Days 36-38: Omaha to Grand Junction

Posted by: Arin 

I woke up at 9:40 again in the basement, around the same time as Brad. We went upstairs to find no one there. Pam and Scott got in a few minutes later, they had been out foraging for mushrooms. Layne was already at work. We ate some egg sandwiches before getting to packing.

Packing was much easier this time around. We were pretty much ready to go from leaving the last time, with just a few thing a to put away. We once again said our goodbyes and left.

The ride to Blair (about 23 miles) was much easier too. The weather was perfect, no humidity, and my body felt great. In town we stopped at a park to eat some lunch and chill for an hour or two. It was actually pretty cold, despite sunny skies. After eating some almond butter wraps we got back on the road, and over the Missouri River into Iowa once again.

As you can see from the picture, we didn't get a very warm welcome from Iowa. The shoulder practically disappeared, forcing us to ride in the dirt on the side of the road some of the time. We also had some nice and strong winds working against us. Nevertheless, we rode on through Missouri Valley and into Logan. There we saw a sign on the side of the road for camping at a park, so we decided to check it out. We actually ended up riding through some dirt trails before coming across a perfect spot. We weren't sure if camping was actually allowed there, but it seemed too good to pass up. There was big fire pit and logs to sit on. We pitched our tent, made some dinner, and passed out.

The next day started much like any other day, with oatmeal and packing. We headed out of town and continued on highway 30. Conditions really didn't improve at all. The wind was still there and if we were lucky, we had a three foot shoulder to ride on. Another thing about that highway is that it becomes a truck route in Iowa. That means semis were driving by us every minute (or less!). The worst are the cow trucks. You see them coming from far away and have to brace yourself because getting hit by that wind is brutal. It feels like a wall is hitting you and it's hard to stay straight, plus the air it brings actually smells like shit. 

We rode pretty consistently until we reached Arcadia. It was starting to get later in the day and it was pretty cold, so we rode into town to check it out. That town didn't have one good spot to hide. The houses didn't even have fences. We decided to go to a bar and grab a beer. There we kind of probed the locals about finding a place to sleep, but no one seemed willing to help us. For some reason though, the owner gave us some t shirts before sending us off to ride ten miles into the next town.

It was starting to get dark and we did not feel like riding ten more miles, so we pulled into the first roadside park we saw. Unfortunately there was nowhere good to hide there either, but when we looked down the hill to the train ravine, we saw what looked like a little flat area on the side of the hill. We then proceeded to move our bikes down a hill so steep that no 90 pound bike should ever be brought down it to get the the spot. It turned out to not be very flat, but we didn't care. We set up our tent on a little dip and had the most uncomfortable night of the trip thus far. We were mostly on a downslope, with a little turn up towards our feet, and our slippery sleeping bags were sliding down our pads all night. We were also right next to train tracks, and the trains were so loud you almost thought they would hit you. We somehow managed to get a full night's sleep.

The next morning we had to get our bikes back up the hill, a task just as difficult as bringing them down. We had about 75 miles left to Ames, our target, but the wind was howling and the shoulder was horrific. It was as discouraging as anything has been on this trip, so we stopped to get ice cream in 50 degree weather. 

Now, it's hard to say this, but the worst part of the day was the few miles after eating ice cream. The shoulder disappeared entirely and there were trucks galore, forcing us to ride on the bumpy dirt roadside. Finally that ended and we had a three or four foot asphalt shoulder. It felt like heaven. We rode a little while longer, making it past Grand Junction, when we spotted a really nice camping spot. It was a bunch of trees on a perfectly flat park area, almost totally hidden from the road. We couldn't pass it up so we made camp and went to bed early. Ames could wait.