Today's report from my Ride for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska
Started at 7:30 am in Nebraska City and finished at 5:30 pm in Lincoln.
Covered 99 miles, 14.6 mph ave speed, 33.9 - max speed
Riding time - 6 hrs, 44 minutes
Wind - out of the SE, so helped us the first half of the day and kind of hurt us the last half.
"Hurt/Help" Wind scale - +1.0.
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:
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| Cool sign!! |
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| Megan, Mike, Damon and Steve |
Today was another super day, although it was very hot and tough towards the end. It was a nice morning when we left Nebraska City. We had a 10-15 mph SE wind which pushed us all the way up to Omaha! Sweet! I say WE because there were two guys who rode with me all day: Damon Wagner and Steve Barr. These two guys are my heros!!!! They let me sit in their slipstream ALL day, especially from Omaha to Lincoln when the SE wind hit us from the side. I used to change diapers for my sag driver when she was a little bitty kid. Megan Reiners (my daughter) drove her car for us all day. It has a REALLY awesome, cool sign on top that she and her friend, Fed, made! Thank you!!!!
When we arrived in Plattsmouth we went downtown to take a picture of the REALLY cool courthouse. Check it out on the county history page. Just to the east of downtown is flooding that was mind-boggling to look at! Normally in these pictures, one would not see any water. The river was not visible from that spot under normal circumswtances! Wow!!
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| more flooding |
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| still more flooding |
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| flooding just east of downtown Plattsmouth |
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| flooding almost up to the road |
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| water surrounding these houses |
Rather than risk our lives riding these five brutal, nasty miles we got a ride from Greg, a friend of Damon's. Keep in mind that the traffic on Hwy 75 is crazy busy. About 90% of the people on that Hwy would normally be on I-29. So, they are upset to be on Hwy 75 in the first place. Riding those 5 miles on a narrow Hwy filled with angry, in-a-hurry people would'be been suicidal! So, it was really nice to ride in the pickup!!
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| Thanks Greg!!! |
Going into and through Omaha was QUITE an experience! It took over 2 hours but was a pretty cool experience. We went into downtown and then out of town on S 24th St, a really cool Latino part of the city. This was a VERY different experience than riding through Mullen or Benkelman or Harrison! Here are pictures.
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| South 24th St |
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| South 24th St |
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| Cool!! |
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| finally, we can see downtown!! |
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| Neat downtown boulevard |
Going into and through Omaha was QUITE an experience! It took over 2 hours but was a pretty cool experience. We went into downtown and then out of town on S 24th St, a really cool Latino part of the city. This was a VERY different experience than riding through Mullen or Benkelman or Harrison! Here are pictures.
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| cool looking pottery store on S 24th |
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| doesn't look like much, but that's the blow out. |
We had quite a time with flats today! Steve had not had a flat tire in over 3000 miles. He had two of them today. The second one was a staple, like from a stapler you would use on paper! It doesn't take much. Damon had a flat and I had my back tire blow out. Four flats in one day! My blow out was not a surprise. I noticed I could see the fiber threads in sevearl places where the rubber was worn away. I was trying to decide whether to put on a new tire tonight or try to make it through the ride tomorrow. Well, the decision was made for me in one sharp pop! That means I wore out two back tires on this trip. Usually I get 2500 miles out of a back tire. For some reason it took two tires to get 2700 miles. Hmmm... Suckers are not cheap either!
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| sign at my host home! |
It was a long, HOT ride from Omaha to Gretna and then to Lincoln on Hwy 6. Went by three signs as we came into Lincoln. They said 90, 94 and 95 degrees. Tomorrow's going to be even hotter! Here's the sign waiting for me at my brother and sister-in-laws house. (-:)
After a quick shower, we went to a fun/fundraiser down at Mama's Dream Bakery and Deli on 19th and "Q". Cool place!! Here are some of the folks who were there.
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| Kiley and her daughter |
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| Kiley Thiele, from MAW office in Omaha |
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| Suzanne Cain, co-organizer of this event |
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| Denise Schrader and Mama Pat DeBaere (co-owners with one other lady of Mama's Dream Bakery and Deli) |
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| other folks who were there including Paul Seibert |
Thank-yous for today:
Thank you also to my host home folks, Kevin and Irene Reiners, my brother and sister-in-law. I really appreciate your hospitality! Kevin, and his daughter Sydney (my niece), are also going to sag for me tomorrow with my daughter Megan.
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| Irene and Kevin |
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| A little goodie Irene bought for me. Of course I shared it with everyone! |
Bible verses dealing with Jesus and “wishes”. A WISH… For us to share the Gospel news about Jesus with others – Matthew 28:16-20
Quote of the Day:
To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain....at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you're missing the essence of the sport. Without pain, there's no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment and no deep-down joy. Might as well be playing Tiddly-Winks. - Scott Martin
Closing thoughts for the day:
Well, it's hard to believe that tomorrow is my last day of riding. It's been an unbelievable experience in so many ways, people, scenery, experiences, etc. I'm very glad I did it. I'm also glad I'm almost done doing it! I just want to be home with Char again, working at Peace and going about normal, everyday life. One more day though.
I start out tomorrow with an interveiw on KFRX (106.3) with Matt McKay (Matt in the Morning) at 7:00 am. There are some folks who are going to ride with me along the way. Plus there are folks who will be waiting in Hampton and Aurora, etc. Then they'll be a few folks at the courthouse when I reach GI at 6:00 pm. Don't know what all is going to happen, but I look forward to celebrating the conclusion of this journey with my friends and family.
I have been honored to ride for several MAW children and their families. As I shared with the folks at the event tonight, I truly do strive to live by the motto, "Give more than I receive and never receive without giving thanks". That's what Jesus did for us, gave His life for us on the Cross to pay for our sins. That is unconditional love and in a very real way, this is what people have been giving to me this entire month (host families, sag drivers, event organizers, etc)! And that's what I have had the honor of doing for others as well, showing them the love that Jesus shows to us. It's that taking what we've been given and using it to bless others, and then having it come back and bless us that is one of the more rewarding experiences in life. Well, I'm too tired to make a whole lot of sense, so I'll ponder this tomorrow and perhaps write some additional stuff in a day or two. Thanks for listening. Blessings to all of you!! Mike
I start out tomorrow with an interveiw on KFRX (106.3) with Matt McKay (Matt in the Morning) at 7:00 am. There are some folks who are going to ride with me along the way. Plus there are folks who will be waiting in Hampton and Aurora, etc. Then they'll be a few folks at the courthouse when I reach GI at 6:00 pm. Don't know what all is going to happen, but I look forward to celebrating the conclusion of this journey with my friends and family.
I have been honored to ride for several MAW children and their families. As I shared with the folks at the event tonight, I truly do strive to live by the motto, "Give more than I receive and never receive without giving thanks". That's what Jesus did for us, gave His life for us on the Cross to pay for our sins. That is unconditional love and in a very real way, this is what people have been giving to me this entire month (host families, sag drivers, event organizers, etc)! And that's what I have had the honor of doing for others as well, showing them the love that Jesus shows to us. It's that taking what we've been given and using it to bless others, and then having it come back and bless us that is one of the more rewarding experiences in life. Well, I'm too tired to make a whole lot of sense, so I'll ponder this tomorrow and perhaps write some additional stuff in a day or two. Thanks for listening. Blessings to all of you!! Mike
Forecast for the next day:
Mostly sunny, south wind up to 20+ mph, and temp up to 102 (feels like 106) degrees. Yowza!!
Route/Towns for the next day:
June 30 - Lincoln to Seward to Tamora to Utica to Waco to York to Bradshaw to
Hampton to Aurora to Grand Island (and HOME!)
