Day 22 – Oshkosh, NE to North Platte, NE

Weather
Temperature: 61°F to 80°F
Conditions: Light Rain/Partly Cloudy
Wind: W 11 mph

Ride Info
Altimeter Trip: 1,050 ft
Altimeter Odometer: 52,510 ft
Maximum Speed: 34.5 mph
Average Speed: 19.7 mph
Distance Trip: 102.4 miles
Distance Odometer: 1,613.7 miles
Elapsed Time: 5 hr 03 min 41 sec

This morning, during breakfast, before we all set off for the day, Coach told us that we had two different routes to choose from. We would be passing by Lake McConaughy (Nebraska’s largest lake) on the way from Oshkosh to North Platte. The planned, shorter route went south of the lake. The longer but more scenic route headed north of the lake. That route also took you over Kingsley Dam. My group decided to take the scenic route. It was great scenery despite the overcast weather. Riding over the dam was pretty cool too.

We were all feeling strong again even after yesterday’s great ride. There was light rain off and on during the first half of the ride. It was barely wet enough to get wet. The light mist actually felt pretty good. Because of the rain, and the desire to keep moving (i.e. – warm), I didn’t take any pictures. The weather has cleared up a bit by the time we hit Ogallala for lunch. We usually take it easy starting up again after eating lunch because of our full stomachs and to allow our muscles to get loose and limber again. It was more farmland and grain elevators as we traveled the remaining distance to North Platte.

Some railroad tracks ran parallel to the road we traveled. At one point, a train, traveling fairly slowly as far as trains go, was traveling in the same direction as us. Because the train was traveling a little bit faster than us, if you looked at the train just right, it felt like we were drifting backwards! You couldn’t do it for long because it would screw up your balance and cause you to drift into traffic.

Today ended up being the first of what would be several 100+ mile days. Besides a rare bad day, my body adapted remarkably well to the constant riding. Another 100+ mile day was on the menu tomorrow.