Severe storm warnings? Potential hail? Flood watches? Did we go and see if we could make it over 100 miles on our bikes today or shelter in the van and drive to the next location? If you have learned anything about this team and the people that compose it through this first month of journal postings, you probably know what the answer to that question is.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 104.0 miles
Elevation: +1,650 ft. / -1,719 ft.
Points of Interest: The Final Casey’s
Tales of the Trail
In anticipation of the looming weather and the long mileage, we woke up very early today to evaluate how things looked outside and how the reports had changed overnight. The morning was surprisingly clear, so at 6:00 am, just before the sun was rising, we started our ride. Everyone was crossing their fingers that the rain, or at least the lightning which would prevent us from continuing until it passed, would hold off until at least the first rest stop. Ren even had us singing “Rain Rain Go Away” in the morning circle to make sure we had tried our absolute best. Sure enough, it did! Barely.
We were all wearing rain jackets just in case the storms approached, but both teams on the road made it to the 18.5-mile mark without too many drops from the sky. This would be the last of the dry for quite some time. Anyone who was in the van went from being a bit disappointed for not being able to ride to actually somewhat relieved that they were not. The rain came down strongly and being on the side of a busier road meant that cars were adding to the spray. Being at the back of the group was far from favorable unless you had a strong aversion to drinking from your water bottle. Then, you could have just as easily made up your water intake from the spray off of your teammate’s tire.
For a while, the rain can be kind of fun. It can cool you down while riding and it gives the tires a fun gliding sensation over the road. Whether that second observation is placebo or not, we do not know. Also, when the road is not filled with vehicles, you can hear the pitter patter of the rain drops on your jacket and the noise can be calming. This lasts for somewhere between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending on how cold it is and how waterproof your jacket is. After this threshold, everything becomes wet and you really start to feel soaked to the core. These were the thoughts going through our heads as riders today.
Ten miles into the second leg, both teams made a quick pit stop at a Casey’s (of course) and met a friendly truck driver who said that he had tried not to spray us when he passed. That was so nice to hear! We all saw Maaike flagging us down another short while up the road and it was time for a second rest stop, this one much more wet. The roads of Nebraska are much more similar to what we though the experience was going to be across the entire Midwest: very minimal gradients and mostly flat with the occasional hill scattered in. For a long day like this, that kind of terrain is perfect for knocking off the miles.
At mile 64, the third rest stop was upon us and both teams spent some time inside to shelter and just get out of the still continuing rain. There was a charismatic worker at the attached chicken joint and despite standing near the doorway on the mats dripping wet, everyone was extremely nice and welcoming. An older gentleman came by and asked where we were heading towards next. We found out that the weather near McCook had been much better than what we had just ridden through and that gave us at least a sliver of confidence that we may not end the day in the rain.
The last rest stop was also the last Casey’s we will ever have a rest stop at! For the Midwest children among us, that was devastating news, and even for those who did not grow up in Casey’s territory, it is sad to see such a reliable stop say goodbye. The sun even came out for us! The last 25 miles of the day were getting warmer and no rain jackets were necessary. By the time we reached the stayover, we were nearly dry, bar maybe chamois padding and shoes; however, there was a layer of sediment that had been thrown upwards with the spray from the rain that was just clinging to us and our bikes. It took a long time to clean and bring our clothes and road machines back to a rideable state for tomorrow.
The crew in the van was able to help find showers in McCook at the McCook Community College and we had a donation of Subway sandwiches for dinner supplemented by the usual pasta and lentils. To ensure we had a high enough sugar intake on the day, many of the team members stopped by The Scoop to grab some ice cream before the day really came to a close. We are facing another over 90-mile day tomorrow on this long day stretch before Boulder.
Cyclists’ Corner
Rider: Vedang Mahajan
How are you feeling today? How was today’s ride?
My quads are sore, my knees are not doing the best, but I think it was pretty fun. The ride today we got poured on, and there were doubts. We almost completely expected to be shuttling most of the day, but I think we got lucky. Despite the severe weather, despite the rain, we kept biking, and of course it was all safe, and we made it. It was big! It was my second longest ride ever, only after the 132 or something miles we biked out of Columbus, Ohio. I would say it was a great day and we were moving really fast. We had great fun, but not too much to see. We were on the same road the whole day, but it is what it is. I just cannot wait to get to Colorado!
Is there anything that you, personally, think, or hope, you will gain from the ride?
I wanted to gain the experiences that come by traveling across the country. I also want to become more resilient and stronger at biking. Also, I hope to find something we talk about a lot… “why we do this.” So, for me, it's also being able to tell these amazing stories when I go back, to just have a life well lived, to have done something extremely out of this world that not many people dare to attempt. I wanted to take on a massive challenge and the feeling of knowing that you did something that's really difficult is something that I would love to have after I'm done with this.
How have you surprised yourself since New York City?
I fully expected to not get progressively stronger every day because I thought that the toll of biking almost every single day would add up and would sort of destroy my legs. On the contrary, I feel like I have progressively been getting strong on the bike and that has definitely surprised me. Also, the way I look at mileages has changed so much now. 70 miles looks like an easy day, whereas 100 is like, “okay, you know, we're actually working.”
Where is your hometown? If there was food from there you could have with you at every town during the ride, what would it be?
My hometown is Bangalore, India. If I could have any one food from Bangalore, it would probably be dosa. I last had it in New York City before leaving. I wouldn't want to eat dosa every day because it isn't exactly the best fuel for a bike ride, but I would love to eat that every maybe four days or something like that. That’s what would be nice.
How is the ride progressing for you?
I'm getting to know my teammates a lot better now that we're done with almost half the ride. Also, I feel like I've already seen so many things and have so many stories to tell from a few days that are extremely memorable. The one day where we agreed to sidequest at least twice per team. That's the day where we went five miles off route and saw an emu and other really interesting creatures on one of the farms on the side of the road. Those days like that are very memorable to me. Yes, in general, the ride is progressing very well!
What do you think your role for the team has become (regardless of what it started as or what chore you do)?
I think that when I'm on the bike, I would say that I'm a very versatile rider. I know how to ride with all kinds of people. Some who are trying to go super fast on like a shorter day, or where they were trying to take it easy on steep climbs. I'm not really sure that I have a role as such, but I just help out everywhere I can.
What has your favorite snack in the van been so far?
Oh! The waffles. The Honey Stinger waffles. Yes, those have been my favorite.