June 28, 2011

Today's report from my Ride for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska

Started at 6:45 am in Tecumseh and finished at 4:15 pm in Nebraska City.

Covered 115 miles, 14.1 mph ave speed, 33.7 - max speed

Riding time - 8 hrs, 5 minutes

Wind - pretty much a non-factor today. 

"Hurt/Help" Wind scale - +0.0.

The "Hurt/Help" Wind Scale is my way of saying "this is how much the wind hurt/helped me over the course of the day". It can Hurt me up to a -5, or help me up to a +5.



About today:

hill after hill after hill after hill after...



Today was spectacular!  Virtually no wind, upper 70's, sunny, wow!  The only "con" was all the hills.  Now, I enjoy hills, but 18,000 of them in one day is a bit much for even me.  As I was going down then up then down then up, I tried to remember why I disliked the area around GI being so flat.  Hmm....  If God grabbed the north edge of our state, and pulled until eastern of Nebraska was flat, I bet we'd cover up about half of South Dakota!  It DOES make for some beautiful country though.

Another thing I really noticed today was all the lightening bugs!  Have you seen how many there are in the evenings?  Wow!  Well, they don't go to bed and sleep all day.  They're still around, and for some reason, they enjoy landing on sweaty cyclists!  Every time I would stop, two or three would land on me.  Even when I was riding, they would stick to me and mooch a lift.  They don't hurt.  They just kind of tickle and annoy the heck out of you.  It's like, "Stop touching me!!  Go away!  Don't land on me!!"  At one stop, I ate a banana.  As I lifted the last bite to my mouth, there was a lightening bug, just standing on my banana looking at me.  ARGG!  I explained to him that for future reference this was not a good idea.  "If I had ingested you it would not have been a pleasant experience for either one of us!"  I hope I got through to him.  After I sent him on his way and finished my banana bite, it occurred to me I made the assumption that lightening bug feet don't have any deadly germs on them.  All I can say is so far so good....



that would be cool to see



Pawnee City, home town of Larry the Cable Guy!



As I neared Pawnee City, I saw this sign.  There must be some Mennonites living in the area.  It would be cool to see a horse and buggy going down the highway.  Then as I entered Pawnee City, I HAD to take this pic!  PC's most recent claim to fame is being the birthplace of Dan Whitney, aka Larry the Cable Guy.

Doug, Shirley, Tom and Mike

Prior to today, I had not seen any other cyclists on the road.  Today I saw eight of them!  I passed two ladies (they were going pretty slow) and met two guys going the opposite direction on Hwy 75.  There was NO stopping and visiting as Hwy 75 is CRAZY busy with traffic.  Most of the traffic is what would be on Interstate 29 if it were not under water.  I met the other four cyclists on Hwy 8, along a very nice, calm stretch of road between Pawnee City and Falls City.  They were from Lawrence, KS, doing a self-supported ride up into SE Nebraska and then back home.  They were really enjoying the nice road, beautiful scenery and gorgeous day.  They were Doug and Shirley Hitt, Tom Mersmann and Mike Yoder.  Thanks for visiting with me!  I hope the rest of your trip goes well.



Todd and Mike



Susan, Zach, Todd and Blair

Just north of Auburn, I was joined by Todd Benton, a friend who used to live in GI, but now lives in Nebraska City.  In fact, they are my host family tonight.  He rode the last 18 or so miles with me and it was a TON of fun to have someone to visit with!  I stayed with him, his wife Susan, and children Blair and Zach, in Nebraska City. 

A gift bag/care package waiting for me in my room! 
Thank you Susan.  (-:)



Thank-yous for today:

Other thank yous today are once again to Doug and Carolyn Wetzel who sagged for me today and yesterday.  Their care was humbling, especially when I mentioned yesterday that I was hungry for a turkey sandwich, figuring on one from Subway at the next big town.   Well, Doug promptly gave me HIS turkey sandwich that he had brought for his own lunch!  And then today, he gave me their last two pieces of pizza!  THAT is going WAY above and beyond the call of duty for a sag driver!!!!!!  Thank you my friends. 


Thank you also to Megan Reiners, my daughter, who is going to sag for me the final two days of my ride.  It will be SOOO cool to have you as part of my ride adventure.  I also appreciate one of her friends, Damon Wagner and one of his friends (both of whom I will meet for the first time tomorrow morning) who are taking vacation from work and riding with me tomorrow.  They will guide me safely and efficiently through the maze known as Omaha all the way to Lincoln.  I DEEEEEEEPLY appreciate this!  It's gonna be a great day. 

PS - Hey, if you get a chance to watch "The Adjustment Bureau", a movie starring Matt Damon, it's worth watching.  In a fascinating way it deals with the big topic of Free Will, and the question of who is really in control of our lives, God or we ourselves.  Pretty thought-provoking.  Check it out sometime. 

Bible verses dealing with Jesus and “wishes”.  A WISH…

     For you to have life in His Name – John 20:30-31

Quote of the Day:

“The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need, can hit hard.”  - Sloan Wilson

Closing thoughts for the day: 

Hard to believe this adventure is almost over.  I DO hope that enough donations come in to fully fund Izzie's wish, or perhaps even a fourth child's wish.  But, I will be grateful for whatEVER comes in.  There is a fun/fundraiser event tomorrow night in Lincoln which I really look forward to.  I appreciate Suzanne Cain, Paul Siebert and others for organizing it.  Talk with you tomorrow! 

Forecast for the next day:

VERY nice!  Sunny, mid-80's, with a SSE wind which will either help us or be a non-factor from the side.  Couldn't ask for much better.  (-:)

Route/Towns for the next day:

June 29 - Nebraska City to Union to Murray to Plattsmouth to Omaha to Papillion to 
                             Gretna to Ashland to Greenwood to Waverly to Lincoln