to be honest, though, it was a pretty good day. i got an early start, though i didn't really get out of the suburbs that early. i mapped out a route through some side roads that was supposed to deliver me onto I-88 past any toll booths, because i'm sick of paying tolls. i thought that's what taxes were for. anyway, the route i planned would have worked, had it not taken me so long due to stop lights and low speed limits. i probably lost 60-90 minutes heading out that way, and i jumped on 88 early and had to pay a few tolls anyway. no worries, though. you win some you lose some, and this trip has been nothing if not trial and error.
speaking of, the other thing that slowed me down a bit today was clothing. it was nice and sunny all day, but the temp was just cold enough to be deceptive and with the wind it was downright chilly on the bike, so i ended up stopping several times early to layer up and make sure i was warm enough. tomorrow i'm starting off fully clothed, and if i need to shed some layers it just means it's a nice day.
the rest of the day came and went. mostly on interstate, through lots of corn fields. it was actually lovely scenery for about 20 minutes. then it kind of got old. there were some cool cloud formations, and it was kind of fun passing trucks, but the day was kind of nondescript, in a pleasant way. just traveling along in the midwest, making my way home. here's a picture of what most of the day looked like:
not a great picture, but it was taken across the interstate from a "rest area." that's in quotations because where i come from, a rest area means a bathroom, sometimes some vending machines and, if you're lucky, some nice folks from the elks club giving out free coffee and cookies. here in the midwest they have some of those. they also have these "rest areas" that are glorified turnouts with places for trucks to park. that's it. no bathrooms, no cookies. hardly a rest, if you ask me.
so the day went until i got into council bluff iowa. now, if you look at a map you will see that council bluff is right across the river from omaha. it is, but why was i going through it instead of staying on 80 to goin directly into omaha? well, that's the magic of google directions. i don't know. google had me get off the interstate early and head through council bluff and downtown omaha before reaching my destination. except i didn't reach my destination until after a 45 minute detour, since my directions led me in a big circle (upon reexamining the directions, apparently my dyslexia is to blame, since i wrote down 48th instead of 84th. this caused me to turn the wrong direction on the next street and had a lovely tour of a random omaha neighborhood). luckily, the steelers bar i found (steelers fans in omaha, who knew?) was full of people interested in finding my location, and one of them had a smart phone. so i eventually found it. some good conversation, great food (and pie!) and wonderful hospitality, and all's well that ends well.
from here on out i'm kind of freeforming it home. the plan is thus: tomorrow i'm heading up through nebraska on 275 until i get as close as i can to the badlands in south dakota, where i'll find a hotel. the next morning i get up early and take the loop through the park before heading into wyoming, where i'm trying to get as close to yellowstone as i can (hopefully cody, but as close as i can get). then, it's through yellowstone and out the north gate on highway 89, which is supposed to be one of the best rides in the US on a bike. see how far i can get out of the park, and then to walla walla, then home. sounds good, yes?
that's the plan anyway. we'll see how it goes. there could be some long days in there, but that's the beauty of travel. you just get to see what happens.
till next time,
rftc,
scott
So excited you're almost to Yellowstone! Should be just the right time for great scenery.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to get tested for any diseases you may have picked up from setting foot in a Steelers bar? :)