Biking Brian’s Blog

I got my package at the post office shortly after it opened at 7 AM. It had arrived in the post office on Monday. The postmaster didn’t bother asking for ID since this was the only package that had been sent via general delivery in a long time. The time spent getting the package, mailing…

Since I had planned on getting an early start today, Barb (the hotel owner) had left some cereal out for breakfast, since they didn’t officially open until 7:30. I got up at 6, ate, and then looked outside to see lightning in the direction I had planned to go. So I went back to bed.…

Got a late start out of Valentine, as I needed to borrow the pump from the bike shop, which didn’t open until 9:00. It was actually a really well stocked bike and kayak shop – they had Gary Fisher mountain bikes and even a Santana Sovereign tandem. Coming out of town on Highway 12, there…

Leaving Gordon I found out why it was 30 miles to the next town and almost another 30 to the next one after that – I was now in the sand hills of Nebraska. Yes, they are hills made of sand, with green grass growing on them – probably not very good to farm on,…

(Yesterday’s report was incorrectly labeled as Day 32 instead of Day 33, please forgive the error.) [I’ve fixed it now….] Last night the wind blew really hard, shaking up the tent, and the lightning flashed in the distance, but there was almost no rain. I didn’t sleep very well, because I had opted not to…

Last night’s van tour of Mount Rushmore went well. It was a scenic drive up to a lodge nearby, where we had dinner. Then we went over to the mountain, where we got to see the sculpture in daylight, then went to the amphitheater area at dusk to hear a short talk and see a…

After about 10 miles I had crossed into South Dakota. Wyoming had it all – great scenery, lousy scenery – but now that I’ve crossed into another state I feel like I’m making progress again. It started getting hillier again – well it’s called the Black Hills, so no surprise there. But the grades were…

The last two days had been really draining – with mountain passes you expect it and are prepared for it, but rolling hills and headwinds can come as a surprise. That’s the one downside to doing this tour alone – you don’t have the rest of the group to motivate you. The whole day I’d…

The morning started off with whatever I wanted for breakfast – there was no breakfast menu. I got tater tots instead of home fries – “they cook faster”. Well, it’s still a potato thingie, so I won’t complain. The route was still sort of flat for the first 10 miles, as the road followed the…

Coordinating the morning errands around the opening times of the stores worked well. The cold weather gear box I shipped home weighed just under 7 pounds! The only mistake I made was that both the bike shop and library opened at 9 AM – I should have chosen to go to the library first in…