Day 9 - The Long and (not so) Winding Road.

I was oh, so unhappy getting up this morning, but it was 745, so hopefully I recovered some sleep. If i get out by 830 I won't be that far off the norm. Yahoo maps says it'll be about 7 hours from here to Herbert Hoover's monument in West Branch, Iowa.

I packed up, saving the cooling vest for last. There is nothing even remotely hopeful in the next two days for temps over 75, so I don't see needing it for the rest of the trip. I'd used the heat lamp in the bathroom overnight to dry it out and I must admit that the room was a bit hot and dry even for me, Queen of the Sahara. I left at 845.

It was 57 degrees out when I stopped at the Walmart I'd passed last night to check for those Zhu Zhu's. Kinda in a hurry, I almost left my helmet on to run in and out, but I took the whole 20 seconds to remove it before going in.

STOMP STOMP STOMP... The vibrations from my hulkish strides ran up my bones and directly into my head. With my earplugs in I only hear parts of things, but walking with even less finesse than usual was gonna give me a headache.

No Zhu Zhu's near the My Little Ponies. STOMP STOMP STOMP... None in the next aisle, STOMP STOMP STOMP, or the one on the other side. Time to go. STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP... Back on the bike at 930.

Riding East now puts me facing the sun every morning and last week the wind unceremoniously snatched my handy-dandy sunsheilding strip right off my face shield, so for the next two hours I rode like Popeye, squinting deeply enough that my open eye looked partly through my eyebrow. And, for all that sun, I was still freezing! I decided that today I would go without music again. I've had difficulty seating my right earplug and on Friday (or was it Saturday?) between the wind noise and the music my right ear was buzzing for a while. Can't mess with the ears, now... So, that leaves me to my own devices, and yet I can't think of a single song not on the 2 gb chip I've been listening to for the last 4 days, never mind a way to bring about world peace.

One of the women from the conference in Colorado, Sara, texted me yesterday cautioning me about the 3 windy states I'd be traveling through. Wow, was she right! Earlier in the trip I'd discovered that I could reach the rear passenger pegs to relax my knees and give my butt a break. Today I used them to gain leverage against the wind.

The weather fronts have also been interesting. You don't usually get to see the beginning and ending of weather fronts, but I've seen several on these distance rides. This morning, the clouds began to gather, but after having checked the forecast again this morning, I was unconcerned about any rain. It should be dry for the rest of the ride home. (ha! now that I've said that out loud, there will be some freak storm.)


These clouds struck me as a herd, migrating. A herd of migrating cotton balls. Another roadside sign, with almost as many lights out as on, looked like it read 70 degrees and 1145 am. It was mighty cold and I started looking for a Walmart where I could stomp through the toys on my way to the fleece department, but a Cabella's appeared on the horizon and plan 'A' immediately fell by the wayside. I spent the best $10 EVER on what should be marketed as 'hi viz' pear, changed into it in the dressing room and, while by no means warm, was cool on the ride now, rather than cold. They did have the Road Toads rain gear, but they were about 5 inches shorter than I need and, without the threat of rain, I decided not to get them.


In the parking lot I strapped the long sleeve cotton shirt that I've worn faithfully for the last 2 weeks, hot or cold, onto the bike and noted some fascinating shades of grey. I checked the gps to see when I should arrive at Hoover: 521 pm, which probably means more like 6, really. I called just to check on the hours of the visitor center: 9-5, damn! Well, a picture will have to do for this one if I can't get to the stamp.



Booking it to Iowa against a frigid wind I am more tense than usual. Holding on to the grips for dear life brings me to periodically let go the death grip to shake them out or let them hang by my side for a moment. (yes, one at a time. :j) Getting them back on the grip from 3 feet away in that wind was a bit erratic and, after flexing my right hand a bit and forcing it forward against the atmosphere's will, I made contact with the grip in an awkward way...and the bike lurched back a bit. Son of a...! I'd hit the kill switch. AGAIN. Today saw the 4th AND 5th times that I've tagged the kill switch at speed. FIFTH! FIVE-ifth, I mean, come on! The first time was months ago and I was totally freaked at the prospect of blowing up the bike by pressing the button back into the 'on' position while the engine was running. (such a girl.) I did, and I survived, and I didn't blow up the bike. The second and third times it took me less and less time to figure out what the problem was and fix it. It's a sad statement that the first time I did it today there was no panic, just the annoyance that comes with an unwanted habit.


I crossed the bridge that separates Nebraska from Iowa and, hello, everything changed again. There are trees! Deciduous ones! In groups! Stands of trees...and hills! I had the rank and file of corn on my right and cows grazing on a hillside on my left. It might as well have been Maryland! The only apparent difference between Iowa and MD is the color scheme of the cop cars.

Those cotton ball clouds eventually took over the sky. There wasn't a speck of blue to be found in any direction I could crane to see. I was 5000 feet away from being suffocated by batting. About the time I was contemplating the sky quilt it occurred to me that my gps is still an hour off and I could still make it to the H. Hoover visitor center before they closed!!


Well, with Iowa's hills, the wind calmed significantly. Now it was a normal, if still cold, ride. I could again move my feet from floorboard to passenger peg with my usual Cirque-like grace. The next couple hundred miles were much easier and without the extra attention needed to stay upright, my mind was free to wander again and it occurred to me that James T. Kirk was born somewhere in Iowa, wasn't he? I thought 'shouldn't there be a monument?' and laughed out loud in my helmet.



Coming into Stewart the great batting in the heavens developed holes and became a Simpsons sky.



I did make it to Hoover 15 minutes before closing. I was alone, except for the ranger who pressed the play button for the movie, and was stamped, superficially educated, and out of the building by 6.

While I was in the theatre I'd gotten a page that a friend's dad had died and I talked to him for a bit. I had the company of the Hoover cat while on the phone and then planned my route from West Branch.


I looked at the map and did some fast gps button-pushing and realized that going south a bit to visit Lincoln's birthplace in Springfield, Illinois would add, at most, 2 hours to the trip including visitor center time. So I headed south.



I got to cross the Mississippi.


I had a Mexican dinner in honor of Anne Maria, maje extraordinaire, and found my hotel.



Now, I sit, waaay too late, in my hotel room watching Will and Grace and counting the loud, obnoxious trains that pass by my window, horns a-blowin'. This will test even *my* ability to sleep soundly. In the morning I'll check the route from Springfield to Dayton, Ohio for the Aviation Monument for one of my last National Parks of the trip.

Day 8 - Sunday, SUNday, SUNDAY!

(Day 7 is missing, I know. And with more Tatonka and everything! I'll catch up when I can. :)

Well, I got up at the usual time, but with a 2 am bedtime, I was running on 4 hours sleep today. I've been getting about 6 hours of sleep every night since Colorado and have been doing remarkably well for someone who used to be unbearable with less than 10. Ok, that *was* high school, but I still like my sleep.


Phone calls have been rare for the last week, but I spoke with both my sister and mother before leaving. I looked out the window while I was chatting with Mom and my eyes got big and suddenly had to go. The hotel flag was blowing in the wind and the sky looked grey and ominous. I said my goodbyes and got moving. I called the park to get directions and was apparently only 26 miles away.


I did make a stop at the Walmart down the street to see if they had Zhu Zhu's - apparently this season's Cabbage Patch-Elmo-Beanie Baby that everyone wants, but no one, including my sister, can find. Neither can I.


I left Walmart for the Agate Fossil Bed National Monument and a shop outside of town announced that it was 830 am and 62 degrees. I decided that since it was only 26 miles away, I'd get gas after stopping at the park. (oops. I ~know~!) Turns out that Sam, the very helpful guy at the park, meant it was 26 miles from the last turn at Rt. 29, so I was unprepared for the additional 54 or so miles that I put on the bike before that turn.


Every night I empty the gas can into the tank, so I don't have gas in the room with me, so everything I had was in the tank already. I *might* have made it the 34 miles to Mitchell for the next gas station, but I would have made the ride waiting for the *chug* and it was too cold to thumb a ride to a gas station. I was able to get gas at the park from the maintenance shed. (don't ask)


It was cold and windy the whole way to the park, but the display and video were worth it and they gave me a chance to warm up. Sam was adorable and, even though I was the only one in the room, gave a full out, very skillful introduction to the park and video. He said he always welcomes people 'to the middle of nowhere, Nebraska' and he was right on the money.



After putting a bit of gas in the tank I had a relatively stress-free 34 mile ride to Mitchell, where I filled the tank and the gas can, my favorite new bike accessory, and headed to Scott's Bluff National Monument. The wind was incredible and I rode rather sideways most of the morning. Ride the bike, ride the bike, ride the bike...


Another shop announced that it was 71 degrees at 1145 am. While the clouds were threatening, I didn't think I was going to get hit. Still, I started evaluating underpasses...



I made it to Scott's Bluff still dry and it wasn't as far out of civilization as many of the parks have been.




Scott's Bluff also had a media presentation. A slide show that I almost asked to watch again as so many of the comments about the Oregon Trail reminded me of the trip I was on: When the emmigrants started, they brought too much stuff and ended up leaving it on the path. They sent notes to others telling them to leave the 'cumbersome' items behind. One letter said it would be best to obtain what was needed on the way since the journey was so long. The animals dragging all this stuff West were dying on the way. They included a quote that one could 'navigate solely by the nose' for the dead animals along the trail. Not much has changed. Well, except that I *am* doing more than 15 miles a day.


From Scott's Bluff I headed East toward Iowa. The sky cleared long enough to put a sedate smile on my face, but within an hour it clouded up again.



I made two stops to stretch and wake up, as, clearly, 4 hours was not enough, and also ran into a convenient Walmart to stand, entirely out of my element, in the toy aisle checking for Zhu Zhu's again. I also stopped to check these guys out. I wondered how the brown one would get back inside the fence...


I crossed into Central Time, losing another hour, and was moving East as the sun moved West making this a shorter ride day than most. A little exit community conveyed that it was 730 pm and 68 degrees. I wondered which of the towns I'd passed reached their record lows today.

I stopped for a breakfast dinner at exit 300 to make my hotel calls. I rode a very cold 30 minutes after dark to stay at the Rainbow Hotel. Hopefully, tomorrow I will make good time to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Oh, and I filled the tank AND the gas can..


I've been entertaining the idea of racing up to Maine before home to finish off the Master Tourer Silver's four corner states, but I really should get home and give myself time to shower and change before work on Thursday, so I think not this trip, but now the planning begins!