Day 51 July 12th Auto Shop

Valentine NE to Merriman NE   62 miles (2,283)

This is stacy. She and her husband own the auto repair shop Merriman, Nebraska.
It was hot by the time I got to Merriman. Since I was going to camp in the city park, I was looking for somewhere to cool down until I could set up camp in the evening after the temperature dropped a bit. Stacy allowed me to hang out in her air conditioned office/waiting area all afternoon. We talked about the time BRAN - Bike Ride Across Nebraska - came through Merriman; and the time the motorcycle ride to Sturgis, South Dakota passed through. We also talked about two cowboys that recently passed by the auto shop. They are riding horses from Arkansas to Mount Rushmore. She's the third person who has mentioned them to me. I think they are becoming a phenomenon as they pass through one small town to the next.

This is a good representation of what much of highway 20 in Nebraska looks like. The westbound lane to the left in the picture, then rumble strips, then a wide shoulder. However the shoulder is fairly bumpy, so I rode in the westbound lane keeping half an eye on my rear view mirror for approaching traffic. Whenever I saw a car or a semi coming, I would stand up and pedal across the rumble strips on to the shoulder; and then when the vehicle passed, I would continue standing and pass over the rumble strips back into the westbound Lane. I found that this approach gave my glutes a break and my thighs a workout.

I'm not sure if highway 20 is still considered a historical highway at this point; but it is called the Bridges to Buttes byway.

At this point in the ride, I was NOT looking forward to the rollers ahead.

Some more views of highway 20, a student-run grocery store (what's a straw bale grocery store?), and big towns I passed by:
Merriman is where I stayed the night. I camped in the city park by inflating my mattress and sleeping on top of a picnic table:
I had a miserable night and did not sleep very much at all. I was hot, sticky and stinky - no shower facilities. Also it did not cool down very well. Then, in the morning I had to wait around for the storms to pass:





Note: Today I crossed into the Mountain Time Zone. Does that mean I'm only an hour from home?

Note: Here is today's coaster entry from the m360:

Comments

  1. Angie RJuly 17, 2021 at 4:02 PM

    Kevin did a good job supporting us again on his motorcycle. He also has a knack for finding other cyclists and inviting them to join us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robert AJuly 17, 2021 at 5:30 PM

    Those rollers look like fun, but not if you have over 2200 miles on your legs....
    I would have done the same, ridden in the lane. Those bumps every 6 feet just ruin the nice wide shoulder!🚴‍♂️

    ReplyDelete

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