Valentine, NE (84 miles)

Sidenote: There was an article in the Lowell Sun last Friday about Bike & Build and my experience thus far. If you didn't get a chance to read it in the paper (I hear it was on the 3rd page with a photo!) you can find it online.

Breakfast today was exactly what we want. Cereal, toast, fruit, muffins, and enough for seconds, thirds, and fourths.

Today seemed like two separate days weather-wise. This morning, it was cool and only mildly breezy. This afternoon, it was quite hot and we faced intense headwinds. The shoulder on the road was pretty good and there weren't any climbs, so we're pretty happy overall.

I needed a solo ride today and just sank into my aero bars, legs spinning away at circles. I watched the ground blur and streak through my shadow, with my head down on this straight, flat terrain.

I took a nice leisurely lunch break nap on a picnic table in the shade. This was in a town, that looked exactly like what you would imagine a "small old western town" to look like. There was a saloon (L-Bow Bar), an antique store, a bank, and not much else.

A muscle in my lower back/butt was mighty tight today, so about 10 miles after lunch, at the first tree I saw, I pulled over to stretch. I happened upon a napping Amelia, and looked up to see Grandma's Playhouse and Ice Cream Shop. Delightful. I chatted with Amelia for a bit, then "Grandma" drove in and opened up her shop. I had some delicious sorbet, lemon, lime, and raspberry! And she filled our waterbottles with ice and water. Such a treat!

Then, a few more miles down the road, we saw Bill, who is walking backwards across the country. I believe he drives down some miles, walks backwards to some point, then forwards, always facing West. He also set many other records, such as 2-finger push-ups. Neat.

We had to wait a bit after reaching the church to find out where to shower. Did you know you can take a nearly heart-stoppingly-cold shower and almost enjoy it after a day in the sun?