Post Tour Tidbits and Trip Home

As some of you know, my trip unfortunately ended on a sour note when my car was burglarized during my stop in Las Vegas and my bike and all my cycling gear and camping gear were stolen. It cast a dark cloud over the whole trip and I haven't been up to adding the last entry on the blog but its time to move on....so.... here it is.

After the tour I was blessed to spend another fun week with Dick and Karen...and Justice and Gracie... which was a real treat but went too fast. Enjoyed the trips to the dog park! Got to visit with Katie one afternoon and  Megan just happened to be in town for a meeting so got to see her too!

Went to lunch with Aileen and Orlan at the Eatery and spend an afternoon reminiscing about the old days and catching up on Doug, Steve and Kathy which was fun.

Also got to spend a very special day with Uncle Lyle and Aunt Iris down in Shickley "The Big Little Town"!  I hadn't been there for years! Where do the years go?? Lyle and Iris are some of the more "senior" members of the community now. Got to get back again soon!

A lot had changed but some things were the same. A lot of great memories of spending time with Lyle and Iris when I was growing up! The old home place really looks nice and Lyle had the yard looking nice and plush and green!

Shickley's a still a thriving small rural town unlike some of its neighbors that Lyle showed me. They're in the process of building a nice new big community building and the school is thriving and everybody knows everybody... a far cry from life in California!

I got there just in time to see Lyle and Iris do their volunteer work with the kids reading to them at the library which is a really nice facility. Then we went across the street to Dawg's Cafe for lunch. A pretty cool old building with the old really high ceilings. Then I got to spend some special time reminiscing with Lyle while he drove me on a tour past the old farm stead, the cemetery, the new church and a lot of Filmore county. Got to see an ethanol plant too.

After the tour we went back to Shickley where Iris had home made ice cream with chocolate and strawberries waiting!!! (I like mine plain!!)  What a SPECIAL TREAT!!!! Iris said it was for old times sake!! What great memories I have of that! In the old days we used to make it the old fashion way by hand cranking! A lot of work but boy did it taste good when it was done. I always thought it tasted better because of all the hard work we put into it but this ice cream was out of this world! Yum Yum Yum!!!! They gave me one tip they learned from their new mixer...do not...do not add water to the ice to get it started. Makes all the difference. Got to get that recipe!

Finally got to see cousins Pat and Lyla when we had breakfast at The Egg and I. Dick, Peggy and Dale were there too. After pictures Dale took us on a tour of all the new developments in the Haymarket area... pretty impressive. Afterward Dick and I took in the farmer's market.

It was tough to leave...Lincoln will always be "home". I packed my memories, my frozen Runzas and Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing and took off for California on July 1. Got to beautiful Dillon Lake that evening and camped out. In retrospect wish I'd spent more time in Colorado. I love the mountins!

(Didn't make connections with Andy in Denver...next time!) The next day I drove all day and got to Las Vegas. Stayed there on the evening of the 2nd and the 3rd. Unfortunately when I was checking out on the 4th I discovered my car had been burglarized.

I'm still looking for another bike and looking forward to the next tour! Also looking forward to coming back for the NU football game against UCLA! GBR!

Day 5: Blue Hill back to Doniphan 42 miles

WE DID IT!!! Yahoo, boo hoo! Really mixed feelings now. It was a really grueling 5 days, Peggy says it was REALLY hard, and I'm exhausted but after 5 days of challenges you bond with all the other riders and it's sad to see them go. I woke up at 4:45 to the sound of rain on the tent! Started taking the tent down in the rain at 5:15. Fortunately it wasn't a down pour. Had breakfast at the Community Center and we were on the road by 7:08 The rain had stopped and it was a little chilly at 61 but warmed up soon. Turned out to be a great day for cycling! The past two days we really didn't have much of a chance to enjoy the scenery...going into the wind had to keep.your head down and keep pushing the pedals...but today we got to enjoy the great Nebraska country side . Since we were only going 42 miles today we only stopped at one rest stop in Juniata then petal to the metal to get back to Doniphan.
It's been a special blessing to spend 5 days with cousin Peggy and Dale. Just remember Peggy, it was tough but you did what few others can say they did..it was an adventure of a life time! Item of note: the picture of the older guy from yesterdays post is Bill. He's one of the 78 year olds on the tour so hopefully I've got a few years left! Would I do it again? In heart beat!.....well maybe not next week ...but maybe next year! Rich and Susan Rodenburg really know how to put together a well organized fun tour! Thanks to them for all their hard work! ( I added a couple of pictures that didn't go with today's ride but got missed earlier.)

Day 4: Holdrege to Blue Hill 59 miles

Before I forget want to say thanks to Nelson for suggesting a tent fan. Peggy and Dale got one as did I and it definitely made our camping experience.more enjoyable!
On day three I forgot to mention who the people are at the dinner table. In addition to Peggy, Dale, Jane and I we were joined by Marvin Liewer  from Butte NE and Joyce Troyer from Manhattan KS.
Marvin is an amazing guy. He built a log cabin all by himself! Goggle his name and you'll.see his web site that.tells all about it.
During.dinner at the Sail Restaurant Peggy just happened to mention Shickley and Joyce said you've got to be kidding! Turns out her husband Darrell was from Shickley and Peggy knew his brother Terry! Small world!
Today we were expecting better conditions but unfortunately we had to ride. into the same brutal head winds for 30 plus.miles then it was cross winds from there. Fortunately the ride was only 59 miles! It was really tough going but we all finished.It's getting late so I'm not going to mention all.them but Wilcox had a great spread.for us and they were all cheering for us when we rode in. We had our awards banquet tonight complete with live music from The Toasted Ponies. It was a great spread and a lot of fun to see the slide show of pictures Rich had taken over the course of our 4 day journey...especially when you know a lot of their names now.Congratulations to Coreen Frasier from Little Rock, Arkansas for receiving the TDN Spirit Award! Peggy got to have her picture taken with Rhonda Revelle,.Nebraska's girls soft ball coach. Funny story told at the banquet by Rhonda Revelle about Susan Rodenburg...about 60 miles into Friday's ride their group pulled over to a shady area on the left hand side of the road to rest and cool down a little. (Dale and I just happened to be there at the same time!) Just then someone hollered that a wonderful farm couple had cold water on the other side of the road. The group left their bikes and walked over to the farm house. As they did one of them looked back and saw Susan's bike laying in the middle of the road! They said "Susan...your bikes in the middle of the road!!" She said.. "I know...I'm hoping someone will run over it so I don't have to ride any more!" Boy I could relate to that! It was a tough day for cycling!
 Last day tomorrow..42 miles back.to Doniphan.

Day Three: Callaway to Holdrege 76 miles

Yesterday it was hills hills, today it was wind wind wind! It was hot 97 to over a 100 and we were riding into brutal 30 to 40 mile head winds that really took their toll! It was really tough going! Regular riders of RAGBRAI and previous riders of many tours were saying they've never seen anything like what we encountered to today. The sag crew was not prepared for all the riders that got picked up today either. Volunteers were pressed into duty! Peggy and Jane got rides from the sag van around the 35 mile mark. I finally gave it up around the 66 mile marker and Dale a few miles before that.
We had rest stops at Oconto 14 miles, Eddyville population 94..26 miles, and between Eddyville and Overton we had fantastic Pedal-Powered smoothies! Lunch was at Overton, and last rest stop at Loomis.  A shout out to Sandy Anderson for making it the whole way!
Met Roger and Bette Hinrichs today who.are on their first tour and from Lincoln. They are riding in support of their son Major Richard Brown.
Well its getting late and I need to get to bed !