeling pampered by the Mickelson Trail and 50% going back to the open road where you feel on your own.  The day began rolling through forest gradually returning into more open country. Sunflowers lined the trail. Eventually, it lead into a beautiful canyon. While I was stopped to get pics, a couple came strolling down the trail. Faustine and Ted are from Fort Collins, but Trail regulars. After a few minutes of conversation they invited me to stay with them if I am ever in Fort Collins. More friendly, kind people. It was downhill to Edgemont. The town needs some economic activity. They are down to one restaurant. The City Park was hosting a celebration of life. It felt like a service for the town. The waitperson at the Victory Steakhouse and Lounge warned me there was a lot of nothing south o...