I slept in until after 6:00, which felt good. The weather forecast worsened overnight. Now there are higher chances for rain storms and the high temperature increased to 86 degrees. Still a wind out of the south at 15 mph, which is slightly favorable for my WNW direction of travel. So, I decided to ride.
It was only two miles to the start of the Cowboy Trail. The trail started out as concrete for the first three miles, then turned to crushed gravel. Here is what the trail looked like with my morning shadow photobombing.
After a few miles, I came across a “Trail Closed” sign. There are lots of bridges on this trail, and there has been a lot of rain lately, so I didn’t ignore the sign. I had to backtrack a little and take a short detour on a local road.
Here are a few pictures of the scenery from the morning. You can see how nice the weather was.
I saw quite a few of these Hairy Vetch flowers in the morning.
stopped at quite a few of the small towns along the way. Usually just picking up water, Gatorade, some fresh fruit, or some snacks. I was feeling some pain in my left calf/hamstring. It had started hurting a little yesterday, but felt fine in the morning. Today was worse, so I took more breaks to rest it. It didn’t seem to matter how hard I peddled. In most towns I engaged with people who were interested in my journey, so that was fun.
I got into Neligh at 11:30 and went to Sly’s Family Bar & Grill for lunch. I talked bikes with a local who was checking out my bike as I pulled up to Sly’s. Several people in the restaurant were interested in my journey. I also decided to make a hotel reservation in O’Neill for the night. O’Neill was still 40 miles away, but was the next “big” town on the trail. I only made hotel reservation for one night, as I was not yet decided on taking an off day.
Next door to Sly’s was a pharmacy and I went in and talked to the pharmacist about my calf. He suggested a topical cream for the pain. So, I bought it and applied it. It helped with the pain.
The trail was mostly in good shape, but in some areas the gravel was loose and it was hard to bike through it. A couple of times I had to walk my bike for a few yards to get through the roughest sections.
There was no one on the trail today. I saw a few walkers at the beginning of the day in Norfolk, but then I didn’t see anyone else on the trail the whole day. Weird.
The heat continued to build in the afternoon, and there was little shade on the trail. Here are some scenery pictures from the early afternoon.
As the afternoon wore on, the clouds continued building and started looking ominous. Radar was clear.
The trail conditions worsened about 12 miles outside of O’Neill, so I left the trail and biked on the highway that paralleled the trail. The highway had a nice wide and smooth shoulder and I could make much better time. I was trying to beat the rain. Two miles outside of O’Neill, I got rained on for about one mile. A sun shower. It was over quickly.
One of the first things I did after getting to my hotel was to extend my reservation for a second day. I’m going to give my body some rest. I know it’s the right time for a rest day.
Tomorrow, I’ll check out the town of O’Neill. It’s the Irish capital of Nebraska.
For the day, I biked 81 miles with 700 feet of climbing. So, just over 400 miles in the last five days.
Catching up with you Jim. You are moving along. Hope your hamstring gets better. Unfortunately, it’s an injury that requires rest. So don’t push yourself. DAY 45 was brutal…81 miles & almost 3K vertical!! OMG! I am planning to call you tonight after 5 your time. You have the right idea about taking a day break to bounce back.
Break Day!!! Our bodies are great at talking to us… glad you listened.
Wish I was with you…
Jim,
Please take care of that hamstring! Glad you will be resting. Am catching up with you as my internet etc have been out for quite a while due to a cut cable on Main Street. My house and only one other were affected.