Halfway!
Today we rode 92 miles from Gordon to Valentine, Nebraska. We climbed 1,673 feet.
Another fine day of riding on Highway 20 through Nebraska. We started again with an escort out of town by the local fire department, siren blaring to alert the town at 0700. I'm sure the locals loved us. We had the early start due to the length of today's ride, but we made short work of it due to favorable conditions. Clear skies, perfect temperatures, and mostly neutral winds resulted in some of our fastest speeds yet; the lead group averaged over 18 miles per hour. More rolling hills covered in prairie grasses, lots of cattle, courteous drivers, et cetera. Can't believe I'm saying this, but an easy 92 miles and an uneventful ride. Got to the hotel, unloaded, checked in. Valentine is a very small town, so we had take-away pizza and cookies for dinner in the hotel breakfast area. Good times were had by all.
All of our rest stops today came courtesy of our world-class SAG team. I cannot overstate how important this team is and what a great job they do. We are constantly surprised and delighted by their creativity. Never a dull SAG with this group. We've enjoyed everything from fresh salad to yogurt parfaits to roast beef sandwiches, along with all of the normal staples. Drinks are always cold and at the ready. We burn a lot of calories (one of my apps said I burned 5,730 calories on today's ride) and it would get difficult to consume them if we had to eat the same thing at every stop every day. Variety keeps things interesting and everything is always top quality. Thank you Kiki, Melissa, Tary, Mike, and Jenny.
Important milestone today-we completed our 22nd day of the 44-day journey. We'll start the second half of our trip tomorrow. Where did it go?
Tomorrow we will ride from Valentine to Bassett, Nebraska. We will cycle 63 miles and climb 1,104 feet.
Totals to Date
Miles: 1,631
Elevation Gain: 57,763
Flat Tires: 27
States crossed: 4
Centuries: 4
Times Crossing the Continental Divide: 5
