Phase 3, Day 7. Marysville, KS - St. Joseph, MO

All done now.  103 miles through many more rolling hills.  Fought that darn headwind again most of the way but I'm used to it by now so it's not as frustrating as it was. 

The most direct road from Marysville to St. Joseph is Kansas Route 38. It's an OK road as these things go and Sunday morning at 7 am is always mellow but once church let out....look out!

Stopped for coffee in Hiawatha, KS to ask a local about another route I was thinking of taking but wanted to be sure the road was paved. Many country roads here are gravel roads so had to be sure. He said it was the "old" highway so I gave it a shot. Perfect!  I love "old" highways, no one drives on them.

Couldn't believe I climbed 3000' feet today.  Is that even possible in Kansas?  It is.    The undulating and never ending hills go on and on.  Usually when climbing I see a crest ahead thinking I'm nearly done but in Eastern Kansas there's another hill exactly like it waiting a mile down the road.  Not bad, just makes it all go much slower.

As I was cranking along a car pulled up slowly next to me and matched my speed.  It was the nice couple who own the Nelson, NE restaurant from a couple of days ago. They stopped to check on me and we chatted a bit then off they went. I will always like Nebraska. 

When riding a bike 100 miles day-after-day one learns to play mind games to help keep the energy going. In honor of this last day of the journey I spent every 5 miles thinking, in as much detail I could remember, about each day riding since leaving Sacramento. Tried to think about where I ate, changed flat tires, the people I met, the places I slept, and the amazing things I saw.  It was a good strategy and worked well until I got to about mile 85 when the bike could smell the barn.  The last 20 miles was a wonderful 20 miles.  

I love this sign. 

The hills finally ended and around the last curve it was dead flat ahead. I had finally reached the Missouri River floodplain. It's quite wide but I knew I was close. Crossed the Missouri River and into St. Joseph.  Of course it was straight to the Pony Express Museum to officially end this trip.  A very nice museum at the actual 'Express horse barn but by now I had seen it all so paid my $6 and took a quick look around but was so happy to have finished I didn't pay much attention. 

The bike ran great all week and we didn't even have a flat tire...or get rained on. Remarkable. 

Grand totals since leaving Sacramento: 2091 miles and 132 hours in the saddle. 

I've been a US Citizen for only 2 years, about as long it has taken me to complete this adventure. What a fitting way for me to learn more about my country than to ride the bike across it. People are good and generally want to do the right thing and be helpful. I saw this everywhere I went and met the most wonderful and helpful people along the way....and I've only just made it past halfway. It's a great place this USA, but it takes a bit of effort to see it for yourself. Zipping back and forth from coast-to-coast in 5 hours doesn't cut it. 

What now?  I don't know.  I might press on to the east or start a new journey closer to home.  It all started after reading a book about the Pony Express when I thought "what a fun bike ride...with a purpose!"  I will need another purpose. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I did.

-Ben

Phase 3, Day 6. Nelson, NE- Marysville, KS

An easy 101 miles without any trouble. Perhaps because I remembered to eat lunch today?  3 gas station sandwiches. 

Thunder directly overhead woke me up at 3am. By the time I got rolling at 630 it had stopped raining but everything was soaked. The cold front passing was a good thing. The headwind was gone and the temperature and humidity dropped too. Overcast skies nearly all day was a nice relief for yesterday's sunburn. 

I chased the storm eastbound....never got rained on but the road was wet nearly all day.

Good riding conditions but the legs were still tired from yesterday's trouble so took it easy and slowed the pace a bit for a smooth ride up and over many small rises and into more wooded creeks overfilled with chocolate colored water from last night's storm.

If there's ever a Tour de South Central Nebraska I'm in. Well maintained roads, light traffic and beautiful countryside.  The constant wind is the only downer but an excellent place to ride. 

I had a real treat today after stopping at another Pony Express station/museum near Hollenburgh...a 20mph downwind ride for about 15 miles through the rolling hills.  I had been fighting that north cross wind (better than a headwind) all day so felt I deserved the free ride. It was sweet as I hardly cranked the pedal even on the uphill. 

Yep.  Looks like Kansas. 

The site I visited in Hollenburgh is a well preserved actual Express "Home Station" and bigger than most.  I was given the key to the door and had the whole place to myself to explore.  It's all carefully preserved as a museum piece but still fun to climb the stairs to snoop and whatnot. 

Hollenburgh Home Station. 

Rode the last 10 miles to Marysville along the Pony Express Highway, then past the Pony Express Liquor Barn and Pony Express Car Wash. You get it.  It's all about the Pony Express in Marysville, Kansas...a moderately big town. The Pony Express logo is plastered on everything here including the town's water tower and cop cars. Sadly though, there is no charm and I am missing Nebraska already.

Marysville, KS town plaza. They love their Pony Express here. 

I was looking forward all day to visiting the museum here but lost enthusiasm when I saw the bus loads of visitors heading to the door.  I'll try again tomorrow at the "real" museum in St. Jo. 

When I asked the motel lady about a good place to eat without riding the bike back to town I was sent next door to the bowling alley. Had another burger and fries while watching the Pony Express Vet Clinic team work the 7-10 split on lane 3. People in Marysville are good at bowling. 

Tomorrow is the last day of this crazy and wonderful 3 summer project.  101 miles to St Joseph, Missouri and this bike ride will officially end at the museum there. I haven't decided how I feel about ending this great adventure nor what to do next but tomorrow is my day to enjoy the ride and the great memories from this most amazing journey.   It might be a sad day...or a happy day. I'm not sure yet. 



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Phase 3, Day 5. Kearney - Nelson, NE

108 miles and soon after I left the Platte River things got hilly again. Gentle rollers but many, many miles of them.

I made 3 mistakes today: Got a late start, missed a turn which added 10 miles to an already long day and didn't stop for lunch. All added up to a nasty bonk (bike speak for Make it Stop!) at mile 90.  It got very hot and humid as the day wore on and the last 10 miles were difficult.

Other than that it was another great day!

Soon after leaving the Platte River found gentle hills and strikingly beautiful scenery.  80-100 feet up and down all day but it adds up.  Everything here is very green and the roadside is full of wildflowers. The hilly terrain is very gentle and spent all day riding between the corn and soybean fields. Between the hills are wooded creek valleys and every 10 miles a small farm town again.

A selfie!! 

Fort Kearney was interesting. Oregon Trail/49er travelers and Pony Express riders needed a secure place to stay free from Indian threat...there was a constant tit-for-tat and sometimes nasty battle. Fort Kearney and Fort Laramie (in Wyoming..Stage 2) offered some protection when things were particularly hostel.

Fort Kearney

It was getting hot and was wearing down about mile 70 (should have stopped for lunch) but the frequent small towns nearly always have somewhere to get a cold drink. Might only be a vending machine outside the grain elevator but still good. Of course I carry tons of water but it's also 90 degree water...fine for hydration but tastes like crap.

The Pivot. This massive rig irrigates the circular fields you see from your airplane window. 

Somewhere at about hour 7 I was tired and ready to be done. Coming over another rise in the road I finally saw the Nelson water tower in the distance. It was like one of those bad dreams where no matter how hard you try you can't quite get there. I got there but it wasn't pretty. 

"You shoulda told us you was comin', you could bunk with us".  Heard that a few times since I got to Nelson.

Of course soon met a local...but not a farmer.  Russ Snyder was born and raised here but went on to play Major League Baseball to help the Baltimore Orioles win the 1966 World Series.  Later Russ and I had dinner together at the only place in town and, reluctantly, he gave me a tour of his "shrine" the town put up on the restaurant wall.  Many baseball cards, newspaper clippings, team pictures and photos of his family and his beautiful wife Ann who he has missed since 1997  

Another Selfie...my hand with Russ' 1966 World Series Championship ring. 

Nelson is the nicest "very small town" I've come across this week. Perhaps because it's the county seat....not sure.  But it's like that idilic small mid-west town I always imagined.

Tomorrow 100 more miles (Make it Stop!) to Kansas and Marysville. Russ promised it will be all flat once I make the turn down at the next corner but just in case will start early and remember to stop for lunch  There's another good Pony Express museum in Marysville to see!  

Phase 3, Day 4. North Platte - Kearney, NE

106 miles and a very nice day for riding. Until today I had never ridden 100 miles on dead flat road before, always some sort of climb to slow things down, nor have I ever  covered 100 miles in under 5 hours. A first for me.

Followed the Lincoln Highway most of the way. Lincoln Highway was once the primary road through here but now Interstate 80 runs parallel so nearly all the traffic heads that way instead.  Good for a cyclist.

Only a lover of geography would be excited about crossing the 100th Meridian. I was excited. 

Gothenburg, "The Pony Express Capital of Nebraska" and about my halfway point today, is the home to a real life Pony Express station (hut) and my first real encounter with an actual Pony Express site other than an historic road sign or pile of rocks.  What a thrill.  It was so fun to finally see an actual station where the riders would stop to change horses or riders, preserved of course and upgraded from dirt floor to brick and all the rest, but I enjoyed talking to the nice woman volunteering there.  

Funny, I saw a dude riding a very nice Lemond road bike through town and thought what an odd place  to see such a fancy bike. I stopped to ask him for directions to the museum and turns out Larry is the new local airport manager and just moved here from Durango, CO.  That would explain the nice bike. We talked about bikes and airports but I was anxious to see the museum so soon got bored with the airplane talk and pressed on.   Larry gave me a hot tip about avoiding the closed road ahead so I took his recommended 8 mile detour....with all the other cars and trucks and with no riding shoulder. Pretty sketchy riding for 30 minutes.

An original (if well preserved) Pony Express station. Gothenburgh, NE

At about mile 70 came across Armond Young walking along the road.  Armond is walking from New York City to Santa Monica pier. He has already walked the other way across the country and now is heading back to California raising awareness, and money it seems, for 9/11 firefighter's families and has walked 7900 miles so far. A noble and dedicated cause for sure.  Armond is only carrying an enormous totem full of signed American flags, the "most signed thing in the world" he claims with 520,000 signatures. 520,001 now.  He was particularly proud that Merle Haggard had signed too. You can find Armond's Facebook page and lots of other links to his amazing story if you Google his name.  Armond and I had a nice time talking about adventure.

Armond Young has a lot of energy. 

The fun thing about riding here is because it's so flat you can see the next town's grain silo from many miles away. This was a fun game for me as the road, as nice as it is, was a bit monotonous.  Still fun, but monotonous.  More trains to wave at and I think I'm clear of rattlesnake country as I haven't seen one since yesterday.

Tomorrow the bike and I say goodby to the Platte River, our companion for many hundreds of miles, and head southeast as the Pony Express riders did who then picked up the Little Blue River.  One problem though....other than I-80 and the old roads that followed the Platte River most roads here are nearly all north/south or east/west..I want to go diagonally which will require a 10 mile zig followed by a 10 mile zag...again and again.

Tomorrow a 90 mile zig-zag to Nelson, NE, just north of the Kansas border.

Phase 3, Day 3. Lewellen to North Platte, NE

87 miles with a bonus tailwind to start. Sadly that didn't last long enough. Other than the headwind it was another lovely day for riding.

Dave at the Gander Inn cooked me up an early and hearty breakfast and soon I was rolling out of town. 7am and the locals are already out. As I rolled the 3 blocks down Main St saw 2 folks from last night who both shouted a "Good Luck!" and I was on my way. Funny how easy it is to make friends in this part of the country.

Soon reached Lake McConaughy, a massive 22 mile stretch of dammed up N. Platte River. It's actually quite nice and looks to be a great place for summer boating and camping.  The terrain here is mostly comprised of sand and sandstone which makes the Lake Mac water crystal clear.  Stopped at a little shop to buy a soda and another customer asked "Didn't I pass you yesterday back in Broadwater?"  He bought my soda. That's how it goes here.

They say "Softball sized hail" came from the storm in the distance last night.  Yikes!  

I have been following the N. Platte River since Wyoming.  The N. Platte and S. Platte actually run parallel to each other for quite a long way separated by a sandstone bluff.  Climbed up and over the bluff to descend into the S. Platte Valley.  That bit of country road was the best part of today's ride.

Keystone-Roscoe Rd.  Had it all to myself for many miles..

At my mile 38 turn I was happy to find myself on the Lincoln Highway which was my companion for much of Phase 1 crossing Nevada and Utah.  I lost it somewhere around Salt Lake City. 101 years ago The Lincoln Highway was the first established cross country road route and went from NYC to San Francisco. The highway was then marked by unique stone or painted markers which can still be seen here and there. Great to be back on the old highway again.

I left the Rockies about 250 miles ago but it hasn't been a flat ride since then, lots of gentle rollers up and down, until today. I finally reached the pancake-flat Plaines.

Stopped for fuel in Paxton and was told last night I must check out Ole's Big Game Steakhouse.  It's a saloon and restaurant filled with Ole's animal trophies from his travels around the world in the 1950s and '60s. Elephants, baboons and likely the only polar bear in Nebraska.  I had the meatloaf special, $7.99, then adjusted my watch to the Central Time Zone.  Pedaled that bike across 2 time zones?  That's a lot of £-ing pedaling!

Polar Bear. Not on the menu. 

Tomorrow 98 miles along the Lincoln Highway to Kearney (say Car-Nee) and in Gothenburg there's a little Pony Express museum to stop and see.  The first of 3 I will visit this week.

Phase 3, Day 2. Bridgeport, NE- Lewellen, NE

All the fuss about the weather and it turned out to be a really nice day. Breezy, but nice. The severe weather all moved well north and into South Dakota and east Nebraska so for today, at least, it was a good day to ride.

Following the Platte River, just as the emigrants and Pony Express riders did, is simple and straight.  Small towns along the road every 10 or 15 miles broke up the ride but most in a sad state and nearly deserted.  Towns around here have no paved roads other than the main road through town. 

Broadwater library. Now closed..

Made lots of friends today who drive trains.  Coal trains...very long coal trains passed all day long. Eastbound full of coal and westbound empty to get more coal. I counted 125 coal cars on average per train.  That's a lot of coal heading east as fuel for electric power plants. Anyway, I always wave at the train cab as it goes past (I love trains) and get a big blast from the the train air horn in return. Fun for me!

Arrived in Lewellen, population 282 is what the sign says but the locals tell me that's not right. 82 folks have left since they made that sign. Gravel roads and all, Lewellen is perfect for this traveller, they have food and a bed. That's all I need...and of course the people are all super nice. Met some local fisherman down at the river. They argued with each other about the best way for me to ride to North Platte tomorrow. I said thanks, got it, but it was fun nonetheless.  Soon after it seems I was the newest celebrity...after my encounter with the fishermen the locals soon heard and were fascinated by my journey. I enjoyed hearing about their hardscrabble life in the Nebraska panhandle much more than I enjoyed talking about my goofy and decadent bike ride.

Main St. Lewellen.  Another coal train in the background .

What's with the red flag? Good question. Last year I rode Stage 2 during July 4th week and thought it would be fun to show some pride with an American flag and patriotic flair.  For this week's crossing of Nebraska my Nebraskan friend Lori suggested I fly the Univ. of Nebraska Cornhuskers flag; the Nebraska state flag.  OK, not officially the state flag but might as well be.  Nebraskans love their 'Huskers.

Platte River.  "A mile wide and an inch deep" they say but it's much more than an inch. 

Tomorrow it's about 100 miles along the N. Platte River again to.....wait for it.....North Platte, Nebraska.   I have been to North Platte before and still remember the most excellent truck stop steak dinner I had there.  I'm not much of a steak lover but when in Nebraska.....

Phase 3, Day 1. Scottsbluff, NE - Bridgeport, NE

The good thing about traveling alone is that when things need to change it's an easy thing to do.  Today things changed quite a bit.

The master plan had today as my day to get into position, including a 7 hour drive, in Scottsbluff to begin riding tomorrow.  I spent hours driving across Nebraska on the most beautiful clear Blue Bird day thinking what a pitty I can't be enjoying this great day on the bike. The rest of the week's weather doesn't look so good.

A word about the weather:  Crossing Tornado Alley on a bike at the height of tornado season sounds dubious at best.  I understand the timing could be better but my plan is always to get rolling at sunrise to arrive at my destination before the severe weather gets cranked up. Tomorrow's forecast is particularly bad, mostly in the afternoon, so to improve my odds avoiding the "..large hail, damaging winds and possible tornado" as they are predicting I thought what the heck!  Let's start today!

Tornado Siren in Malbeta, NE. Looks like a tsunami siren to me. Today, silent.  Tomorrow?

By the time I arrived in Scottsbluff, mailed my street clothes and shoes to next Monday night's Kansas City hotel (I have no need for them for the next 7 days), dropped the rent car and stopped to say HI to my friends at Sonny's Bike Shop (See Phase 2, Day 7) there was not enough daylight left to complete the planned 90 miles to Lewellen so figured I could get about half way, Bridgeport sounds about right, then tomorrow I could wait for a gap in the weather and sprint the 50 miles to Lewellen in about 3 hours and hunker down there.  Sounds logical at least.

I ditched the Scottsbluff hotel and booked a motel in Bridgeport.  An easy 40 mile ride with a stop at Chimney Rock at the end of a sunny day was fun. Chimney Rock was the most celebrated of all natural formations along the Westbound Overland Emigrant and Pony Express routes as it marked the end of the Plaines travel and the beginning of the rugged mountain portion of their journey.

Planning to spend the afternoon hanging around Scottsbluff then suddenly to find I am on the bike and riding the last week of this great adventure was a glorious moment. You know...like a nice surprise?  Bucking the 15 mph headwind didn't bother me at all....I usually loath it.

Chimney Rock.  I stayed on the sidewalk.

Tomorrow the early morning 50 miles could be a non event but I will keep an eye on things before I head out and as I go with the iPhone Doppler radar app. A similar thing happened on the very first day of this journey 2 Junes ago as I had to leave Sacramento a day early to beat a snow storm crossing the Sierra Nevada.

Phase 3 begins June 3!

Poppies on Mt. Diablo ….

Phase 3 and the last 650 miles of this Pony Express bike ride will begin June 3, 2014 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska where I ended last year's ride. If all goes well I will complete the journey 6 days later in St. Joseph, Missouri and at the end of the Pony Express Trail. 

This blog will be updated beginning June 2. 

…and 2 days later in Times Sq…