Day 47

Today I would be riding through the largest city so far of the trip. Omaha has some nice greenbelts, I was able to ride on a couple and some less traveled roads to get to downtown Omaha. I got some cool photos of a western themed park.

I rode over the Missouri River via a cool pedestrian bridge. The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge has the boarder of Nebraska and Iowa in the middle of it. The 3000 foot pedestrian bridge is the longest that connects two states.

Made it to Pacific Junction, IA today, not as far as I wanted, but far enough.

Miles 55, total 2283, avg 11.8, max 27.5, time 4.37

Day 46 (off)

Took the today off. Gene gave me a ride to a couple places and a tour of Omaha.

Had a great family and friends get together. Got a couple of nice pics.

In this trailer pic notice the dump pipe to the right. I'm not sure where it ends up, but I will skip any corn for the next couple hundred miles.

This nice sofa is going to be fired up during the 4th celebration on Saturday. I think the writing means Erin & Casey Friends Forever, any ?s ask Gene. It was a great night.

Day 45

Got a quick start this morning to beat the heat. Took a nice pic from Schribner NE, before noon 104.

I was looking forward to getting to Omaha today. I would be seeing a relative. I made good time to Fremont so did not think I would need a ride.
Unfortunately I had  a couple flats so had to give Gene a call for a ride the last 15-20 miles.

Miles 56, total 2228, avg 12.6, max 21.5, time 4.25

Day 44

Woke up today hoping for some easy miles. Not so much. Still had the tough headwind.

Just out of Norfolk NE a semi stopped in front of me and talked about my trip, he was on his way to Omaha. About 3 miles later, Robert stopped and gave me a big can of tea. It was great considering it was around 95 out. He also gave me his contact info and 20 bucks. Wow. He was on his way to the Missouri River to fish for Walleye. The people of Nebraska have been great. All real nice when I stop and always give me room when passing on the roads.

Didn't make it as far as I wanted to, I stopped in Wisner NE.

Miles 56, total 2172, avg 10.8, max 24.1, time 4.39

Day43

Got out around 6.30 this morning. I am surprised at the humidity in Nebraska. The last 2 nights it hasn't really cooled down until 3-4 am.

Just more wetlands, corn, and wind today. Did see a last of a dying breed, a drive in theater. I just missed a double feature of Brave and Avengers, bummer.

I found a nice rest area near the Elkhorn River. Got a good rest in and decided to make it to Tilden. Found the cheapest hotel of the trip, it had AC and that was all that mattered.

Miles 61, total 2116, avg 10.5, max 26.9, time 5.45

Day 42

Day off. Checked out the town a little. Did laundry in The Grand Hotel. It is an historic hotel in O'Neill. It used to be a bar and had the old bar still in the laundry room. There was also an old pinball machine. I put in a buck for 2 games, left with 2 credits on the machine. Hopfully the classic pinball tourney will have the Silverball machine in it.

Day 41

I had some tailwind to start the day. After about 35 miles I got back on The Cowboy Trail for about 10 miles, but it was pretty slow sledding so got back on Hwy 20.

Not a whole lot going on today, still passing a lot of wetlands and corn. Hit another nice roadside park with a lot of orange flowers, no idea what they are.

Made it to a nice town campsite in O'Neill NE.

Miles 69, total 2055, avg 12.9, max 27.7, time 5.19

Day 40

Nebraska slapped me in the face today. Hard.

Left Riverside Park this morning, feeling ok. I rode out of the little valley to get on The Cowboy Trail, and got a nice facefull of wind. I stayed on the trail for a few miles, got a couple pics, then it was back on Hwy 20. I thought I could double my 6 mph while on the Cowboy Trail. Wrong. Got up to 8 mph for the day, and that was tough. Notice the max speed of 16.3 today. That is only 1.1 miles faster then what I averaged for 6 hours yesterday.

This roadside sign sums it up.

Yeah got a hotel today to rest up and get out of the wind.

Miles 45, total 1986, avg 8.0, max 16.3, time 5.31

Day 39

Got a good rest last night, so wanted to get some good miles in today. I am surprised how much of this area is wetlands. I stopped to get a picture and spooked a deer that I didn't see because the grasses were so tall.

One good thing about riding through this part of Nebraska are the nice roadside parks provided. They usually have large shade trees and nice picnic tables.

I think I might be some kind of cow whisperer. Today some were running with me along the fence. Late in the day I got a flat tire, about halfway through fixing it I looked across hwy 20 and cows were lining up and watching me fix the tire.

Made it to a nice camping area at Riverside Park on the Niobrara River.

Miles 98, total 1941, avg 15.2, max 35.4, time 6.22

Day 38

My body said take the day off. My mind said I need to get some miles in.
My mind won out. I got started late today, around 12.30. I needed a day off today and just about got it. I had a little climb today to get out of Chadron. When I say little it was very little, with the nice tailwind I don't think it really affected me. Today was the best mph of the trip. Not much going on today, but taking advantage of the Nebraska wind and gradual downhill.
Got a couple pics.

Miles 50, total 1843, avg 16.5, max 30, time 3.03

Day 37

I rode the last 4 miles of the trail this morning, then was back on pavement. Not much going on today, found a nice park in Hot Springs SD to eat brunch. For about 8 miles I was riding on a 2 lane hwy that SD stopped working on. It was a nice roomy ride.

Pulled into state #6. It was a nice downhill into Chadron NE. I got a much needed motel and took it easy.

Miles 77, total 1793, avg 12.7, max 31.6, time 6.01

This is a little added info about my nice 2 lane hwy. An article in the Rapid City paper the day after I rode the road to no where, I was amazed at the master plan. The road to no where is included with the master plan of over 200 miles that will connect Denver to Rapid City in a more direct route then is currently available. The cost is over 500 million bucks. One of the reasons the new hwy will be put in is the fact that currently travelers now have to use and read maps to get between the two cities. Wow, enough said.

Day 36

Got a wake up call this morning around 4.45. It wasn't a coyote or elk. It echoed throughout the Black Hills Forest for about 30 minutes. I didn't know what it was, just knew I didn't want to run into it this morning. Today it would be an all day ride on the non-motorized George S Mickelson Trail. I will try not to get sappy, but this is an awesome trail. After the big climb last night today started with about 17 miles of downhill. Great scenery and I barely pushed the pedals the first hour. The cities along the trail are mostly tourist towns so they have nice parks to take it easy for a while. I took my time today and got some good breaks in. Set up camp in the final picnic/rest area I would get to.

I got a picture of Crazy Horse and a big pile of bikes near the trail, strange.

Miles 77, total 1716, avg 10.9, max 22.3, time 6.58

Day 35

Woke up early today. Still feeling a little tired this morning so planned on a short day. Made to Deadwood early so looked around the city. Found a library to relax and upload some pictures. I wanted to stay at the campground just out of town, but decided to leave late to try and get to the top of the George S Mickelson Trail. The first 16 miles was a climb from 4500' to 6300', but only at 3%-4% grade. This type of climb takes a while, but the low grade makes it bearable. This is a great trail, I will be surprised if any of the othe trails I have planned to ride are any better. The trail has a nice trailhead every 7-8 miles. Some have water, but all have restrooms and picnic tables. It costs $3 a day to ride, a great deal. I lost track of how many deer I saw during the first 16 miles. I got to the top of the climb and found a great place to camp.

Miles 23, total 1639, avg 6.3, max 24, time 3.3

Day 34

Left Buffalo early to beat the heat. Wanted to make it to Belle Fourche Reservoir, about 70 miles away. Decided to stay on the 85, the shoulder has gotten better with each new county. I got on another dirt road today for about 25 miles. It was a nice choice, very little traffic and not rough. It took me by the reservoir, but it was only 3.30ish, around 90 degrees, with no cover or picnic tables so I decided to try to make it to the Mickelson Trail, which would be about 30 more miles. Finally found a place to cool down at th 80 mile mark called St Onge. Great double burger, looked like they were hand made patties and the price wasn't bad either.

Even after the hour long rest I was not very energetic, but figured I could make it to Deadwood about 14 miles away. Wrong. I was too tired to really climb anymore and there is a 2-3 mile climb into Deadwood. I walked it a little way saw the Black Hills Forest sign so went a couple feet past it and 30 feet off the 85 and set up camp for the night. Definately the most tired I have been in a long time.

Miles 91, total 1616, avg 10.9, max 28, time 8.18.

Day 33

Waited out a T-storm this morning and uploaded some photos. Got going around 11.00 and wanted to get 75 miles in today. The wind was in my favor so thought it would be no problem. 17 miles later I changed my mind. South Dakota, state #5, sweet. Well maybe not. South Dakota stopped paving the shoulder on Hwy 85, my guess, in the 1950s. My speed went from 13 mph to a tough 8 mph. There really was no other route to take until Buffalo SD. Got to Buffalo around 5 pm. I got another map, found a park to rest, and check route options. Ended up staying at the park for the night to wait out the few hours of storms.

Miles 52, total 1525, avg 10.5, max 27.2, time 4.51.

Day 32

Got an early start today. I would be taking about 40 miles of dirt road today and did not know how long it would take me. Road FH3 started out tough. Ithought I might not even get the 40 miles done today, but after about 8 miles the hills got a little shorter and the road got better. I didn't think there would be any pine trees but I got a picture to prove it.

I had to get back on Hwy 85 at the end of FH3. The oil trucks were not as bad as before. Today I went by North Dakota's highest peak, White Butte with an elevation of 3506'. Just before that butte I passed Black Butte a close second with 3465'.

I made it to Bowman ND, did laundry and found a nice campground.

Miles 68, total 1473, avg 9.0, max 29.8, time 7.24.

Day 31

Had no idea if I was going to take the day of or get a few miles in today. I went to check out Medora, a tourist town a few miles away. Rode around the city a bit, read the local newspaper, ate lunch, went back to my campsite at Sully Creek and decided to stay another night.

Got a pic of this butterfly on one of the many hanging flower pots.

Miles 14, total 1405

Day 30

I was really looking forward to the Maah Daah Hey Trail. The part I hiked yesterday did not seem too bad. I loaded my bike, took a photo by a trail marker and was on my way. 1.12 hours later I had traveled the huge distance of 4.88 miles, roughly an average of 3.9 mph. A great improvement over the 3.2 mph I had after 3 miles. I had to either commit to riding/hike-a-bike for 5 days or get off the trail and make some time. The trail was so tough, I was already behind too many days so decided to get off the trail and make it to the end of the Maah Daah Hey via the 85 and some back roads. It was a good decision I still got some good pics while on the trail and made up 2 ½ days. It was a long 40 miles on the 85, but other than that it was a good day. I made it to a nice camping area called Sully Creek State Park. I was even able to get a much needed shower. This is a favorite camping area for horsemen. They take out riders on the Maah Daah Hey Trail and camp at the park for a while. The area was flooded last year, the Ranger said it was just getting back to the way it was before the flooding. Took the photo of the flower on the trail. It was the only one of this type that I saw. These horses followed me for a couple minutes. I was riding in the eye of the storm for the last 12 miles of the day. It was raining and hailing a little on me, but all around it looked like it was really bad. Miles 81, total miles 1391, avg 9.8, max 25.7, time 8.10,

Day 29

Last night it rained for a few hours so the Maah Daah Hey Trail was too wet to ride. I went to the park info center to see if the water along the trail was drinkable since the water at the CCC Campground was not. It sounded like it was on so I still planned on doing the trail. Did a couple hikes to check out the trail, otherwise just took it easy. Here is a photo of the start of the Maah Daah Hey Trail. Total Miles 1310, Miles 8,

Day 28

Tale of 2 stories today. I left, probably my favorite campsite of the trip, to go to the start of the Maah Daah Hey Trail. I found a good alternative route, so there would not be as many oil trucks. Things went great until I had to get on Hwy 85 to get into Watford City. I was trying to find some gas for my stove and some CO2 cartridges. Not much fun on the 85 and I did not find any gas or CO2. I stopped in the visitor center to see about an alternate route to the Maah Daah Hey then the 85. I found a county map that showed a dirt road that would only add 5 miles to the route and I would only have 2 miles on the 85. In hindsight I should have just taken the 85. One of the dirt roads was closed so it ended up adding at least 15 miles and a couple hours to the route. I pulled into the CCC Campground very tired with a big storm coming. I pulled in the campground and was very happy to see a shelter that was 30X60, hung out there for a couple hours until the storm passed. Had a nice cold meal of summer sausage, cream of mushroom soup, and granola bars. Total Miles 1302, Miles 61, Avg 9.3, Max 32.7, Time 6.26,

Day 27

Today I would be riding into oil rush country and did not know what to expect. At Glendive MT the trucks started, but not too heavy and there was a nice shoulder on hwy 16. Things changed when I pulled near Sidney MT, there was chip sealing going on and all kinds of semi-truck traffic. I needed to get some info on my route so stopped into McDonalds. A nice guy that was traveling around ND told me not to go any farther on the 16 because it got much worse the closer to Fairview MT, which is where I was getting off the 16. I decided to go back a couple miles to use a better route. The traffic was not as bad the later it got so my goal was to make it to a campsite the map of ND called Sather. With no idea what to expect I was pleasantly surprised to see a nice little lake with picnic tables and even shelters over the tables. I go to pay the $10 for camping and see that June 9th was National Get Outdoors Day so all camping was free on National Grasslands, could not have planned it any better if I tried. Made it to North Dakota, state #4. Total Miles 1239, Miles 98, Avg 12.1, Max 32.9, Time 8.01,