Day 20. Concordia, KS to Geneva, NE

70.3 miles
3:55 ST
17.9 avg

Another "gift" day today: a very nice tailwind which blew us across the state line into Nebraska. After yesterday, we could not have done 70 miles today without it.

We left later than normal today- 8:45. It was already quite warm. The four lane road (hwy 81) was nice and flat so we flew along quite nicely. We stopped at a travel info center about 18 miles up the road for a break. This was next door.

 Who knew that there was such a thing. 

A few miles down the road...

The shoulder changed a bit here, narrowing down to about 8 feet from the 10 foot that it had been. Eight feet is still a wonderful shoulder. The speed limit also dropped to 55 mph,  which kind of surprised us.  

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Shortly after that, the shoulder changed again to something we have never seen before. About every 50 feet it was as if they had taken something and dropped it, breaking the pavement and making an indentation the width of the shoulder. These "ditches" were anywhere from 1 to 3 inches deep with abrupt edges. With the weight we are carrying, we can't hit those at a fast speed; it's hard on the tires and hard on the bike and hard on our bottoms. 

For 17 miles we rode on the road as much as we could, dropping off to the shoulder when cars would come. It finally changed so we were able to resume our higher speed.

The flip side of a great tailwind is that we don't get cooled down. It's like sitting still in the sun. The sweat runs into our eyes and feels like bugs crawling as it runs down our backs and chests. But we'll still take a tailwind any day!!

We stopped at a Subway for lunch (thanks, Mom) and to get our body temps down. It's also a good way to get some veggies and more protein.

                 Can you see the humidity in the air?  

We blew into Geneva at 1:25 and it was hot! 91 degrees. The news said later that with the humidity it was like 97. Good time to stop.

After a shower, I just couldn't help it... I took a nap. I hope I can sleep well tonight.

There were some tornados in northeastern Nebraska this afternoon shortly after we got here. But we are in southern Nebraska, a couple hundred miles from there. There are also some very severe storms passing through about a hundred miles north of us where we will be in a couple days. We are thankful for God having us where we are at this time.

You can see why tornados can race across the terrain, it's so flat.

We are planning to ride all the way through Nebraska on Highway 81 which goes basically straight north. With the wind still coming tomorrow we should be able to do about 80 miles. We will start much earlier because it is supposed to get to the high 90s. Another day of riding after that, then we will take a day off. 

Last night we asked for prayer for Gerry's shin splints. Thank you for praying; he didn't feel it until we were almost finished today! 

 Gerry's mom just sent an email that tickled us. She was going through some cards with Bible verses and thoughts on them and came across this one which she paraphrased. 

 When you bike through a storm, keep your chin up high

And don't be afraid of the clouds.

 Ride on through the wind, bike on through the rain 

Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

 Bike on, bike on with hope in your hearts 

and you'll never bike alone. 

You will never bike alone.

And here's another version...

 When you bike through a storm, keep your chin up high 

and don't be afraid of the clouds. 

At the end of the storm is a golden arch 

and the sweet onion smell of a Mac. 

Thanks, Mom, for the smiles!

We also appreciate everyone's contact with us by text and email. We know it takes time to do that, yet it speaks your love to us.

I just made a correction in yesterday's post. I said we turned east on hwy 24 when we actually turned west.

Here are a couple snapshots of our route so far.

Basking in the air conditioning,

Pat