Biking: 57 miles (Denise), 100 miles (Anita and Mark)
Today was a milestone day as Anita and Mark rode 100 miles from Chadron to Cody, NE. Amazing! They started out early this morning, and rode 21 miles to pick me up along the way.
The early part of the ride had a strong headwind, but by the time they got to me in Hay Springs, the wind had shifted, and we had a mix of tailwinds and cross winds for the next 57 miles.
We thought Nebraska was flat, but there seemed to be a lot of climbing and descending along the way. I’m not sure I believe RWGPS about the climbing today.
Yesterday, I mentioned that we’ve been on Route 20 in Nebraska. Mark found that this part of 20 is called the Bridges to Butte Byway. It’s northern Nebraska’s scenic highway that runs 197 miles from the WY border to Valentine, and we’re going to see all of it.
Brian had the RV hooked up and the air conditioning blowing when the three of us arrived at the RV park in Merriman just before noon. This was the end of my ride for the day (57 miles). But Anita and Mark still had another 23 miles to go.
We had some lunch and cold drinks, and they were on their way to Cody. The segment from Merriman to Cody has a lot of climbing, but they made it before the hottest part of the day. Well done!
An interesting note about Merriman, this is in an region of the state known as the Sandhills. The land is actually sand dunes stabilized by grass. It’s not great for farming, but cattle ranches thrive here because the cattle feed on the prairie grasses.
Tomorrow will be a much shorter riding day for Anita and Mark, probably 37 miles. I’ll be riding our typical distance, 61 miles. The temps look fine, but the winds are unpredictable. I met another cyclist at the campground who is also heading to Valentine, so we might ride together in the morning to pick up Anita and Mark. It would be nice to have company.
RWGPS for today (Denise):
Keep the Wheels Turning 
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