Breakfast at the motel was porridge and a selection of bagels so I grabbed a couple for lunch as well.
The weather this morning was dreary, up until about 11 it was like cycling through a cloud. At least it kept me cool and hydrated! About 10 miles down the highway (still avoiding the mushy Cowboy trail) I passed a car that had skidded off the road and knocked out a telegraph pole. Quite a serious looking accident but the police were on the scene and everyone looked ok. I decided it was probably best to pull over a short way after to put my rear red lights on in case it got any foggier, which it did. Not a lot of fun.
About 30 miles in I reached a small town called Bassett where I had my first small hill of the day (a tiny hill really) and as soon as I had cleared it the weather changed almost instantly with blue sky poking through. The day got steadily hotter, but was still a nice temperature to ride in.
Furrher along I reaches 'Long pines', and a few small valleys full of pine trees and crystal clear lagoons and streams. The road runs just near tops of pine trees so the view was pretty spectacular, but seemed so out of place compared with the rest of the days riding.
Further still I hit the 'Sandhills' area of Nebraska. Hundreds of sand mounds rippled across the landscape, each with a thin grass growing over them. The road climbed and fell lazily as I passed through the area. "Whole lot o' nothin", I said to myself as the road became quieter away from the small towns. It was here I saw some of the first cyclists since the big cities. First, a couple out touring with their panniers on, then a road cyclist who I waved at going the opposite direction and then met again once he caught me up on his return. We chatted briefly, before he took off ahead of me.
I reached Valentine slightly before my host, Ned, got home from work. Once showered, I had the task of trying to find somewhere to stay in or around Gordon for tomorrow. There's a wedding in town so the two main motels are fully booked. I eventually found a smaller third motel, but the owner said he might have one or two rooms and wasn't taking any reservations, only first come first serve. I'll call again when I'm en route tomorrow and will have to hope there's still space, otherwise its a long detour into South Dakota or onwards towards Chadron (143 miles from Valentine!)
Ned and I went out for a meal at the 'Peppermill' restaurant in town where I had an interesting but delicious chicken tortilla wrap with mashed potato. He then took me for a tour of the 'Fort Niobara' nature reserve that's on Valentine's doorstep. We saw bison, antelope, wild turkeys and prarie dogs, as well as a very beautiful waterfall and river under the sunset. Ned teaches art at a nearby Indian tribal college, and back at his he showed me some of the ceramic sculptures he had done. Some very impressive pieces of art! I'm very glad I didn't stay in the Super 8 here!
Tomorrow will be interesting as I have to try my luck with motels, but fingers crossed I find somewhere along the way!
Miles today: 94.0
Total miles: 1701.2
The weather this morning was dreary, up until about 11 it was like cycling through a cloud. At least it kept me cool and hydrated! About 10 miles down the highway (still avoiding the mushy Cowboy trail) I passed a car that had skidded off the road and knocked out a telegraph pole. Quite a serious looking accident but the police were on the scene and everyone looked ok. I decided it was probably best to pull over a short way after to put my rear red lights on in case it got any foggier, which it did. Not a lot of fun.
About 30 miles in I reached a small town called Bassett where I had my first small hill of the day (a tiny hill really) and as soon as I had cleared it the weather changed almost instantly with blue sky poking through. The day got steadily hotter, but was still a nice temperature to ride in.
Furrher along I reaches 'Long pines', and a few small valleys full of pine trees and crystal clear lagoons and streams. The road runs just near tops of pine trees so the view was pretty spectacular, but seemed so out of place compared with the rest of the days riding.
Further still I hit the 'Sandhills' area of Nebraska. Hundreds of sand mounds rippled across the landscape, each with a thin grass growing over them. The road climbed and fell lazily as I passed through the area. "Whole lot o' nothin", I said to myself as the road became quieter away from the small towns. It was here I saw some of the first cyclists since the big cities. First, a couple out touring with their panniers on, then a road cyclist who I waved at going the opposite direction and then met again once he caught me up on his return. We chatted briefly, before he took off ahead of me.
I reached Valentine slightly before my host, Ned, got home from work. Once showered, I had the task of trying to find somewhere to stay in or around Gordon for tomorrow. There's a wedding in town so the two main motels are fully booked. I eventually found a smaller third motel, but the owner said he might have one or two rooms and wasn't taking any reservations, only first come first serve. I'll call again when I'm en route tomorrow and will have to hope there's still space, otherwise its a long detour into South Dakota or onwards towards Chadron (143 miles from Valentine!)
Ned and I went out for a meal at the 'Peppermill' restaurant in town where I had an interesting but delicious chicken tortilla wrap with mashed potato. He then took me for a tour of the 'Fort Niobara' nature reserve that's on Valentine's doorstep. We saw bison, antelope, wild turkeys and prarie dogs, as well as a very beautiful waterfall and river under the sunset. Ned teaches art at a nearby Indian tribal college, and back at his he showed me some of the ceramic sculptures he had done. Some very impressive pieces of art! I'm very glad I didn't stay in the Super 8 here!
Tomorrow will be interesting as I have to try my luck with motels, but fingers crossed I find somewhere along the way!
Miles today: 94.0
Total miles: 1701.2
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