Saturday was our 30'th day on the road!
We do see some interesting sights but we can barely stop to enjoy them. You have to remember, if you want to call this a “vacation” it would have to be called a “working vacation”.On the average we are only off the bikes for around 90 minutes each day.
During that 90 minute period we have to:
- Restock our bikes with fluids
- Find FOOD
- Make a few stops to water the plants on the side of the road
Basically we are "On The Bike" riding for 8 to 10 hours a day. When we do stop someone is watching the clock knowing the longer we linger the less time at night we will have to sleep.
No days off so far.When we arrive at the motel at night we all have work to do. Unpack the bikes, shower and of course again find FOOD within walking distance of the motel.
After we are fed there is laundry to do and mapping. We need to look days ahead so we can be sure we have a place to sleep at the end of the day.
The few hours between stopping for the day and finally going to sleep are short.
Unlike in a car having to ride an additional 20 miles out of our way on a bike is a big deal. If we go 20 miles off course to find a sleep spot that means the next day we need another 20 miles to get back on course.
That is 40 miles and in the hills or heat that is huge. Another thing on the daily to do list is to gather all our photos and prepare our daily report for the website. After that work is done uploading the pictures and movies with very slow internet connections can be agonizing slow. We are lucky to have Kelley, one of the team riders standing by to receive the data and turn it into our daily blog that you are reading now.
When our alarm goes off at 5:30 AM it is always to early and the process starts again.
Today our route took us over some difficult terrain. The road into Nebraska was unpaved loose gravel for 15 miles.
With our narrow tires and heavy bikes this made for some slow going. Once in Nebraska our road turned back to blacktop and our speed increased.
We passed our first official “ghost town” of the trip. It is almost like being in an episode of the Twilight Zone when you ride through one of these places.
The only place we could find to spend the night was a place called "The High Plains Homestead".
We were not sure what this place was like but we knew it was 18 miles off the paved road and the only thing available.
So again we found ourselves on loose gravel. This road was would not have been too bad in a pick-up but on bikes it was terrible.
It took well over two hours to complete the ride to the Homestead. This place is so far out in no-man’s land you may as well be on the moon.
Once there, we were very surprised and pleased. This was one of the coolest places yet.
We were not sure what this place was like but we knew it was 18 miles off the paved road and the only thing available.
So again we found ourselves on loose gravel. This road was would not have been too bad in a pick-up but on bikes it was terrible.
It took well over two hours to complete the ride to the Homestead. This place is so far out in no-man’s land you may as well be on the moon.
Once there, we were very surprised and pleased. This was one of the coolest places yet.
The owners had bought old buildings from ghost towns and other places, disassembled them and reassembled each building creating a little "Ghost" town.
The land surrounding this little village is in the middle of nowhere and the view is spectacular.
They told us this is the Badlands of Nebraska.
They are open most of the warmer months and serve dinners cooked over a fire pit.
When we arrived there were 15-20 people sitting at tables outside waiting for dinner which is served between 6 and 7pm.
Some had driven over an hour just for dinner and had no plans to spend the night as we were.
Only one other couple was spending the night here as far as we knew.
This couple had lived and worked in Connecticut for a short time at Pfizers so they knew our home turf.
The land surrounding this little village is in the middle of nowhere and the view is spectacular.
They told us this is the Badlands of Nebraska.
They are open most of the warmer months and serve dinners cooked over a fire pit.
When we arrived there were 15-20 people sitting at tables outside waiting for dinner which is served between 6 and 7pm.
Some had driven over an hour just for dinner and had no plans to spend the night as we were.
Only one other couple was spending the night here as far as we knew.
This couple had lived and worked in Connecticut for a short time at Pfizers so they knew our home turf.
The food they cooked was fantastic and we could hardly stop filling our faces. After eating our dinners we had them grill up an additional steak so we could split it up. We are true “chow-hounds”.
Our room had a bunk bed and two other beds and was very comfortable.
The only thing you cannot do here is drink the water. It has an unbelievably high sulfur content.
All you have to do is open the tap and it will stink up a room with the smell of rotten eggs - it is that bad. We have found just about everywhere you go in these parts the water has a very high mineral content. Something we are not use to and reminds us we take our great tasting water back home for granted.
The rough ride in on the gravel road was worth the effort. This place was unique.
75 Miles
3450 Feet of Climbing
Temperature 50 - 84 degrees
Our room had a bunk bed and two other beds and was very comfortable.
The only thing you cannot do here is drink the water. It has an unbelievably high sulfur content.
All you have to do is open the tap and it will stink up a room with the smell of rotten eggs - it is that bad. We have found just about everywhere you go in these parts the water has a very high mineral content. Something we are not use to and reminds us we take our great tasting water back home for granted.
The rough ride in on the gravel road was worth the effort. This place was unique.
75 Miles
3450 Feet of Climbing
Temperature 50 - 84 degrees
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