Good Bye Nebraska

Good Bye Nebraska

Today was one of those unbearable drag ass days that we all sometimes tend to have. I guess it was because all the sore muscles, joints, and aches are finally catching up. I don’t think there is a part of my body that is at a 100 % at the moment because as I counted earlier today, we’ve gone 23 days of straight cycling- no rest days. We finally decided to take a break to buy some gear, fix the bikes, and for the opportunity to sleep in later than the usual 5 am. 

 Last night we stopped in a town by the name of Glendo about 70 ish miles from a sketchy town called Torrington. Lately we’ve been spending our nights in city parks which are free but lack the whole element of comfort, safety, and facilities. Ehh, I guess it’s always a trade off. Won’t complain about free. Either way  we spent the night watching the same cars circle our camp ground. At one point one of the cars even stopped opened the door and threw something that was burning out onto the ground and just stood there as it burned underneath the car. I honestly thought it was some kind of bat symbol to gansters that there is fresh meat in town. After my vigilance wore off I passed out and everything turned out okay (Torrington stills sucked though).   

Yesterday after spending much of the hotter part of the day cycling we arrived in Glendo. As usual we stopped at the first gas station we see for a beverage or nine. Coke has been our latest addiction. I drank a liter by myself last night. 800 calories and 200 grams of sugar and I still passed out an hour or so later, but that’s not the highlight of my day. This happened when I was bitching to Marcus about how grumpy people in this town seemed because when I greeted them, none of them said anything back. 

A little fed up, but much too hungry to worry about it further, I went up to the register to order a burger and some fries. As I placed my order to a lady named Loraine, a scary Biker looking guy started to chat about our bikes. Ironically, he was one of the people I greeted who didn’t greet me back. His name is Matt, he was big, built, and tattooed, someone who you’d typically look at and think “I wouldn’t to get in a fight with that guy”. As first impressions are usually the worst to go by, he ended up being a really nice guy. After he heard about our trip, and told me about some of his own cross-country adventures on his motorcycle he offered to buy my meal for me. When he heard that marcus and i were still looking for a place to stay he took $ 44 out of his pocket and told me to get us a good place to sleep. Then Loraine who was also a complete stranger to us bought both of our meals. These acts of kindness still leave me stumped. 

Then with another stroke of luck, we found a place to spend the night. Not too ideal, and not too honest on our part, we had a free nights stay at the local state park. I can’t say that either of us feel very bad about it because first of all, we only had credit cards on us and there were virtually no facilities at the site. In fact it was flooded, there was a dead fish laying right by the rest room, and the toilet was a sad excuse for a hole in the ground. There wasn’t a sink or even a faucet in a half mile radius from the camp. All I can say is that I’m glad i can do most of my business standing up, I understand why majority of women do not appreciate camping. Half the time there are not even doors on the stalls! I personally got to partake in that adventure a couple of days ago. As we left in this morning we concluded that if there was someone at the State Park booth we’d pay up, but since there wasn’t we just coasted past the little hut and put that part of the day behind us. (We’re good boys, i promise). 

The coolest part of the rest of the day was meeting a school teacher/ cyclist by the name of Tom. He gave us a few directions and then offered to ride his bike home as fast as possible to beat us to the next town so that he can go get us some “free pizza” Pizza Hut coupons. Not five minutes after we pulled into Douglass he parked his man van right next to us. He gave us a few tips on encounters with black bears, Grizzlies, and the not to do’s of indian reservations and he was on his way again because he had to meet family who were visiting from out of town. Hell, Tom was such a nice guy that i would have asked if he wanted to join us for a little bit if i didn’t know he had prior arrangements. 

It’s rare to find someone who would speed 14 miles home on a bike just to get you some coupons or people who would buy you dinner and practically pay for your hotel room after only knowing you for 10 or 15 minutes. It’s unreal, something that’s hard to find back home.