Day 21 (May 16) - Bassett, NE

TGIF, right? It was an absolutely PUNISHING second day in Nebraska [hangs head in disbelief].

In funny news, two days ago Eric and I noticed an ad in the local paper calling for submissions to a contest seeking videos about western Iowa. Half jokingly, half not, I entered the video I took of the tractor trailers on the shoulderless roads in Iowa. Just moments ago, I received an email indicating that my video had been disqualified because it did not meet the fundamental requirement: it was taken in "central Iowa" and did not pertain to "western Iowa." Looking back - in fairness to Iowa - the last day in the state(Day 19 of the blog), which was in western Iowa proper, was the best day of the trip so far for me. Perhaps I should go back, edit, and resubmit.

Finally, there have been some requests for behind the scenes details on the bike trip - e.g. what's going on, how we feel, condition of equipment, etc... I've debated since early on about whether to post that here; it is all getting captured in my personal writings. For now, I'm not going to touch on that stuff, as I am wary of readers misinterpreting the details as me being ungrateful, not having fun, not eating enough, so on and so forth. Suffice to say that the trip is physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and personally demanding - often in ways I did not expect. There are probably some other 'ly words in there too.

As intermediates: (1) Eric and I will make a video of what our mornings look like and post it here soon. (2) I am fortunate to have and to have been able to bring two bikes on the trip: a Specialized Roubaix Elite and a Guru Cron-Alu. The Roubaix is the workhorse used for rainy, hilly, and expected difficult days. It has logged the most miles by far. I clean and lube it after every rainy day and otherwise every two or three days. I also had it tuned up in Stow, Ohio. The Roubaix's only casualities thus far are a flat tire from running over a screw, a chip in the top tube from propping it against a metal sign, and a slowly deteriorating lunch box I've mounted to the front. The break pads will also need to be replaced before the Rockies, as the rainy days in Pennsylvania basically shredded them. The Guru - my bicycle baby - has been a rockstar when I've used it (three times to date). It is a time trial, agressive-position bike used when the terrain is expected to be "favorable", the weather good or forecast windy, and/or when the distance is shorter (though I did use it for back-to-back 103 and 104 mile rides on the trip). To date, knock on wood, the only nicks it has encountered are literally nicks: One on the top tube from again propping it against a sign (you think I'd learn my lesson) and a few on the down tube, unfortunate realities of loading and unloading bikes daily from the rack on the car.

Eric rides a Specialized Roubaix Triple. It too is doing quite well, only suffering two flat tires and a strange periodic clicking noise emanating from the front tire sort of like the sound of the magnet hitting the odometer sensor, only not that. We suspect something got in the tire during one of our changes of it. We hope to find out more in Casper, WY, when we go for our second tune up. Enjoy the weekend to its fullest!