Today we’ll start off with a little bad news. Not really bad, trying is probably a better adjective. Like we were told, the flats can be the hardest riding if you have a headwind, and today we experienced it first hand on our ride. The first 38 miles out of Valentine were kind of slow, rolling hills with a noticeable shifting breeze, not too bad. But after a lunch stop, when Sabrina joined me, it really turned into a constant 12-15 mph headwind. The problem is that when you’re on the flats, there’s no break in the pedaling, no down hills to coast on. So, it a constant struggle on your legs to keep pumping. We averaged 11.2 mph over 91 miles. A lot different than the 16.6 Ben and I did into Merriman!
Now the good news! Rotarians rock! Today we were blessed to make the acquaintance of another super Rotarian. Bob is a past District Governor for this area and what an interesting and friendly guy. Even though he had a family gathering going on Sunday, he made time to meet with Sabrina and Ben and he even arranged for our campsite. He wanted to hear more about the projects, so he graciously invited us to breakfast the next morning and was really interested in showing us his town and giving us some background and some family history. We went around town for a couple photo ops, one in front of a heart (this is Valentine you know, and we learned you can have your Valentine’s Day cards stamped from this town) and then we headed to take a picture on a bridge. The bridge was a former rail road bridge but has been converted into a walking/ biking trail, the Cowboy Trail. The path was finely crushed stone so my bike could have handled it fine, but again Sabrina’s skinny tires wouldn’t work. So we stayed on US 20 all the way, even though the Cowboy Trail ends up across the street from the camp ground. Anyways, I headed off for my ride while Ben and Sabrina got taken around by Bob. They learned about the area, his Ranching days, and the fire that got a little too close for comfort. A few years ago there was a big forest fire in Valentine and it got within a ½ mile of their home. It would have gotten closer if it weren’t for the bomber that dropped a strip of fire retardant in front of their house. They had a nice talk with Bob’s wife, and she picked out a bag, while Bob was busy making photo copies of our flyers because we were running low. Thanks again Bob.
Now the good news! Rotarians rock! Today we were blessed to make the acquaintance of another super Rotarian. Bob is a past District Governor for this area and what an interesting and friendly guy. Even though he had a family gathering going on Sunday, he made time to meet with Sabrina and Ben and he even arranged for our campsite. He wanted to hear more about the projects, so he graciously invited us to breakfast the next morning and was really interested in showing us his town and giving us some background and some family history. We went around town for a couple photo ops, one in front of a heart (this is Valentine you know, and we learned you can have your Valentine’s Day cards stamped from this town) and then we headed to take a picture on a bridge. The bridge was a former rail road bridge but has been converted into a walking/ biking trail, the Cowboy Trail. The path was finely crushed stone so my bike could have handled it fine, but again Sabrina’s skinny tires wouldn’t work. So we stayed on US 20 all the way, even though the Cowboy Trail ends up across the street from the camp ground. Anyways, I headed off for my ride while Ben and Sabrina got taken around by Bob. They learned about the area, his Ranching days, and the fire that got a little too close for comfort. A few years ago there was a big forest fire in Valentine and it got within a ½ mile of their home. It would have gotten closer if it weren’t for the bomber that dropped a strip of fire retardant in front of their house. They had a nice talk with Bob’s wife, and she picked out a bag, while Bob was busy making photo copies of our flyers because we were running low. Thanks again Bob.
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I was catching up on your posts today, got home and turned on Dr. Oz. Whose face shows up in the audience but Sabrina's!! Boy, you sure had a lot of face time! I've been enjoying learning about the different parts of our country through your journey. Safe travels.
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