Day 56: 7/15/19: Broken Bow to Hastings, NE

Last night I did some thinking about how to possibly minimize the winds effect on my ride.  I decided to get up early and hopefully get some mileage in before the wind cranked up.  I woke up about 2:30 a.m., and was on the road about 3:30 a.m.  it didn't work.  The wind, even at that hour, slowed me down some.  It did pick up speed during the day, so I guess it was worth getting up early to get a little break in the winds power.

By getting started early, I also got to enjoy the cooler air, the moon setting, the lightning bugs hovering over the fields, and the sunrise.  There was also much less traffic at that time.

It took me almost 3 hours to ride the last 24 miles, due south, today.  That averages out to be only 8 mph, but I was just glad to be moving.

Tomorrow, I hope to be back on more rural roads.  Today most of my day was spent riding on busy roads with a wide shoulder.  I spent a great deal of time on the roads shoulder, which greatly increases the risk of having a flat. All of the small trash from the road gets blown to the shoulder by cars.

Sure enough, as I was pulling into Hastings, I could tell the bike was not handling quite right.  I did my tire pinch test and the rear tire was spongy.  It had a slow leak.  I found the cause, a very small piece of wire, probably from a car tire.  I pulled the wire out, patched the tube, and we are back up and rolling.

Only pic today is my campsite in a cornfield.  I was too tired to stop and push the button.  Actually today's ride consisted of a lot of cornfields and traffic, especially commercial trucks.  I had to keep my eye on all that traffic.

I think I've gotten use to towns with a population of less than 500.  Today, I went through Grand Island, about 50,000 people, and it just seemed too congested and fast paced.

Total miles today:  106.3