Author: Paul Rito (Page 3 of 24)

47.5 miles cycling, 1203′ of climbing (2825.3 total) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Louise almost bested her dinner with the breakfast she prepared for us, and then she sent us off with a care package of leftover salmon, fresh tomatoes, Caprese and cuke salads, and bread and cheese for lunch. It was a thankfully short day of 33 miles to Des Moines ahead of us with much of it on the Racoon River Valley Trail.

56 miles cycling, 2080′ of climbing (2778 total) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Another day, another wake up (a chilly one), make the coffee, drink the coffee, pack up the tent and get on the road. Winds from the NW gave a tailwind a lot of the way, but whenever we turned North, it was quite tough. Fortunately, it was a relatively short day for us and we had a Warmshowers host for the evening in Redfield which always makes the day more mentally easy.

68.6 miles cycling, 3785′ of climbing (2721.4) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Got up in the morning to the smell of coffee and we sat on the back patio and sipped same with Pat and Mike while watching the fog lift off the Big Muddy. Mike is still working, helping tribal members start businesses and works with them to get contracts and grants with the government. So, we saw him in-between phone calls, but had a great morning’s conversation with both of them . Pat’s a retired nurse and made us a delicious and hearty breakfast.

72.8 miles cycling, 2805′ of climbing (2652.8) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Got up, had some coffee & oatmeal/granola, then headed out for Omaha. We had a pleasant ride on the State highway up until mile 40. Then the Omaha hills started. Lots of hills. We had no idea. A lot of the early hills were on a bike path, so the very busy traffic was only noisy not troubling. The closer we got, however, the trail turned to a very bike unfriendly sidewalk.

60.8 miles cycling, 1136′ of climbing (2580 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

The less than Super 8 also had a less than super breakfast, but we did manage to get some nourishment. Today, fortunately, the weather was better. No rain and the wind was at our backs for the first time in 4 days. We were on US highway 275 which was pretty good. Fairly nice shoulders until we got to it a 12 mile construction zone. There were some dicey moments on that section but generally it was fine and flat and again that wind at our back. We made it to West Point in pretty good time and decided that we would continue on to Scribner. 

39.2 miles cycling, 142′ of climbing (2519 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

A good Super 8 breakfast prepped us for the cloudy day and some more rain. We had our sights set on 70 to Norfolk, but also had 39 to Neligh as a backup. It was another slog and yesterday’s effort was definitely in our muscle memory. On the way we met Jack, a Frenchman touring the US. He was 3 weeks in from Astoria OR heading to NYC. Much younger than us and going much faster and farther every day than we could hope to anymore. 

66 miles cycling, 398′ of climbing (2480 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Breakfast at the Rodeway Inn in Ainsworth, then an initially dry ride with a good headwind. Today we had a two-person paceline and switched off about every mile or so and even with the wind, we managed a respectable 11.3 mph. Threat of rain all day and we rode in a mist for a long stretch, got a short period of more intense rain, but made it to O’Neill — the self-proclaimed “Irish Capital of Nebraska.” I had to drop the speed a bit near the 60 mile mark. It was quite an effort for both of us and Dana had some left in the tank, but I was running on empty.

66 miles cycling, 398′ of climbing (2366 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

We had one of the best breakfasts we’ve had at a motel. Great variety, good eating, especially for the day we had coming. We started out dry in Valentine and headed for the Cowboy Trail which runs from Valentine to Norfolk. A bit choppy at the start from all the horses’ hoof prints, it did improve as the morning went on.

55.3 miles cycling, 1997′ of climbing (2366 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

We had left our bikes out in front of Bob’s & Carla’s house but behind the cars in the driveway. At about 3 AM, I heard a diesel truck cruising in front of the house suspiciously slowly. I got up and went out to move the bikes into the garage and saw/heard the same truck on the cross street. I think my suspicions that the truck was cruising for a score was spot on and thankfully I’m a light sleeper. We were safe, and so were the bikes.

76 miles cycling, 3348′ of climbing (2311.1 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Rough day. 72 miles from Interior to White River with hills and headwinds. I knew this was going to be a long day from the start, but the hills were tough and the winds in the morning were light so not so bad but got worse in the afternoon when you’re most tired. Interestingly, the Badlands don’t end in interior. The same sandy buttes and cliffs were present for many miles along South Dakota 44. Best part of the trip was that traffic was extremely light. We probably were passed by fewer than 150 cars in both directions over seven hours. When we finally arrived in White River, we were ready for a drink!