Lakes to Mountains Tour

Bicyclist Mind Games

Sun May 11: Lexington to North Platte NE: 58 miles; sunny, mid-60s; 10:25-3:35.
Angela had asked me what I think about while rolling through the miles. The best answer (not counting the times I simply blank out the mind) is to play mind games. Games such as:

• Mr. Friendly. Wave to all the cars heading east, to demonstrate how nice bicyclists are. Moo at all the cows you pass.


• Watch the Wildlife. Focus on the red-wing blackbirds fluttering beside the road. Listen to the frogs croaking their happy little hearts out, blissful in culverts and low-lying fields flooded by yesterday's rains.


• Score the Scenery. It wasn't a 10 by any wild stretch of imagination - but I'd swapped a pancake-flat landscape for a sampling of sandhills. At first it provided a backdrop of an undulating horizon, but soon the hills crowded against the road. For a while, trees also dotted both sides of the road.


• Count the Cars. Not on the road, the ones on the coal or freight trains that rumble by every few minutes. (I counted two in a row that had 126 coal cars and three locomotives; a few minutes later I beat that by 8 cars.) You get tons of bonus points if you can count the cars in both an east- and west- bound train as they pass each other!


• History Channel. Stop and read all the roadside historical monuments that you pass by. I never dreamed that one day I would visit the spot that Chief Turkey Leg (how's that for a name to instill fear in your enemies?) and his band of Cheyennes wrecked a Union Pacific train, riding away with bolts of calico tied to their ponies' tails?


• Are We There Yet? Keep a watch out for the water town or grain elevator of the next town. Once sighted, guess how long it will be before you actually reach it. A related game is How Much Higher?, where you calculate how much more elevation you need to gain to reach the Mile-High City. For this, you must find an elevation sign - such as "Cozad Airport, 2502' Elevation".

Yes, it was a wonderful day, especially compared to yesterday - sunny, light breeze to the side, mid y60s. I'll miss days like this next week. When I reached North Platte, Evan gave me a wonderful reception, arranging a convenient motel then treating me to dinner. Thanks!
Talking about meeting characters - I forgot to mention Bob ARp's adventurous youth. In high school, he had a friend with leukemia. To raise funds for his treatment, he and friends organized an around-the-clock marathon, dribbling a basketball across Nebraska. They split into three shifts: 8 hours dribbling, 8 sleeping, 8 raising funds. When they reached the Missouri River, the friend shot and made a basket.

posted by Glen @ 2:49 PM